US state will execute a woman for the first time in 200 years: Inside her chilling crime

Now 49, Pike has spent most of her 30 years in prison in near-solitary confinement as Tennessee’s only female death row inmate.

In a letter to The Tennessean, she admitted guilt but insisted she’s not the same person she was at 18.

“Think back to the worst mistake you made as a reckless teenager,” Pike wrote. “Mine happened to be huge, unforgettable and ruined countless lives… It sickens me now to think that someone as loving and compassionate as myself had the ability to commit such a crime.”

Her lawyers argue that today, given her youth and mental health diagnoses — including bipolar disorder and PTSD stemming from years of abuse — she never would have received a death sentence.

They’re pushing for life without parole instead.

Colleen Slemmer’s family

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