US appeals court halts Tennessee execution of Christa Pike

Christa Pike was set to become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years.Published On 30 Sep 202630 Sep 2026A federal appeals court has temporarily stopped Tennessee from executing death row inmate Christa Pike, intervening less than two hours before she was due to receive a lethal injection.The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted what it called a “short stay of execution” on Wednesday while judges consider Pike’s argument that evidence of sexual abuse she experienced as a child was not properly weighed when she was sentenced.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Christa Pike seeks firing squad, not lethal injection: Inside US executionslist 2 of 3Walmart settles US government’s opioid lawsuitlist 3 of 3Charlie Kirk statue vandalised outside Turning Point USA headquartersend of listTennessee officials quickly turned to the US Supreme Court, asking the justices to lift the stay and allow the execution to proceed.Pike, 50, had been scheduled to die at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Had the execution gone ahead, she would have been the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than two centuries.She was sentenced to death for the 19...