Federal Appeals Court Stays Christa Pike's Execution in Tennessee
A federal court has issued a stay of execution for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee's death row. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the stay, citing the need to properly analyze arguments regarding whether Pike's appeal constitutes a Rule 60(b)(6) motion or a second or successive habeas petition. Pike was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 10 a.m. CDT at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Her attorneys confirmed the stay, emphasizing serious concerns about the scheduled execution. The Tennessee attorney general's office has since asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule the stay and allow the execution to proceed. Governor Bill Lee had previously stated he would not intervene, and the Tennessee Supreme Court also declined to halt the execution last week. The U.S. Supreme Court had also declined a clemency request yesterday.
