Unveiling Darkness: The Shocking Crimes Behind Tennessee’s First Female Execution in Two Centuries
The revelations of her being ab*sed only came to light after her sentencing.
Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell said Christa was s**ually ab*sed from the time she was a toddler, and this was critical information from her past that her lawyers failed to present to the jury during the penalty phase of her trial.
Stephen also said that Christa was allegedly rap*d when she was 11 and 17 and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
As part of the clemency petition, Stephen further argued that there is better understanding today about adolescent brain development, and other 18-year-olds sentenced to de*th in Tennessee have had their sentences reduced since.
It was only after her sentencing when Christa’s history of traumatic childhood experiences came to light
Christa, who never denied her role in her classmate’s homicide, said in her recent statement: “I was a mentally ill 18-year-old kid. It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I’d done.”
“Even more to accept how many lives I affected. I took the life of someone’s child, sister, friend,” she continued. “It sickens me now to think I had the ability to commit such a crime.”
Over the years, the number of perpetrators aged 18, 19, and 20 who are given the de*th sentence has become exceedingly rare.
Reports reveal that 275 people from this age group across the country have been executed, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, commented on the case and said: “If Christa Pike was tried today, I do not believe a jury that knew about the documented s**ual ab*se and neglect she experienced as a child would sentence her to de*th.”
Some believe Christa would not have been sentenced to de*ath if she was tried today with her childhood experiences known
Meanwhile, Colleen’s mother May Martinez said she has waited decades to see her daughter’s k*ller be given the lethal injection.
She said the chance to grow up was robbed from Colleen, who volunteered to help during Special Olympics competitions and knew how to take apart a computer and then put it back together.
May still thinks about the harrowing manner in which her daughter’s life came to an end.
“Every time I think about it, I think about Colleen feeling that pain and trying to get up and run,” she said.
If Christa’s execution takes place on Wednesday as scheduled, it would be the state’s first execution of a woman since 1820.
“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” one commented, while another wrote, “So. She was just a baby and her emotions and anger took her over”
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