The first woman set to be executed by Tennessee in 200 years has had her planned lethal injection halted just one hour before it was due to take place.
Murderer Christa Pike was given a stay of execution by the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit around 9am CT Wednesday after a judge agreed to consider whether childhood sexual abuse she suffered was taken into account when she was first sentenced.
Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch described her decision as a ‘short stay of execution’ while the argument is reviewed. It is unclear exactly how long it will take.
Filings were submitted
To provide well-rounded coverage and a breadth of insight across various events, we rely on contributions from several staff writers, each bringing their own area of expertise to our publication.