Appeals court halts execution of Tennessee woman less than two hours before lethal injection

On September 30, a federal appeals court in the United States halted Christa Pike's execution in Tennessee, just an hour before the lethal injection was set to take place at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit made the decision during a 2-1 ruling while considering whether Pike's latest federal filing could reopen her earlier habeas proceedings.

Judges Karen Nelson Moore and Jane Branstetter Stranch backed the stay, with Judge Richard Griffin casting a dissenting vote. Pike's legal team argues that Tennessee has altered its stance on evidence regarding her childhood sexual abuse, suggesting that this new evidence warrants a reconsideration of her case. Pike, who was 18 when she killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in January 1995, received a death sentence in 1996.

The Sixth Circuit's stay came a day after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Pike's request to halt the execution and her petition for certiorari. If the execution had proceeded, Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years and the only individual executed in the state's modern death-penalty era for a crime committed at the age of 18.

Pike's current lawyers highlight that her original defense did not adequately address her childhood sexual abuse and mental health issues, including multiple instances of rape, physical abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Forensic psychological documents submitted in her current legal campaign further detail her history of abuse and later diagnoses of bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Pike's lawyers claim that these documents should have been given more weight during her original trial, given the state's earlier position that parts of her abuse allegations were fabricated. The case is further complicated by Pike's age at the time of the crime; Roper v. Simmons, a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision, bars the death penalty for crimes committed by individuals under 18.

Although Roper does not apply to Pike, her lawyers argue that her age, combined with her trauma and mental health issues, should be considered as mitigating factors. Colleen Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, opposes efforts to spare Pike, insisting that the execution should proceed. Martinez emphasizes that her daughter was 19 when she was killed and never had the chance to age further.

Her stance contrasts with Pike's legal team and human rights advocates, who focus on Pike's age, past abuse, and psychological history to seek a sentence reduction. The Sixth Circuit's stay does not overturn Pike's conviction or initiate a new sentencing hearing; it merely pauses the execution while the court determines whether her latest filing can be handled under federal habeas rules.

The Supreme Court denied Pike's request for a stay and her petition for certiorari on September 29, the day before the scheduled execution. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is now asking the Supreme Court to lift the stay, which would reinstate the execution. For now, Pike remains on death row in Tennessee, with the execution still pending.