Death row inmate Christa Pike's execution halted an hour before it was set to take place
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual abuse and rape which some readers may find distressing.
The execution of Christa Pike has been halted by a federal appeals court in a major development just an hour before it was set to take place.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has now approved a request for a 'stay of execution for Pike', who has been on death row for 30 years.
She is the only woman on Tennessee’s death row and would've been the first to have been put to death in the state in 200 years.
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But in a huge twist just an hour before her planned execution, judges have now said they want to review whether her allegations of sexual abuse and rape as a child were fully considered before she was sentenced to be put to death.
“The court has stayed this recognising the serious concerns about Christa’s scheduled execution,” her attorney said in a statement.
The court meanwhile said: “The interests of justice and the finality of Pike’s impending execution compel the entry of a short stay of execution in order to properly analysee the parties’ fully briefed arguments and resolve the issues on the merits."
It’s unclear how long the execution may now be halted for. Pike was set to be executed in the morning, with witnesses already gathering at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville when the order came through.
Christa Pike's crimes before three decades on death row
Pike was scheduled to be killed by lethal injection for the the torture and murder of her classmate after she was originally sentenced to death back in 1996.
The 50-year-old was put to death as planned on Wednesday (30 September) at 11:00 EDT, which is 4pm GMT.
She was just 18-years-old at the time of the killing of her classmate Colleen Slemmer.
Colleen had been found with a pentagram carved into her chest, with Pike being discovered after keeping a piece of the victim's skull.
Pike, along with her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and her friend Shadolla Peterson, they lured Colleen Slemmer to a secluded woodland in Knoxville.
According to court documents, Pike and Shipp then brutally attacked Slemmer, while Peterson kept watch.
Pike's lawyers have since argued that she should've been given life in prison, arguing that her childhood issues, age and mental health problems were all mitigating factors in the case.
She was sentenced to death aged 20 and remained on death row ever since.
Throughout her incarceration, attorneys representing her had attempted to have her execution stopped.
Most recently, filed a petition with the court ahead of her execution was denied. A final bid was also then rejected by the US Supreme Court.
In a statement, Governor Bill 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."
In a statement released after Lee's refusal to grant clemency, attorneys representing Pike released a statement which 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.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.
Topics: US News
James Holt