Tennessee woman on death row declines last meal before execution

Christa Pike, Tennessee’s only woman on death row, has refused a last meal ahead of her scheduled execution, which would be the state’s first execution of a woman in over 200 years.

According to Tribune Online, the 50-year-old is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. She later received another 25-year sentence for attempting to strangle fellow inmate Patricia Jones in 2001.

Her lawyers sought clemency from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, citing abuse Pike suffered during childhood, but Lee rejected the request Monday.

“Whether my clemency is granted or not, I am at peace,” Pike wrote before the decision.

“I am not afraid to die,” she added. “I’m only nervous about the process.”

Pike has also requested an all-female lethal injection team, arguing that male involvement could traumatize her.