Will Christa Pike be executed? What to know amid Tennessee court's last-moment stay order

Christa Pike's execution was halted by a US appeals court less than two hours before it was scheduled to take place. According to the Toronto Sun, the execution was set for 10 a.m. Central time. The court granted a short stay to review Pike's claims of childhood abuse.

Pike, 50, has been on Tennessee's death row since her conviction and sentencing in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer. Her lawyers argued that her history of severe sexual abuse was not taken into consideration during sentencing, with the state of Tennessee previously arguing in court that Pike had lied about the abuse, but later changing their stance, as reported by MyJoyOnline Ghana.

The execution would have been the first time a woman had been subjected to the death penalty in Tennessee in more than 200 years, according to ABC News AU. The appeals court's stay is temporary, and it is unclear how long the pause will last. The Supreme Court had previously denied a reprieve, and the Tennessee governor had declined to grant Pike's request for clemency.

Brief written by urgent.news from Hindustan Times - World News, ABC News AU, France 24, Toronto Sun, MyJoyOnline Ghana — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.