US Supreme Court has cleared the way for Tennessee to execute Christa Pike, the first woman in the state in 222 years, as a lower court's stay was overturned. The execution, scheduled for Wednesday, will mark a historic moment in US capital punishment.
The execution of Christa Pike, 50, was halted hours before it was set to proceed by a federal appeals court that ordered a 'short stay of execution' to review her claims of childhood sexual abuse. The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the stay, allowing the execution to proceed as planned.
Tennessee's attorney general immediately appealed the ruling, arguing that Pike's legal team had engaged in 'abusive delay tactics'. The state had previously denied clemency requests, and the governor declined to intervene, upholding the sentence. The case has drawn international attention, with experts calling for commutation of her death sentence.
The execution of Pike, who was 18 when she and her boyfriend killed a 19-year-old classmate in 1995, has sparked debate over the treatment of mentally ill defendants and the ethical implications of executing individuals with a history of abuse and trauma.