USA · updated 49m ago · 3 min read
Federal Appeals Court Halts Tennessee Lethal Injection Of Christa Pike
Federal Sixth Circuit granted a short stay minutes before the scheduled execution. Stay to review claims of childhood sexual abuse affecting sentencing.
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Stay Halts Lethal Injection
A federal appeals court halted Tennessee’s scheduled lethal injection of Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, less than two hours before she was due to die at 10 a.m. CT on Wednesday.
Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit wrote that a stay is necessary in the "interests of justice and the finality of Pike's impending execution" to review whether allegations of sexual abuse and rape as a child were fully considered before Pike was sentenced to death.
Tennessee’s Department of Correction Warden Kenneth Nelsen argued that Pike is not likely to succeed because her claim was "already unsuccessfully presented," and he said the state’s "strong interest in finality and the surviving victims' right to closure" require the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate the stay.
Pike, 50, was sentenced to death after being convicted of the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, and the execution was paused while the appeals court reviewed Pike’s arguments.
Judge Richard Allen Griffin dissented, calling the matter "another last-ditch meritless effort to delay a lawful execution."
Arguments, Cleared Way, and Quotes
Tennessee officials quickly turned to the U.S. Supreme Court after the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted what it called a "short stay of execution" on Wednesday while judges considered Pike’s argument about how evidence of childhood sexual abuse was weighed at sentencing.
Stephen Ferrell, an attorney for Pike, said, "The court has stayed this recognizing the serious concerns about Christa's scheduled execution," as Pike’s lawyers sought review of whether counsel in her initial criminal case failed to properly introduce her childhood experiences into her defense.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office said it would continue to advocate for the lawfully imposed sentence as courts worked through a "technical issue," and it said it was asking the U.S. Supreme Court to lift the stay.
Pike wrote in a letter shared by her spiritual adviser that she was "at peace," and she added, "I am not afraid to die. I'm only nervous about the process."
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Pike’s request for a stay on Tuesday, and Pike then filed a motion seeking to review her claim that her trial counsel provided ineffective assistance at sentencing.
Who Wins, What Happens Next
The appeals court’s stay kept Pike from being put to death at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, where witnesses had already gathered as the order arrived about an hour before the scheduled time.
The Guardian reported that Tennessee’s attorney general’s office asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift the stay, arguing that the 11th-hour pause rewarded "abusive delay tactics" by Pike’s attorneys.
The American Civil Liberties Union urged Governor Lee to "respect the court’s decision and call off her execution now," as the case continued to move through the federal courts.
Tennessee’s attorney general’s office said it would continue to "advocate for the lawfully-imposed sentence" while the courts worked through the technical issue, and it said it was common in capital cases for the defense to raise last-minute objections.
Pike’s clemency petition and legal filings centered on allegations of sexual abuse and rape as a child, and the appeals court’s pause was tied to whether those allegations were "fully briefed" and properly analyzed "on the merits."