Christa Pike Execution Halted as Federal Appeals Court Grants Stay Before Scheduled Lethal Injection

Christa Pike’s execution has been halted after a federal appeals court granted her a stay on the morning she was due to receive a lethal injection.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit issued an order on Wednesday, September 30, staying Pike’s execution “until further order of this court.”

According to the Tennessean, her attorneys confirmed the decision in an emailed statement.

The court has stayed this, recognizing the serious concerns about Christa’s scheduled execution, Stephen Ferrell of the Federal Defenders Services of Eastern Tennessee said.

Pike had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection at 10 a.m. on September 30 at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

What prompted Christa Pike’s execution?

Pike, 50, is the only woman currently on Tennessee’s death row.

She was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville.

Pike was 18 when Slemmer was killed, making her the youngest age at which someone could be sentenced to death in Tennessee.

Prosecutors said Pike and her then-boyfriend, who was 17 at the time, lured Slemmer into a wooded area before killing her.

Pike has acknowledged her role in Slemmer’s death.

Her attorneys have argued that her age, history of severe trauma, and mental health struggles should be considered in determining whether her death sentence should be carried out.

Christa Pike execution halted

The appeals court’s order means Pike will not be executed as scheduled while the court considers the case.

The stay does not overturn her conviction or death sentence. Instead, it pauses execution until the court issues a further order.

If Pike’s execution eventually goes ahead, she would be the first person put to death in Tennessee for a crime committed at age 18 since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.

Pike was also facing execution as Tennessee prepared to carry out its second execution of 2026.

Tennessee executions in 2026

Anthony Darrell Hines was executed by Tennessee on August 13, making him the state’s first execution this year.

Another Tennessee death row inmate, Tony Carruthers, had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection on May 21.

However, his execution was called off at the last minute after medical professionals were unable to find a suitable vein for the IV.