Christa Pike Execution Halted Hours Before Historic Tennessee Death Sentence

Christa Pike’s scheduled execution in Tennessee has been halted by a federal appeals court, just hours before she was due to become the first woman executed by the state in more than 200 years.

Pike, now 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer at a job training programme in Knoxville. Pike was 18 when she and two other teenagers lured Slemmer to a wooded area, where she was tortured and killed.

The killing attracted national attention because a pentagram was carved into Slemmer’s chest after the attack. Pike was the only one of the three defendants to receive a death sentence. Her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole, while Shadolla Peterson received probation.

Pike’s lawyers have argued that her age at the time of the crime, severe childhood abuse, mental illness and other psychological problems should have been considered as mitigating factors. They also challenged Tennessee’s lethal-injection procedures, arguing that her medical and psychological conditions could expose her to severe suffering.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee rejected Pike’s clemency request on September 28, saying he would uphold the state’s death sentence. The following day, the U.S. Supreme Court also rejected Pike’s request for a stay of execution and declined to hear her appeal.

The United Nations had called on US and Tennessee authorities to halt the execution and commute Pike’s sentence, citing her history of childhood abuse and nearly three decades on death row. The case has also renewed discussion over the use of capital punishment for people who commit serious crimes at a young age.

The execution was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. However, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay shortly before the procedure was due to begin, meaning Pike’s execution will not proceed at this time while the court considers the latest legal challenge.