Christa Pike is set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years on Wednesday, after a final bid to save her life was rejected by the US Supreme Court.
Pike, 50, is due to die by lethal injection at Nashville's Riverbend Maximum Security Institution at 10am local time (3pm UK time), bringing to an end one of America's most notorious murder cases.
Murder of Colleen Slemmer
The convicted killer was just 18 when she was sentenced to death for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, whom prosecutors said she tortured and killed after accusing her of trying to steal her boyfriend.
Her legal team had launched a last-minute appeal in the hope of securing a stay of execution, but judges declined to intervene. If carried out, the execution will make Pike the first woman put to death in Tennessee in around 200 years and only the 19th female inmate executed in the US since 1976.
Details of the crime
She accused Colleen of attempting to steal her boyfriend before luring her to a site near the University of Tennessee where she was beaten and attacked with a box cutter. Colleen's body was later found with a pentagram carved into her chest and her skull smashed in by a large chunk of asphalt, according to investigators.
Now 50, Pike reportedly kept a piece of Colleen's skull and later flaunted the gruesome memento to other students at her school. She was later charged with first-degree murder and was sentenced to death on March 30, 1996, about one year after Colleen was murdered.
Execution process
Shipp, aged 17 at the time of the killing, was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility. Pike was the youngest person on death row when handed her guilty verdict, according to the Tennessee Department of Corrections.
The state requires lethal injection preparations to begin 48 hours before scheduled executions, with all non-legal visits and phone calls ending, according to state guidance. On the prisoner's final day, the prison team prepares the lethal injection as well as backup syringes and saline.
Witnesses can watch the execution, typically arriving between 8.30am and 9.15am that morning. The inmate is then restrained by guards and brought to the chamber at 10am, attached to IV lines, before officials, legal representatives and any clergy members enter the room.
By 10:10am, the warden contacts the commissioner to ensure there have been no last-minute stays or reprieves that have been granted. After four syringes have been administered, the special operations team signals to the warden at which a five-minute waiting period begins.
Following the five minutes, all witness blinds are closed and the privacy curtains are also closed. The warden then asks a physician to enter the room to examine the inmate to determine if they are dead. If the inmate is alive, the process is repeated in part.
