Episode 8 – Mercy

Christa’s future is in limbo after she survived two lethal doses in a botched execution attempt. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christa and her attorneys grapple with a recent announcement by the Tennessee Supreme Court.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beth and Sarah talk to Colleen’s mother about whether justice is even possible in this case.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Defending “the worst of the worst” can take a sizable emotional toll–but it also reinforces a sense of shared humanity.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the decades-long effort to overturn her death sentence runs out of time, Christa and her legal team try to prove that she’s a changed person.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christa looks back on her early years on death row when she struggled with undiagnosed mental health issues and the role it played in the fight to save her life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We learn what the jury and public didn’t know about Christa, her attorneys, and their trial strategy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As details of the murder leak, the Knoxville community is shocked by what 18-year-old Christa allegedly did to Colleen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Months after two teens enroll at Knoxville’s JobCorps program, one is dead and the other is charged with murdering her.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In January 1995, 18-year-old Christa Pike killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in the woods of Knoxville, Tennessee–and 30 years later, she’s still on death row. Proof of Life explores the meaning of justice and rehabilitation, and asks how we determine whether someone deserves to live or die.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.