Tennessee is about to execute its first woman since 1819. Her case raises troubling questions

‘Like many who end up on death row, Pike had an unspeakably difficult childhood.’ Photograph: AP

On 30 September, the state of Tennessee plans to put Christa Pike to death. She would be the third person brought to the death chamber in the Volunteer state this year, one of which was stopped after it was botched.

She would join 17 others who have been put to death there since 1960. None of them were women.