Tennessee Execution of Christa Pike Halted by Federal Appeals Court
The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted a "short stay of execution" for Christa Pike, preventing what would have marked Tennessee's first execution of a woman in 200 years. This decision was made to give the court time to review Pike's assertion that her childhood sexual abuse claims were insufficiently considered during sentencing; however, no specific duration for the stay was provided. In 1995, at the age of 18, Pike killed Colleen Slemmer and has since claimed to be a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Governor Bill Lee rejected her clemency request, which emphasized her traumatic past. If carried out, Pike would have been the first individual in modern US capital punishment history executed in Tennessee for a crime committed as a minor.
Key facts
- The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a "short stay of execution" for Christa Pike.
- The stay allows the court time to weigh Pike's claim that her childhood sexual abuse allegations were not adequately considered at sentencing.
- The court did not provide a specific time frame for the stay.
- Pike was 18 when she murdered Colleen Slemmer in 1995.
- Pike has alleged she was a victim of childhood sexual abuse.
- Governor Bill Lee denied Pike's clemency petition, which highlighted childhood trauma and sexual abuse.
- The execution would have been Tennessee's first of a woman in 200 years.
- Pike would have been the only person in the modern era of US capital punishment executed in Tennessee for a crime committed as a teenager.
Entities
Artists
- Christa Pike
- Colleen Slemmer
- Bill Lee
Institutions
- 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals
Locations
- Tennessee
- United States