NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee is scheduled to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection Wednesday morning at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, marking the first time the state has put a woman to death in more than 200 years.
The execution is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Pike has spent more than three decades on death row following her conviction for the 1995 torture and murder of Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. Pike was 18 years old at the time of the crime.
Investigators said Pike bragged about the murder, showing off a piece of Slemmer's skull to other students.
This case also marks the first time Tennessee will execute someone for a crime committed at age 18 since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Gov. Bill Lee reviewed Pike's request for clemency and decided not to intervene.
Death penalty advocacy groups held a virtual vigil Tuesday night to pray for Pike, Slemmer's family, and those who will carry out the execution.
Witnesses are expected to gather at Riverbend Prison a few hours before the exectution.
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