Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville.
The brutality of Slemmer’s death has remained central to the case for decades.
Nothing about the current clemency effort changes the fact that a young woman lost her life or removes the suffering experienced by those who loved her.
Pike’s attorneys aren’t asking for her conviction to disappear.
They’re asking for a different punishment.
Instead of execution, Pike would remain incarcerated for the rest of her life.
