On September 30th, 2026, Tennessee gave Christa Pike two full doses of pentobarbital. She lived.
Thirty-one years earlier, Christa was an 18-year-old student at a Job Corps center in Knoxville. In January 1995, she and two others led 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer to an abandoned steam plant and killed her. Christa was sentenced to death at 20, making her one of the youngest women sentenced to death in modern U.S. history.
Ashley and Ricky walk through the whole case: Christa’s childhood, the murder, the trial, three decades of appeals, and an escape plot involving a prison guard. They cover what her lawyers warned the state about months before the execution, what witnesses saw and heard inside the chamber that night, and the 911 call that came after. Learn about Willie Francis, Romell Broom, and Kenneth Smith, who survived execution attempts before her, and ask what a state is supposed to do when an execution doesn’t work.
Colleen’s mother, May, is still waiting for the last piece of her daughter to come home.
Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to trymiracle.com/CRIMESALAD and use the code CRIMESALAD to claim your FREE 3-PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF.
Hers: Ready to take the stress out of weight management? Weight Loss by Hers offers access to personalized, affordable care and FDA-approved GLP-1 medications, including the Wegovy® pill and pen. Get started with an online consultation and find a plan that works for you. Visit forhers.com/crimesalad to learn more!
Home Chef: Take the stress out of weeknight dinners! Get 50% OFF your first box PLUS free dessert for life by going to HomeChef.com/CRIMESALAD.
OneSkin: Target the root causes of skin aging with OneSkin's revolutionary OS-01 peptide. Get 15% off OneSkin with the code CRIMESALAD at https://www.oneskin.co/CRIMESALAD #oneskinpod #ad
Quince: Get luxury quality without the luxury price tag. Download the Quince app or visit Quince.com to get free shipping and 365-day returns. Don't forget to let them know Crime Salad sent you in the post-purchase survey!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
