Christa Gail Pike is set to become the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in two centuries. Now 49, she was convicted 30 years ago for the death of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, when she was only 18. Her case gained renewed attention after the Tennessee Supreme Court officially scheduled her execution for September 30, 2026, making her the only woman currently on the state’s death row.Pike, along with two others, lured Slemmer to a secluded area under false pretenses. Prosecutors said the situation turned deadly, and Pike later confessed. She became the youngest person on death row in Tennessee’s history. A clip of her 1996 sentencing recently resurfaced, showing her tearfully pleading to hug her mother before being escorted out.Over the years, Pike’s legal team has pushed for a life sentence without parole, arguing that her age and untreated mental health issues at the time would likely lead to a different outcome if tried today. They described her childhood as marked by neglect and trauma, adding that she has since expressed deep remorse and personal change.Her execution is scheduled to take place at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Pike remains one of only 48 women on death row in the entire United States, making her case historically significant and widely discussed.