What happens next after Christa Pike's execution was halted just one hour before it was to take place
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
As Christa Pike's execution was halted just one hour before it was scheduled to take place in Tennessee.
The US Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit granted a stay, pausing the lethal injection of the 50-year-old convicted killer - who was sentenced to death back in March 1996 for the premeditated murder of her 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in Knoxville.
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Now, questions remain over what will happen next following the legal intervention by the appeals court.
The court halted the procedure to review whether Pike's childhood history of sexual abuse and rape was properly considered, with Pike's attorneys flagging that moving forward would make her the first teenage offender executed in Tennessee's modern era.
If the lethal injection proceeds, she would be the first woman executed by the state in more than 200 years.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee previously denied her petition for clemency following a thorough review of the case, but in the official order granting the delay, the court noted they needed more time to properly review the case details.
The document read: "...it is ORDERED that execution of the sentence of death upon the movant is STAYED until further order of this court."
Legal experts suggest the delay could last anywhere from a few hours to a broader court review.
WBIR investigative producer John North explained to his station that the situation could be resolved rapidly depending on how the judges proceed.
"I don't think it would be as long as days or weeks, but it certainly could very well be hours. That's just the way it is," he told WBIR Channel 10.
"That's just the way these things kind of happen - the courts operate at their own pace. I would guess, that we will have a couple things happen today.
"We will either get this resolved legally from the court's perspective. Either they will say, 'No, everything's been resolved. This is not a legitimate issue that needs to be further scrutinized, the execution can go forward', or the, the full en banc panel or the United States Supreme Court could say, 'Okay, you know, let's stop this now. Let's take a look at this latest sort of habeas emergency issue that's been raised, and we'll further litigate it'."
He continued: "It's kind of hard to tell. If I were to guess - probably shouldn't guess - but if I were to guess, I'd say we're looking at a matter of hours and then ultimately at some point today, I would guess they'll probably carry it out.
"That's what happened, as I mentioned, with Robert Glen Coe, but it's the court system, and I never try to assume I know everything that's going to happen."
Colleen Slemmer's mom, May Martinez, traveled all the way from Florida to Tennessee to witness the execution at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.
Martinez previously stated she wanted the sentence carried out so her daughter could rest without constant reminders.
Pike was 18 when she and 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp attacked Slemmer in a Knoxville woods area - beating her for 30 minutes, and carved a pentagram into her chest before ending her life in January 1995.
Pike currently remains on death watch at the Nashville facility.
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
Joe Yates