There are some stories a journalist never forgets. I was working as a radio news anchor in Knoxville, TN when Colleen Slemmer was brutally tortured and murdered in January 1995. It was a horrific, sadistic crime that shocked our community.
Everyone in our newsroom played some role in covering the case, from the initial reports of Colleen’s murder through the trial and conviction of Christa Gail Pike. We knew the details of the crime, and they were horrifying. But there’s one moment from the end of that trial that has stayed with me for 30 years.
Christa Pike was 20 years old when she was sentenced to death in March 1996. As she was being taken from the courtroom, she began to weep. Through her tears, there was a desperate plea.
“Can I please hug my mama before I go?”
And then again, still sobbing, “Please, let me just hug my mom.”
There was no discussion or argument. The judge offered no response to her tearful request. She was removed from the courtroom to face the consequences of her crime.
As a news anchor, it was my duty to report the facts to our listeners. As a mother, it was hard to share the powerful moment without feeling the depth of it.
I couldn’t help imagining my own daughter as a frail young woman in that courtroom. How devastating it would be if she were being pulled away, denied a moment of comfort from the one person who would unconditionally love her even after the final verdict and conviction.
Later, several of us were talking about it in the newsroom. I admitted that, for a moment, when Christa pleaded to hug her mother just one more time, I had felt sorry for her.
That’s when my coworker Dave Foulk, a respected veteran journalist, spoke up.
“Did Colleen Slemmer get a chance to hug her mama one more time?”
She did not.
Colleen was only 19 when she was murdered. She had a mother, too. Colleen would never have another chance to embrace her mother on this side of heaven.
Justice and Mercy
On September 30, 2026, Christa Pike received what was supposed to be a lethal injection. After the widely reported failure of the attempted execution, she was hospitalized, then returned to prison, and her case has become a point of national conversation.
Much of the discussion has focused on her suffering, the execution process, and the questions surrounding capital punishment. But Christa’s crime shouldn’t be overlooked. Colleen Slemmer must be remembered.
The Bible tells us in Micah 6:8 to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Those three things belong together, even when the circumstances make us uncomfortable.
As a Christian, I believe in justice. I believe human life is precious, and I believe those who commit terrible crimes must be held accountable. I must also believe in mercy.
Jesus demonstrated compassion for people who had done wrong. But He never suggested that wrongdoing was acceptable or that justice didn’t matter.
We can grieve for Colleen and her family while also feeling acknowledging Christa’s pain. We can fully believe Christa deserved to be held accountable for her heinous crime while questioning what happened during her attempted execution.
Compassion isn’t something we have to ration – or rationalize. I can feel sorrow for a woman facing death and feel sorrow knowing that another young woman was denied the chance to live.
A Question That Has Stayed with Me
Dave Foulk passed away in 2024. He was a gifted journalist and a fellow Christian. We worked in a secular newsroom, reporting the facts and trying to make sense of the events unfolding around us.
Our discussion about Christa Pike is one that still stands out in my memory.
Christa Pike’s failed execution should not become a story in which Colleen Slemmer disappears. Colleen was a real person with a family who loved her and a future she never had the chance to live.
And Christa Pike, despite the terrible crime she committed, remains a human being created by God.
Those truths can exist together.
A convicted killer. Her victim. Two daughters. Two mothers. A crime that can’t be undone. A punishment that unraveled.
So many things in this world are beyond my comprehension and can cause a mixed bag of emotions – sadness, anger, confusion, fear.
When emotions don’t lead to answers, and attempts to make sense of the senseless fail, I find myself coming back to one truth.
In the end, I can always trust God with the things I don’t understand.
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