A Joint Statement from the Shelby County Public Defender and Just City

As public defenders, former public defenders, and community advocates, the Shelby County Public Defender and Just City stand united in calling on Governor Bill Lee to grant clemency to Christa Pike and commute her death sentence to life imprisonment without parole ahead of her scheduled execution on Wednesday, September 30.

Just City was founded by public defenders and supportive community members who shared a foundational belief that our criminal justice system is overly punitive and too often fails to provide justice. The attorneys of the Law Office of the Shelby County Public Defender stand in the gap between the immense power of the state and those accused of breaking the law, and they understand what is at stake within that system every single day.  

Christa Pike’s case is a stark and heartbreaking example of how the system can fail—with irreversible, deadly consequences. It strikes at the heart of our shared commitment to justice because the primary system of advocacy for people facing criminal charges—their legal defense—failed Christa when she needed it most.

Just days before her trial was set to begin and after considering all of the evidence and Christa’s circumstances, the prosecution offered her a plea agreement of life imprisonment without parole. That offer demonstrated the State’s own belief that life without parole was an appropriate sentence for the crime. However, Christa’s trial attorneys spent precious little time discussing the offer and the potential consequences of rejecting it. Both trial attorneys have since testified that this failure to counsel her remains their biggest regret.

Now Governor Lee alone has the ability to correct their mistakes and do justice in this case. We urge him to commute her sentence, and we encourage the public to sign the clemency petition at https://www.mercyforchrista.org/petition.