Court Halts Christa Pike Execution With an Hour to Go

Christa Pike's scheduled death by lethal injection in Tennessee came to an abrupt halt just an hour before it was set to begin. The US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit on Wednesday paused her execution "until further order of this court," reports the Tennessean. "The court has stayed this recognizing the serious concerns about Christa's scheduled execution," said Stephen Ferrell, a member of Pike's legal team. The court said it wanted to review whether Pike's allegations of sexual abuse and rape as a child were fully considered before she was sentenced to death, reports the AP.

Pike, 50, is the only woman on Tennessee's death row and her execution would be the first of a woman in the state in at least 200 years. She was 18 when she was convicted and sentenced to die for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville—the minimum age at which a person can receive the death penalty. Had the execution proceeded at 10am Wednesday at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Pike would have been the first person put to death in Tennessee for a crime committed at 18 since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. She had recently said that she was "at peace" with her fate.