In a 2-1 decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ordered a stay of execution for Christa Pike, 50, who was scheduled to receive a lethal injection at 10 a.m. CT on Wednesday. Pike was convicted of murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. The stay was granted to examine allegations of childhood sexual abuse and its impact on Pike's sentencing.
Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch wrote that the stay was necessary in the "interests of justice and the finality of Pike's impending execution". The order will remain in effect until further notice. Pike's lawyers argued that her trial counsel failed to present evidence of her childhood trauma during sentencing, which may have affected her mental health.
The Tennessee Department of Correction Warden, Kenneth Nelsen, has asked the US Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court's decision, citing that Pike's claims had already been unsuccessfully raised. Nelsen also argued that the state's "strong interest in finality and the surviving victims' right to closure" should be considered.
Members of Slemmer's family, including her mother, stepfather, and father, were expected to attend the execution. In a filing, Nelsen stated that it was "far past time for Colleen's family to receive the closure they seek". Pike was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and was sentenced to death.
Pike's attorney, Stephen Ferrell, welcomed the federal appeals court's intervention, stating that the court recognized "serious concerns about Christa's scheduled execution". Pike's case has drawn attention due to her claims of childhood trauma and potential PTSD.
The stay is the latest development in Pike's long-running case. In June, she argued that being the only female on death row, surrounded by male corrections officers, would trigger her PTSD and result in a "torturous execution or mental decompensation". The Tennessee Supreme Court rejected those claims.
Pike was convicted of murdering Slemmer, whom she met while working at Jobs Corps in Knoxville. Court records show that Pike beat, tortured, and killed Slemmer in a remote area of the University of Tennessee Agricultural campus in 1995. Her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was also convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Key points
- A federal appeals court has granted a stay of execution for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee's death row.
- The stay was granted to examine allegations of childhood sexual abuse and its impact on Pike's sentencing.
- The US Supreme Court will now consider whether to overturn the appeals court's decision and allow the execution to proceed.
