Christa Pike Execution Halted at the Last Minute After Supreme Court Rejects Appeal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Christa Pike’s scheduled execution was halted Wednesday morning, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected her final request to stop the death sentence.

Pike, 50, had been scheduled to die by lethal injection at 10 a.m. CDT on Sept. 30 for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.

But roughly one hour before the scheduled execution, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a temporary stay, putting the execution on hold while the court reviews Pike’s latest legal filing.

The order stated that Pike’s execution is stayed “until further order of this court.” The ruling does not overturn her conviction or death sentence.

Supreme Court Had Rejected Pike’s Final Request

The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled the previous day against Pike.

In an order dated Sept. 29, the high court denied both her application for a stay of execution and her petition asking the justices to hear her appeal.

That decision appeared to clear the way for Tennessee to carry out the execution as scheduled.

Gov. Bill Lee had also declined to grant clemency earlier in the week.

But the legal battle changed again Wednesday morning when the Sixth Circuit intervened.

Why Did the Appeals Court Step In?

The federal appeals court is considering whether Pike’s latest filing should be treated as a procedural request to reopen her federal case or as a new, successive habeas petition.

The court said additional time was needed to address the issues raised by Pike’s attorneys before allowing the execution to proceed.

Pike’s lawyers have argued that her history of severe childhood abuse and other traumatic experiences were not adequately considered during her sentencing.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office immediately indicated it would challenge the stay and ask the U.S. Supreme Court to lift it.

“We are asking the Supreme Court of the United States to lift the stay,” the office said in a statement reported Wednesday.

Pike Was 18 When Slemmer Was Killed

Pike was 18 years old when Slemmer was killed in January 1995 while the two were participating in the Knoxville Job Corps program.

Prosecutors said Pike and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, lured Slemmer into a wooded area. Pike was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, while Shipp received life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, has spent decades waiting for the sentence to be carried out and had traveled to Tennessee for the scheduled execution.

The last-minute stay means that did not happen Wednesday morning.

What Happens Next?

For now, there is no new execution date under the Sixth Circuit’s order.

The temporary stay remains in effect while the appeals court considers Pike’s filing. Tennessee officials are seeking to have the stay lifted, meaning the case could return to the Supreme Court for another decision.

Pike’s conviction and death sentence remain in place.

The extraordinary sequence of events means her case is still moving through the courts — even after the Supreme Court had rejected her final request to halt the execution the day before.

For Pike, the question is no longer simply whether the Supreme Court would intervene.

It is now whether the Sixth Circuit’s last-minute intervention will survive Tennessee’s challenge.