Bishops urge Tennessee to spare Christa Pike’s life

A group of Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran bishops from Tennessee urged Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday to spare the life of death-row inmate Christa Gail Pike. She survived two doses of lethal injection during a failed execution attempt on Wednesday. Pike, 50, was previously sentenced to death for the brutal murder of a classmate in 1995. The religious leaders asked Lee to ensure the state did not attempt to execute Pike again.

What exactly was Pike convicted of doing? Pike and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, were both convicted of torturing and fatally stabbing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. A pentagram carved on Slemmer's body led some to believe Satanism may have played a role in the killing. Pike was sentenced to death but Shipp avoided the death penalty because he was 17 at the time of the murder.

While the bishops acknowledged Pike had committed a horrific murder, they said accountability for her crimes did not require another death. This moment instead called for an act of mercy, the bishops wrote. They added that their churches had long and consistently opposed capital punishment.

Also on Thursday, the Catholic Mobilizing Network said it hoped Pike’s failed execution demonstrated why what it described as state-sanctioned killing shouldn’t be accepted. The organization, which advocates for abolishing the death penalty, called capital punishment barbaric.

What do these denominations say about the death penalty?

• Pope Leo XIV said in April that he opposed the death penalty. Leo said the Catholic Church believes the dignity of the person was not lost even after he or she committed serious crimes. Catholicism’s catechism also includes a statement officially opposing the punishment.

• Some Lutheran denominations oppose the death penalty, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. But others have said God has given authority to the state to dole out capital punishment.

• The Episcopal Church has opposed the death penalty since the 1950s.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Black’s report for more details on the failed execution.