At the 90th minute: Execution of 'satanic murderer' Christa Pike halted

A federal appeals court ordered a halt to the execution of Christa Pike, who was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. The order came an hour before the scheduled time, after the Supreme Court had earlier rejected her lawyers' appeal. The judges stated they want to examine whether claims of childhood sexual abuse were considered in her sentencing.

Drama in Tennessee: A federal appeals court ordered Wednesday evening (September 30) to halt the execution of Christa Pike, who was set to become the first woman executed in the state in over 200 years. The order came an hour before the scheduled time, after the U.S. Supreme Court had earlier rejected her lawyers' request to intervene. The judges stated they want to examine whether claims of childhood sexual abuse and rape were fully considered before she was sentenced to death in 1996. Pike was 18 when she murdered her classmate Colleen Slemmer in January 1995, along with her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp. The sentence made her one of the youngest women sentenced to death in the U.S. Her lawyers argued she suffered from untreated mental illness and that such a sentence would not be imposed today. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee rejected a clemency request from Pike, now 50, this week.