A woman, Christa Pike, 50,  who was convicted of killing her classmate when she was 18 in Tennessee and who became one of the youngest women to be on death row, is set to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday.

Ms Pike becomes the first woman to be executed in the state in 200 years.

The woman and her then-boyfriend, who was 17, were convicted for the 1995 killing of one of their classmate Colleen Slemmer, at Knoxville Job Corps.

The murder case received widespread attention due to the manner in which the victim was murdered, the ages of the people involved, and also because of the satanic symbol that was carved into the victim’s body.

Ms Pike was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and was sentenced to death, becoming the youngest woman ever to be placed on death row. She also admitted her guilt to the murder.

However, her lawyers argued the death sentence was not appropriate, citing that she was just a teenager and was subject to sexual abuse and neglect while growing up.

She was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress, her lawyers added.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee denied her clemency after several appeals from civil rights groups to stop the sentence.

Mr Lee said, “After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike’s request for clemency and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene.” 

Ms Pike stated in her clemency petition, “I was a mentally ill 18-year-old kid. It took me numerous years to even realise the gravity of what I’d done. Even more to accept how many lives I affected. I took the life of someone’s child, sister, friend. It sickens me now to think I had the ability to commit such a crime.”  

In response to the governor’s decision, her lawyers said, “Throughout her childhood, Christa was failed by people and institutions that should have shown her care and meaningful intervention.

“The 18-year-old girl suffering from severe mental illness and near-debilitating trauma no longer exists. Christa is a 50-year-old remorseful woman who understands her actions, receives proper treatment for her mental illness, and provides for and guides fellow incarcerated women.” 

Ms Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, said she waited years for the sentence to be carried out.

According to the Death Penalty Information Centre, the last woman, Martin Eve, was executed in Tennessee by hanging in 1820 after she was charged with being an accessory to murder.