Christa Pike receives last minute stay of execution

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has approved a last-minute request for a stay of execution for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row. Gov. Bill Lee had announced Monday he would not grant Pike clemency. Attorney’s for Pike released a statement that said: “The court has stayed this recognizing the serious concerns about Christa’s scheduled execution.” Pike was convicted of brutally killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville in 1995. Pike’s execution was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 30. In a hearing last month, Pike’s legal team argued that the state’s execution protocols would make Pike’s death torturous because of her physical, medical and psychological conditions, including PTSD.