Christa Pike, 50, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday in Tennessee's first execution of a woman in 200 years for the 1995 killing of classmate Colleen Slemmer when Pike was 18. Pike's attorneys argue her death sentence is inappropriate given her age at the time, untreated mental illness, and history of severe childhood abuse, while the victim's mother supports the execution after decades of waiting.
Ron McAndrew, 88, was a warden at Florida State Prison who oversaw eight executions in the 1990s and now deeply regrets his role in capital punishment. Haunted by the deaths and convinced at least one inmate was innocent, he has become an opponent of the death penalty, while Florida continues executing prisoners at record rates in 2025.