Murderess Mini: Christa Pike - “Boy, Did Tennessee Blow This”

📚 SHOW NOTES 🎙 Episode 113: Christa Pike — “One Hour From Death” A Murderess Podcast investigation September 30, 2026. Nashville, Tennessee. By nine o’clock Wednesday morning, Christa Pike was supposed to have about one hour left to live. The governor had denied clemency. The U.S. Supreme Court had refused to stop her execution. Tennessee was preparing to execute its first woman in more than 200 years. Then the reporters arriving at Riverbend started getting turned away. 📍 Location: Tennessee death row → Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Nashville, Tennessee → U.S. Supreme Court → U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit 📅 Key Dates: January 12, 1995 Colleen Slemmer is murdered → March 1996 Christa is convicted and sentenced to death → September 2, 2026 attorneys seek clemency → September 28 Governor Bill Lee declines to intervene → September 29 U.S. Supreme Court denies Christa’s stay application and certiorari petition → September 30 Tennessee prepares for a 10 a.m. execution → roughly one hour before the scheduled execution, the Sixth Circuit issues a stay “until further order of this court.” Death Penalty Information Center 👥 Central Figures: Christa Pike, Colleen Slemmer, Colleen’s mother May Martinez, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Rev. Mikey Noechel, Christa’s attorneys, and the federal and state courts considering her final appeals 🧠 Themes: finality, capital punishment, clemency, childhood trauma, mitigation, PTSD, federal habeas review, execution protocols, victim-family grief, last-minute appeals, justice, punishment, and what happens when an execution expected to be final suddenly stops 🎧 Murderess Podcast is written and hosted by Sidney Smith 🎙 Produced in partnership with Sidney Smith Cre8tiv, LLC and the You Hear Good Things podcast network 📅 New episodes every Thursday 🔗 Find past episodes, merch, and tour dates: https://www.sidneysmithcre8tiv.com 🎧 Listen on your favorite platform: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeartRadio 📱 Follow Sidney: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter → @sidneysmithcre8tiv Official Sources Used: – U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit - September 30, 2026 stay order: last-minute order staying Christa’s execution “until further order of this court” while the court considers litigation involving her attempt to reopen prior federal habeas proceedings. – U.S. Supreme Court - Christa Gail Pike v. Tennessee, Nos. 26-5696 / 26A414, September 29, 2026: denial of Christa’s application for a stay of execution and denial of her petition for writ of certiorari. Supreme Court – Tennessee Department of Correction - 2026 execution advisories: scheduled 10:00 a.m. CDT execution at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, media procedures, witnesses, and preparations for September 30. Home Building – Governor Bill Lee / Death Penalty Information Center - September 28–29, 2026: Lee’s decision not to grant clemency and to allow Tennessee’s death sentence to stand. Death Penalty Information Center – Christa Pike clemency petition - September 2026: request for commutation to life without parole; Christa’s age at the crime; childhood sexual abuse and neglect; later mental-health diagnoses; neurological evidence; and mitigation arguments. – NBC News - September 28, 2026: Christa’s statement that she was “at peace” but nervous about the execution process; reporting on her final days, spiritual adviser, trauma history, and May Martinez’s plans to witness the execution while holding Colleen’s photograph. – Associated Press - September 30, 2026: breaking coverage of the Sixth Circuit stay roughly an hour before the scheduled execution, the legal issues under review, and the fact that Christa’s conviction and death sentence remained intact. AP News – WKRN / WREG - September 29–30, 2026: local reporting on Christa declining a special last meal, Riverbend preparations, reporters being turned away Wednesday morning, and the Sixth Circuit’s last-minute stay. – Tennessee Supreme Court - State v. Christa Gail Pike (1998): primary appellate record of Colleen’s murder, Christa’s confession, trial evidence, conviction, aggravating circumstances, and original death sentence. Tell me what stayed with you—I read every message. Your thoughts might even shape what the Quiet Jury hears next. Support the show