Tennessee is preparing to execute Christa Pike on Wednesday, which would mark the first time the state has put a woman to death in more than 200 years.

Pike, 50, is the only woman on the state's death row. She was convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder for the 1995 torture and killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student at the Knoxville Job Corps center. Pike, then 18, along with her 17-year-old boyfriend and another accomplice, lured Slemmer to a secluded area on the University of Tennessee campus, where she was beaten, cut with a box cutter and meat cleaver, and had a satanic symbol carved into her body over the course of up to an hour. Pike took a piece of Slemmer's skull as a trophy.

The boyfriend received a life sentence due to his age, while the third participant testified against Pike and received probation. Slemmer's mother has supported the execution, stating it would bring some measure of peace.

Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday that he would not intervene after reviewing Pike's clemency request. "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," Lee said in a statement.

Pike's attorneys have pursued last-minute legal challenges, including arguments that the execution process would violate the Eighth Amendment due to her history of childhood abuse, and have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay. All prior appeals have been rejected.

Historical records indicate the last woman executed in Tennessee was in 1820. Pike's case stands out as the state moves forward with the rare execution of a female inmate in the modern era.

The execution is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.