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Yesterday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights joined a growing list of national and international organizations calling on Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute Christa Pike’s death sentence. Pike, who would be the first woman executed by lethal injection in Tennessee, is scheduled for execution on September 30.
Sandra Babcock, who represented Pike before the Commission and is a professor of law at Cornell Law School, details the Commission’s findings.
Sandra Babcock
Clinical professor of law
“The Commission’s findings confirm that Christa Pike has been punished more harshly because she is a woman. She was subjected to torturous prison conditions that men don’t experience and is now facing execution under conditions that will cause her to relive her experiences of sexual violence.
“The Commission, which is a body of experts appointed by the Organization of American States to oversee human rights in all OAS member states, concluded that Tennessee held Ms. Pike under cruel and inhumane conditions of confinement, including solitary confinement, that were harsher than the conditions endured by men on death row.
“The Commission also pointed out that Tennessee has failed to provide information about the source of drugs used in lethal injections and the type of training provided to the executioners. On May 21, 2026, Tennessee Governor Lee called off the execution of Tony Carruthers after the doctor inserting the needle was unable to complete the procedure without causing severe pain.”
