Christa Pike Execution Halted Hour Before Scheduled Time

Tennessee has indefinitely halted the execution of Christa Pike, who was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted a stay of execution around 9 a.m. CT, just one hour before the planned procedure, to consider whether childhood sexual abuse claims were adequately addressed during her sentencing.

Pike was convicted at age 18 in March 1996 for the brutal murder of 19-year-old Knoxville Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer. Pike, along with her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and an accomplice Shadolla Peterson, lured Slemmer to a wooded area where they tortured her. Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Pike carved a pentagram into Slemmer's chest, and Peterson testified to seeing Pike carve something into Slemmer's head. The prolonged assault lasted approximately 30 minutes to an hour. Pike and Shipp were both found guilty of first-degree murder, with Pike receiving a death sentence and Shipp a life sentence with parole eligibility. Peterson, who served as a lookout, was granted probation for her cooperation.

Pike's execution was scheduled for 10 a.m. CT. Earlier this month, her legal team had requested an all-female firing squad for her execution, citing trauma from abuse suffered at the hands of men. They argued that an execution administered by men could lead to an Eighth Amendment violation due to the risk of increased pain and suffering. Pike had also previously asked the court to consider allowing her to be hanged.

Governor Bill Lee had denied Pike's request for clemency, and the U.S. Supreme Court had declined to halt the execution. Pike refused her last meal hours before the scheduled execution, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction. Her lawyers expressed deep sadness and heartbreak over the governor's decision, stating that moving forward with her execution would place Tennessee in a unique position, as Pike is set to be the first person executed in the state's modern death penalty era who was a teenager at the time of the offense, and the first woman executed in over two centuries.

Witnesses, including Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, had gathered at the facility when the order to halt the execution was issued.