Supreme Court Allows Execution of Christa Pike, First Woman in Tennessee in 200 Years

The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for Tennessee to carry out the execution of Christa Pike, who is set to become the first woman put to death in the state in two centuries. The court overruled a last-minute stay of execution that had been issued earlier on Wednesday.

Pike, 50, was scheduled for execution by lethal injection on Wednesday for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. The murder occurred in a fit of jealous rage.

An order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit had stayed Pike's execution early Wednesday morning, stating it was "until further order of this court." Stephen Ferrell, of the Federal Defenders Services of Eastern Tennessee, had said the stay was issued due to "serious concerns about Christa's scheduled execution."

Shortly before 6 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court sided with state prosecutors, overriding the stay. The court's three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—dissented, though the majority offered no explanation for their decision.

Pike was 18 years old when she killed Slemmer, making her one of the youngest women to be sent to death row.