What Life Is Really Like for Women on Death Row 

What Life Is Really Like for Women on Death Row 

Four women are serving a death sentence .  One worked as a police officer until she became a murderer herself .    They spent decades saying that someone else was the real murderer. Another had to see his personal life as part of the case against him .  But this woman we’re starting with has been waiting for the death penalty for 30 years .

Now, a date has been set on the calendar. Unlike some of the women you’ll see later, she doesn’t deny what she did . I did something terrible .  It’s unacceptable , I know that, but I shouldn’t die for the actions of three people. Krista Pike was born in West Virginia in 1976. Court documents mention her childhood , which included bipolar disorder and PTSD , which were diagnosed many years after her arrest .

  In January 1995, at the age of 18, she enrolled in a job training program in Knoxville and, along with two other young men, killed 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer .  Those details are horrific, we’re not going to discuss them.  What is important here is what happened during the judgment.    Since Pike was 18 years old at the time , she could have been sentenced to death .

Another person who committed the crime with her was sentenced to life imprisonment at the age of 17 .  A third man testified on behalf of the government and received probation. Christa Pike was sentenced to death on March 30, 1996, at the age of 20 . That happened 30 years ago .    I knew from the beginning that I would be found guilty, and I knew from the beginning of my trial that I would receive the death penalty .

I don’t even remember what it feels like to be free. I’ve lived here longer than anywhere else in my life , enough is enough .  I can’t remember what life was like without someone chaining me up as I walked out the door or telling me when to go to the bathroom or when to eat . A lot of those 30 years passed like this.

Tennessee keeps its death row men in one place, where they can work, eat, and talk to each other .  Pike was the only woman on that state’s death row for almost all of her time . So there is no separate section to house her .  Her lawyers detailed those circumstances in a lawsuit filed in 2022 .

  They had to spend 22 to 24 hours every day in a 7 by 12 foot room with a bed, shelves, sink, and toilet .  Her cell is next to a section of the prison reserved for women who are seriously mentally ill or considered a danger to themselves .  Her lawyers claimed that the screams and cries coming from that section had become a part of her daily life . I stay in the same room for 23 hours a day .

Almost 12 years have passed, which is a very long time. I only come out of my room for one hour a day, and that’s to another small room that’s like a dog cage. So, I’ll be in a box or a cage, that’s it, nothing more. That’s my mother and my stepfather .  I love my cat, Tigger, very much .  I love my dog , Ed . We can only keep soft toys like this, because we are not allowed to keep anything stuffed inside.

They think we can hide something in them. She did not cope well with the situation, and the records are proof of that.  In 2001, she was found guilty of assault and attempted murder of a fellow inmate .  She was sentenced to 25 years in prison, to be served concurrently with her existing sentences. In 2001 and again in 2002, she asked the courts to overturn her appeals and execute her, going against her lawyer’s advice .

The second time, her execution date was set for August 19, 2002. After that, she changed her mind and the appeals court allowed her to continue her fight . I think spending the next 60 years in prison for Christa Pike is a harsher punishment than the death penalty . I am ready to do anything , I have the power, rather than live like this.

I am tired. In 2022, her lawyers sued the state over her isolation. In September 2024, they reached an agreement and Tennessee agreed to provide her with the same facilities as male prisoners .  Spending time outside the cell , doing a task, and having lunch with a small group of other women . Her lawyers said she was adjusting and was happy to work and eat with everyone, but noted that she was still lonely, as she was the only woman on Death Row.

I personally think everything is very easy for her right now .  Being on Death Row , no one can do anything to her .  She has a fan, angel figurines, and a TV .    Do children in prison have access to such facilities?  She is special . On September 30, 2025, the Tennessee Supreme Court set her execution date . Exactly one year later, on September 30, 2026.

I don’t see any point in the death penalty .  Because they spend so much time on Death Row , it doesn’t feel like an immediate punishment .  It lasts a long time, and they feel it would be better to die than to stay there for the rest of their lives. I am not afraid to die. I am afraid of the electric chair.

  I’m afraid they’ll shave my head , tie me to this big chair , and electrocute me .  Because if you think about it, if you touch someone else, it’s only a small shock that hurts , it’s so small, and I can’t imagine anything like that, just all that electricity. That, that’s scaring me. He gets free meals. He is given many pills .  You know, you never have to worry about getting food, a book, or anything .

Everything is within your reach .    In August, a court in Knoxville heard evidence for 3 days on whether Tennessee could constitutionally carry out the execution of Krista Pike under its current lethal injection protocol. This includes questions about what would happen if a woman with a blood-related disease, IV access, and severe PTSD were transferred to the state’s execution center .

On August 20, the special master appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court submitted his report . They are mostly negative for pike .  He noted that she had not proven that her blood-related condition or IV access would create the level of risk necessary to halt the execution . He also noted that Tennessee had changed some parts of its plan.

    It was decided that Pike would now be moved to Riverbend only 24 hours before her execution, with female officers assigned to transport and observe her . On September 4, both sides filed additional petitions. At the time of this video recording, the Tennessee Supreme Court had not issued a final ruling on that challenge .

  The execution date is still the same .  Now another decision is pending.  Lawyers for Pike asked Governor Billy to commute her death sentence to life in prison without parole.  He did not publicly announce any decision. Tennessee currently plans to execute Krista Pike on September 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. If that happens, she will be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee since 1819 .

Colleen was 18 when she killed Slemmer, and 20 when she was sentenced to death .  She is now 50 years old.    Will Krista Pike’s wait finally come to an end ? Antoinette Frank is waiting even longer . But before Frank was a Death Row inmate , she was a New Orleans police officer.    In the early morning hours of March 4, 1995 , she returned to the restaurant where three people had been murdered .

  She returned in the police car.  To the officers who arrived at the scene, Frank appeared to be one of them. The problem is, those hiding in the restaurant knew she was there before the shooting. They know her well. Kim An is a Vietnamese family restaurant located in East New Orleans.    The Wu family occasionally gave Frank money for security work there.

Officer Ronald Williams was on regular security duty at that restaurant .  They hired the police to keep the place and their family safe .  By 1995, Frank Rogers had also become close to an 18-year-old named Lakaz .    On the evening of March 3, Frank called Kim Ann and asked if she would be needed for their security.

They do n’t need to. Ronald Williams was already scheduled to work that night .  Later, after finishing her shift , Frank went to the restaurant .  She went inside alone, while Lakaz waited outside .  She ordered drinks for herself and the man outside , introduced him as her nephew , and said they were going to a movie at midnight.

After that she left .  At 12:51 a.m. , Frank called Kim Ann again and ordered food.  This time, she returned with Lakaz.  They sat down and ate, then left before they finished eating. Before long, they returned.  For the third time that night, Chow Woo was already scared. She gathered all the restaurant money, ran into the kitchen, and hid it inside the microwave.

Frank came in and started pushing Chow towards the kitchen, saying they needed to talk .  Officer Ronald Williams was near the bar. Then there were gunshots .  Chow, her brother Kwok and another employee ran inside the restaurant and hid inside a walk-in cooler. They closed the door. Kwok turned off the lights. Through the small window, they could see parts of the kitchen and bar.

They saw Frank and the man she was with walking through the restaurant . Then they heard more gunshots.    When it was all over, three people were dead. Ronald Williams is 25 years old. Ha Woo is 24 years old.  Kwang Woo is 17 years old.  The survivors didn’t see who fired each bullet, but they saw Frank and Lacaze inside, and they had no problem identifying Frank .

  They know her. Frank left the restaurant .  She then went to the 7th District Police Station , took a patrol car, and returned to Kim An .    At 1:52 a.m., the first police unit arrived. Finally, Chow came out and ran towards one of the officers. Frank was seen nearby, and instead of admitting that he was inside, he told the responding officer that the injured officer and the attackers were behind .

Then she started questioning Chow .  What happened? Where is she hiding?  Chow’s answer was later preserved in the court record .  You are there.  You know everything.    Why are you asking me that ?  Frank was questioned and taken into custody at the scene. Her trial began 6 months later .    The jury found her guilty of three murders .

According to contemporary reports, they discussed for just 22 minutes.    The jury recommended the death penalty.  Her co -defendant, Rogers LaCage, was also sentenced to death. But the course of their cases ultimately took very different turns . In December 2019, LaCage’s sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole.

Frank remains on death row.    Even though it’s been more than 30 years since the murders , she remains the only woman on Louisiana’s Death Row, and the courts are still hearing her case .  On October 9, a Louisiana judge is expected to rule on whether some new arguments can be advanced in Frank’s post-conviction case.

But whatever happened next, the real betrayal in this story happened before any jury entered court .  The Wu family sought protection and hired police officers .  They believed Antoinette Frank because she wore a badge. And when three people were killed in their restaurant , the victims knew exactly who they saw .

  The third case took a turn through footage recorded on camera . Eight days after the deaths of her two sons, Darley Routier stood in a cemetery in Texas.    There are balloons there . People sang the Happy Birthday song .  The footage showed Darley laughing as she sprayed Silly String on the graves. It was intended to commemorate the occasion of his son Devon’s seventh birthday .

  The footage was broadcast on television. Later, it became part of the prosecution case against her. Because Darley is not only a grieving mother , she is also the only adult who said that the intruder in the house that night attacked her .    In the early morning hours of June 6, 1996 , Routier called 911 from her Rowlett, Texas, residence .

  She said she woke up while she was sleeping downstairs and saw a stranger walking away from her . According to Darley, she chased him toward the garage before he escaped . She was injured, but survived. From the beginning, her explanation was simple. Someone came into the house .  But the investigating officers soon questioned it.    The garage window screen was cut .

  But other details suggested that the scene was created (staged ) .    There were no traces of blood leading out through the garage. Valuable jewelry was left there .  And a trace evidence analyst found microscopic remains that matched window screen material cut on a kitchen bread knife. Prosecutors began to believe that Darley was not a surviving victim .

  That is the accused. But not everything matched their theory. A sack linked to the crime was found in an alley away from the house. Darley also has her own injuries . There is no admission of guilt. And no one saw her commit the crime.    At trial, prosecutors used that footage to argue that her behavior was inconsistent with grief.

But the clip did not show the scenes that happened throughout that day. Earlier, the family held a prayer service and tribute at the cemetery .  To what extent can a person’s behavior after a tragedy reveal what happened before the event ? In February 1997, Darley Routier was found guilty of murder in connection with Damon’s death and sentenced to death .

Years later, her lawyers asked for additional DNA testing. In 2008, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that, despite the prosecution having substantial evidence, their case was not strong enough. The court allowed limited additional DNA testing .    It also states that if the DNA of the same unknown person truly supports Darley’s story of the assailant, the jury would have little chance of convicting her beyond a reasonable doubt.

  It did not overturn her conviction or exonerate her . Nearly 30 years later, Darley Routier is still on Texas Death Row .  If you want to support this channel and help us provide stories like this , you can become a member. Is the stranger described by Darley a real person? Or is it part of the story he created in that house?    In the Darley Routier case, the argument is still about what the evidence can prove .

But the last woman’s case in this story reached the US Supreme Court on another issue .    That’s what prosecutors told the jury about the woman seeking the death penalty . In Oklahoma, Brenda Andrew has been living with the same sentence since 2004 .  She is the only woman on Oklahoma’s Death Row . And the execution date has now been set for the man convicted of the same murder.

Brenda does n’t have it.  Andrew was found guilty of murdering her husband, Rob Andrew , as well as conspiring with James Pavat to kill him .  Prosecutors said the murder was committed for the proceeds of an $800,000 life insurance policy . Pavat is not just Andrew’s lover . He was the insurance agent who helped Rob get that policy .

  He and Brenda used to teach Sunday School together. A few weeks before Rob died, he noticed that his car’s brake lines had been cut .  That incident was later described by prosecutors as the first attempt to take his life . On November 20, 2001, Rob Andrew was murdered in their family home. Pavat later admitted that he shot and killed Rob himself.

Prosecutors said Brenda helped plan the murder. Brenda Andrew continues to maintain her innocence .  After Rob’s death , Brenda and Pavat fled to Mexico with Brenda’s two children. Months later, having run out of money, they re- entered the United States and were arrested at the border.  Her trial was controversial for another reason .

Prosecutors repeatedly focused on Brenda’s sexual relationships, her clothing, and whether she behaved as a proper wife and mother. In one case, they displayed a thong underwear found in her luggage and asked if a grieving wife would pack them. Years later, such evidence became part of a case before the US Supreme Court.

  But already, Brenda Andrew had spent two decades on Death Row.  She is at the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLeod.  There are more than 1,200 women in that prison . Only one of them was sentenced to death .  She is Brenda. Death sentences for women are rare in Oklahoma.  From 1915 to 2025, the state carried out 213 executions .

Only three of them are women.  All three were hanged in 2001 .  Three years later, Brenda arrived on Death Row. According to her lawyers, she spent 16 years in solitary confinement .  They say that for most of that time , her interactions with humans were limited to prison officials and visits from a priest . In January 2024, Andrews said he was placed in the prison’s special management unit.

  In a federal lawsuit, she described a cell measuring approximately 9 feet by 11 feet .    She said she had to stay inside for at least 23 hours a day. There is no window to the outside, no opportunity to talk to other prisoners. She said that she had to spend the hour she spent outside her cell alone in a small concrete recreation area.

  Those are the allegations made by Andrews. If the Oklahoma government sets a date for her execution , the final phase will take place at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Under Oklahoma law, lethal injection is the primary method.  If that is not available, there are alternatives such as nitrogen hypoxia, electrocution, and finally the firing squad.

  There is also a general rule that seems strange.    The Last Supper.    The prisoner can request it with the permission of the prison warden.  Its maximum cost is 25 dollars.  It is served between 5 and 7 pm the day before the execution .  Brenda Andrew never got to that stage. She has no execution date.  James Pavat has it.

Oklahoma currently plans to execute him on November 12, 2026. Both were convicted of the same murder , but their calendars are now completely different . Andrew’s legal battle is not over yet. In January 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court sent her case to a federal appeals court, asking it to reconsider whether prejudicial evidence introduced at her trial had made the trial fundamentally unfair.

In January 2026, the appeals court again upheld her conviction and death sentence. And in August, the full court refused to rehear the case .  Her lawyers plan to ask the Supreme Court to review her case again .  So James Pavat can count down the days until November 12th .  Brenda Andrew didn’t do that.

  Even after spending more than 20 years on Death Row , she doesn’t know if Oklahoma will ever set a death sentence date for her. Krista Pike has a date.  Tennessee has set her due date for September 30th . By the time you see this, there will probably be only a few days left . As for the rest, they have not yet had a date finalized on the calendar.

  But that’s the strange thing about Death Row. For years, the death penalty may have seemed like just a fantasy, but suddenly it becomes a reality. Perhaps this leaves us with a tougher question than whether we are guilty or innocent.    Once we decide not to show mercy to someone , how much justice do we have to do them ?