Supreme Court Lifts Stay, Paving Way for Christa Pike's Execution in Tennessee

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the path for Christa Pike's execution in Tennessee, overturning a stay that had been granted just hours before she was scheduled to die by lethal injection. Pike, 50, was set to be the first woman executed in the state in more than two centuries.

Pike was convicted of murdering her 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in 1995 when she was 18. Prosecutors stated the murder occurred out of jealousy, as Pike believed Slemmer was attempting to steal her boyfriend. Pike, along with her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and friend Shadolla Peterson, lured Slemmer to a secluded area on the University of Tennessee's campus. There, they subjected her to a prolonged torture and murder, which included carving a pentagram into her chest, beating her with a meat cleaver, and repeatedly slashing her throat. The attack concluded with Pike fatally striking Slemmer with a piece of asphalt, and she kept a portion of the victim's skull as a souvenir.

A federal appeals court had issued a last-minute stay of execution, halting the process approximately one hour before it was scheduled to begin. The stay was based on Pike's claims that allegations of childhood sexual abuse and rape were not adequately considered during her sentencing. The order stated the stay would remain in effect "until further order of this court."

The Tennessee Attorney General's office appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the last-minute stay caused trauma to the victim's family and rewarded what they called "abusive delay tactics" by Pike's legal team. A stay of execution in Tennessee typically expires at midnight.

This is not the first time Pike has received additional prison time. In August 2001, she was sentenced to an additional 25 years after being convicted of attempting to strangle another inmate with a shoestring. In March 2012, a plot to help her escape from the Tennessee Prison for Women, involving a corrections officer and a New Jersey personal trainer, was thwarted.

Pike recently stated she felt a "kinship" with Lindsay Clancy, another woman facing charges in a high-profile case, and expressed pleasure at Clancy receiving a mistrial. Pike told The Times of London that they were both women who "got into trouble because of uniquely female issues," adding that she was a mentally ill 18-year-old girl who committed a crime with others but was the only one to receive a death sentence. Pike also reportedly requested an all-female lethal injection team for her execution, citing potential trauma if men were involved.