Tennessee is preparing to execute Christa Gail Pike, the only woman on the state's death row, in what would mark the first execution of a female inmate in more than two centuries. The state Supreme Court has set Pike's execution date for Sept. 30, 2026.
If carried out, Pike would become the first woman executed in Tennessee since the early 1800s and only the 19th woman executed in the United States in the modern era, figures from the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) show. Since the U.S. reinstated capital punishment in 1976, women have accounted for just 1% of executions, with 18 cases compared to more than 1,600 men.
