Tennessee Supreme Court Schedules Executions for Four Inmates, Including State’s Only Woman on Death Row, Amid Protocol Scrutiny

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Supreme Court this week set execution dates for four individuals, including Christa Pike, the only woman on the state’s death row. The decision comes as legal challenges persist regarding the state’s lethal injection protocols.

Christa Pike, now 49, received her death sentence at age 18 for the brutal 1995 torture and slaying of Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Knoxville Job Corps student. Pike and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, inflicted severe injuries, including carving a pentagram into Slemmer’s chest. Pike’s attorneys have previously sought to commute her sentence, citing her youth and severe mental illness at the time of the crime, along with a history of child abuse and undiagnosed bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders.

The court also scheduled executions for Tony Carruthers, convicted in 1996 for a triple murder; Gary Sutton, sentenced for the 1992 shotgun slaying of Tommy Griffin, with his attorneys asserting innocence and questioning scientific evidence; and Anthony Hines, convicted of the fatal stabbing of a motel maid in 1985.

These new execution dates reignite concerns over Tennessee’s lethal injection procedures. The state resumed executions in May after a three-year pause, prompted by the discovery that drugs were not properly tested for purity and potency. An independent review later confirmed that none of the drugs used in seven executions since 2018 had been fully tested, and state officials had incorrectly testified under oath about testing protocols.

Public defenders, including Kelley Henry, continue to challenge the state’s methods, referencing the execution of Byron Black, who reportedly experienced severe pain. An autopsy revealed pulmonary edema, which attorneys likened to drowning or suffocating. Legal teams vow to continue fighting for transparency and to prevent similar suffering for their clients. The execution of Donald Middlebrooks remains stayed pending a federal court case challenging these very protocols, while Harold Nichols is also slated for execution by an earlier court order.

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