US Supreme Court lifts stay, clearing way for Tennessee execution
The court’s order allows Tennessee to proceed with Christa Pike’s scheduled execution after an appeals court paused it to consider her sentencing claims.
The US Supreme Court overturned a last-minute stay that had halted Tennessee’s scheduled execution of Christa Pike, clearing the way for the state to proceed. The court’s conservative majority gave no explanation for its order.
The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals had issued the stay to consider whether allegations of childhood sexual abuse were fully considered when Pike was sentenced to death. Three liberal justices dissented. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the decision prevented the appeals court from giving due consideration to Pike’s claim.
Tennessee’s Department of Correction said it planned to carry out the execution on Wednesday night, before the state order’s midnight cut-off. The source account does not confirm whether it took place.
Pike and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, were convicted in 1995 of killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike, who was 18 at the time, received a death sentence; Shipp received life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.
Pike’s lawyers and supporters have argued that her age, mental illness and allegations of severe childhood abuse should be considered in assessing her sentence. The appeals court stay was issued to examine whether the abuse allegations had been fully considered at sentencing.
If carried out, the execution would be Tennessee’s first of a woman in at least 200 years, according to the Death Penalty Information Center’s executive director. The centre cautions that incomplete historical records make the precise date difficult to establish.
