Christa Pike's execution halted by court just one hour before it was to take place
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
The US Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit has stayed the execution of Christa Pike, just moments before she was scheduled to become the first woman to be executed by the state of Tennessee in nearly 200 years.
At the age of 18, Pike murdered 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. The brutality of the murder made headlines at the time; Slemmer was found with a pentagram (a symbol of Satanic ritual) carved into her chest.
Pike had accused her victim of trying to steal her boyfriend. After killing her, she reportedly bragged about it to other people and proceeded to show them a piece of skull she said was Slemmer's.
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In the lead up to her execution date, there were ongoing appeals by her attorneys and other campaign groups, but Tennessee governor Bill Lee denied her clemency on September 28.
"After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike’s request for clemency and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene," a statement from Lee said, per FOX 17.
But now, just moments before her execution was scheduled to take place (September 30), the court of appeals has halted the execution.
The judge noted that they want to review whether her allegations of sexual abuse and rape as a child were fully considered before she was sentenced to death in 1996.
Pike has previously described a childhood marked by sexual, physical and emotional abuse. According to court records and her clemency petition, she said she was sexually abused from the age of two, later raped by a neighbour at 11 and sexually assaulted by one of her mother’s partners at 13.
She also alleged she was raped by a stranger at 17 and experienced physical abuse and neglect at home.
Her attorney released a statement via PR firm Hall Strategies, which reads: "The court has stayed this recognizing the serious concerns about Christa’s scheduled execution."
Prior to the decision to halt her execution this morning, her attorney further claimed: "Moving ahead with her execution puts the State of Tennessee on singular footing: Christa will be the first person Tennessee executes in the modern death penalty era who was a teenager at the time of the offense and the first woman executed by the state in more than 200 years.
"The 18-year-old girl suffering from severe mental illness and near-debilitating trauma no longer exists. Christa is a 50-year-old remorseful woman who understands her actions, receives proper treatment for her mental illness and provides for and guides fellow incarcerated women."
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Topics: True crime, Death Row, US News
Mia Williams