First Tennessee woman set to be executed in 200 years survives first lethal injection attempt
The US Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Tennessee could proceed with Pike's execution by lethal injection for murdering a schoolmate as an 18-year-old three decades ago.
Christa Pike, a Tennessee woman set to become the first female executed by the state in over 200 years, managed to survive her first attempt at execution, Tennessee's Department of Corrections announced on Thursday. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled on Wednesday that Tennessee could proceed with Pike's lethal injection for the murder of a schoolmate when she was an 18-year-old three decades ago.
The state planned to move forward with the execution today, despite Pike's clemency petition, which highlighted her childhood trauma and sexual abuse, being denied by Governor Bill Lee on Monday. Pike, 50, would also be the only person in modern US capital punishment history to be executed in Tennessee for a crime committed as a teenager.
The Supreme Court lifted a stay of execution one hour before Pike was scheduled to be put to death, following a 6-3 conservative majority decision. Pike's attorneys requested a life sentence without parole, citing her bipolar disorder, PTSD, and a history of childhood violence, neglect, and sexual abuse. However, the Tennessee attorney general's office immediately sought a new Supreme Court warrant, as the state would need to obtain one if the death warrant expired at midnight.
Pike, the only woman on Tennessee's death row, was also convicted in 2001 of attempted first-degree murder for an assault on another inmate.
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