Tennessee urges Supreme Court to let Christa Pike’s execution go ahead today after last-minute lethal injection reprieve: Live updates | Daily Mail Online

Tennessee urges Supreme Court to let Christa Pike's execution go ahead today after last-minute lethal injection reprieve: Live updates | Daily Mail Online UK Home US EditionSelect EditionUKUSAUIEYou're viewing the US editionYou can switch to the UK, AU or IE homepage at any time using this menu.OkayLoginHome US Showbiz TV Sports US Politics Royals News Crime Desk Lifestyle Money U.K. Buyline Games Home US Showbiz TV Sports US Politics Royals News Crime Desk Lifestyle Money U.K. Buyline Games Copy Link Email Facebook X WhatsApp LinkedIn Reddit Messenger Snapchat Flipboard Pinterest Advertisement LIVETennessee urges Supreme Court to let Christa Pike's execution go ahead today after last-minute lethal injection reprieve: Live updates By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and KATRINA SCHOLLENBERGER, US HEAD OF LIVE NEWS Updated: 12:55 EDT, 30 September 2026 Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike's execution was sensationally halted at the eleventh hour today after 'serious concerns' were raised about her past.

Now, the Tennessee Attorney General's Office is asking the Supreme Court to lift the court's stay that paused the execution. The agency said it would 'continue to advocate for the lawfully-imposed sentence as the courts work through this technical issue.' Pike's execution, which was due to take place in Nashville, Tennessee, at 10am CT/ 11am ET Wednesday, was stayed until further notice after the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said concerns had been raised, The Tennessean first reported. Pike, now 50, received the death sentence when she was 18 for torturing and murdering fellow Knoxville Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer, 19, in 1995.

Her execution, which was to be administered by lethal injection

Her execution, which was to be administered by lethal injection, would have been the state's first execution of a woman in 200 years. The judge overseeing the case said they wanted to review whether her allegations of sexual abuse and rape when she was a young child were fully considered before her sentencing. According to court documents, Pike was a rape victim, repeatedly targeted by her grandmother's boyfriend and her neighbor between the ages of preschool and eleven years old.

She was also sexually assaulted by a stranger in the woods on her walk home at 17 years old, court records reveal. Following this, Pike's attorneys and several women's advocacy groups have made an argument about why she should be spared execution on the grounds of her traumatic upbringing. Follow the Daily Mail for the latest updates…

Key details

Tennessee AG asks Supreme Court to overturn last-minute stay of execution The Tennessee Attorney General's Office has asked the US Supreme Court to lift the stay on Christa Pike's execution. The Sixth Circuit granted a stay -that Pike did not even request – without determining that Pike is likely to succeed on the merits and without addressing the last-minute nature of her (motion to reopen old proceedings),' the attorney general's request said, which was provided to The Tennessean. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement: 'We will continue to advocate for the lawfully imposed sentence as the courts work through this technical issue.' His office said in capital cases it is common for the defense to raise 'last-minute objections following decades of litigation in numerous courts.' 16:56Christa Pike suffers from bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorder Pike's bipolar disordered was identified 'years' after she was sentenced for the murder of Colleen Slemmer.

Pike suffered racing thoughts, impulsivity, insomnia and mood swings as a result of her diagnoses. 'At 18 years old, her immature, traumatized brain made her exceptionally vulnerable to impulses and extremely poor decisions,' Dr. Bethany Brand, a clinical psychologist with over three decades of specializing in the assessment and treatment of trauma-related disorders said.

She described Pike's history as 'extraordinarily severe extreme trauma,' and that left 'unmedicated and untreated, she was not able to put the "brakes on" her bipolar-and trauma-triggered emotions.' 16:04Pike could get a new execution date If Christa Pike is not put to death today, the court could schedule a new execution date for her. Kelley Henry, chief of the capital habeas unit in the Federal Public Defender's Office, who is not involved in the case, told The Tennessean that if Pike is not executed by the end of the day, the court will have to set a new execution date. 15:51Who are the judges that halted Christa Pike's execution?

She described Pike's history as 'extraordinarily severe extreme trauma,' and

Three judges from the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit granted Christa Pike a stay of execution hours before she was set to die by lethal injection. The panel was split 2-1, and the execution is now on pause until the court issues another ruling. Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, who was appointed by Barack Obama, wrote in the majority opinion that a 'short stay of execution' is needed 'in order to properly analyze the parties’ fully briefed arguments and resolve the issues on the merits.' Bill Clinton appointed Judge Karen Nelson Moore agreed.

Judge Richard Allen Griffin, who was appointed by George W Bush, voted to deny the stay. 15:29Crowds gather outside Nashville prison Crowds both in support of and against the death penalty gathered outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Wednesday, where Christa Pike was scheduled to be executed. 15:16Pike was convicted of attempted murder of a fellow inmate while incarcerated Christa Pike received the death sentence when she was 18 for torturing and murdering fellow Knoxville Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer, 18, in 1995.

She has been awaiting execution at the Debra K. On August 24, 2001, while incarcerated, Pike was convicted of attempted first-degree murder in the assault on inmate Patricia Jones, which added 25 years to her sentence, according to the Tennessee Department of Corrections. 15:11How long will the stay of execution last?

The federal court decision put a 'short stay of execution' on Christa Pike's death sentence. The stay will allow three judges, who are Clinton, W. Bush and Obama appointees, to 'properly analyze the parties’ fully briefed arguments and resolve the issues on the merits.' The judges must decide whether to allow Pike to reopen a court proceeding in the Eastern District of Tennessee.

---

Source transparency: Call Out News independently prepared this report from Daily Mail US. It is not a reproduction of any source report.