Christa Pike’s Attempted Execution
CHRISTA PIKE'S ATTEMPTED EXECUTION, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25; Jeremiah 10:23-24)
Yeow Chin Kiong
Currently, 27 out of 50 states in the United States of America, the US federal government itself and the US military (over its personnel) have legal provision to impose the death penalty for some crimes, with 4 of these states having approved gubernatorial pause on capital punishment. Tennessee is one such state (without gubernatorial pause).
On Wednesday, 30 September 2026, Tennessee attempted,- but failed,- to execute a female convicted murderer, Christa Gail Pike, 50, who had been a death row inmate for 30 years awaiting her death. Ironically, after an hour of trying to inject lethal pentabarbitol into her veins and failing each time, the prison personnel left many burns on her arms, gave up trying and called for emergency aid to rush her to a hospital with orders to keep her alive while the Tennessee governor declared a pause on all executions in the state to investigate the embarrassing botch-up and, presumably and ironically, deciding whether Pike would be put to death after medical procedures succeeded in restoring her at fitness so as to qualify being put to death!
Pike's crime was brutal indeed. On the night of December 12, 1995, with the help of three friends, she lured Colleen Slemmer, 19, (whom Pike suspected of desiring her boyfriend) into a wooded area near the University of Tennessee agricultural campus. There, Slemmer was beaten, tortured and slashed with a miniature meat cleaver and a box cutter. After carving a pentagram on her chest, Pike ultimately killed Slemmer by crushing her skull with a large chunk of road asphalt. Pike kept a piece of Slemmer's skull as a souvenir which she latter showed off to classmates. Pike's co-conspirators were below 18 when the murder was committed and were spared the death sentence; Pike was not and sentenced in 1996 to die for her crime of murder. She would have been the first female to be put to death in Tennessee after 200 hundred years if her execution had suceeded.
God through the scriptures allow for worldly authorities to promote good and prevent evil in their jurisdictions by delegating His power to "bear the sword" as "God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil" in some situations (Romans 13:1-7; especially verse 4). Indeed, the apostle Paul said he would not object to undergo the death penalty if he were guilty of anything worthy of death (Acts
25:11). Of course, this side of the cross of Christ, Christians would pray (as their Lord did; Luke 23:34) even to forgive those who were about to take their life unjustly.
The knowledge of good and evil is necessary but we are not omniscient, as Adam and Eve found out when they did not even know how to cover their shame well enough (Genesis 3:6-7, 21). And our intentions are sometimes suspect, as when Cain killed Abel despite being told explicitly the dire consequence of not controlling his impulse (Genesis 4:6-8). The Christa Pike case is evidence that even when men desire to do what God permits, they sometimes mess it up,- not even being able to take a life when they should have,- definitely a lot faster than Pike's 30 year wait (contra Ecclesiastes 8:11)! Our inability to do what is right in God's eyes (Proverbs 14:12; 16:24; Jeremiah 23:10) is prove positive that we need His forgiveness for our inadequacies and help to do right things correctly.
As expected, there is now a vigorous campaign to obtain a pardon for Pike so that she would not have to undergo again what must have been great mental, emotional and physical torture on the excutioners' gurney.