Marcy Wilson’s daughter, Teddy (pictured right), had gotten into trouble for the first time in 2017. She had a heart condition and was held separately in the same unit as Christa Pike. "She provided things to my child when I couldn't, and I will forever be grateful to her for that."
Photo by Tasha A.F. Lemley
Most of the world never got to meet Colleen Slemmer because Christa Pike killed her in 1995. Colleen was only 19 at the time. Christa was 18.
As described by the people who loved her, Slemmer was kind, playful, trusting, easygoing, generous and smart. This month, she’d be 51 years old. She didn’t get to grow up, build a life, and accumulate 30 years of experiences and complexities.
While most of the last 30 years were spent in isolation on death row, Christa did get the chance to see middle age, to live out the contradiction of being a teenage murderer and also something else. “Someone that was the worst person at that prison was the first person to say, what can I help you with?” said Kasey Raines, who credits Christa with helping her get through her third trimester when she was pregnant and in prison.
Before the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay, and then her execution was botched, I talked with three women who’ve known Christa about her impact and influence that extends beyond prison walls.