Federal appeals court pauses execution of Tennessee's only woman on death row

Christa Pike, 50, was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday at 10 a.m. CT. That was the scheduled time for the state to carry out her death sentence.

In a 2-1 decision issued within two hours of the scheduled execution, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit paused it until a further court order. Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch wrote that the pause was necessary to review whether Pike's allegations of childhood sexual abuse and rape had been fully considered before she was sentenced to death.

Tennessee Department of Correction Warden Kenneth Nelsen asked the Supreme Court to lift the stay. He argued that Pike was unlikely to succeed because her claim had already been presented unsuccessfully, and cited the state's interest in finality and surviving victims' right to closure.

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike was taken to hospital after an attempt to execute her with two lethal injections failed, her lawyer said. The lawyer's account described a failed execution attempt followed by hospitalization.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said he ordered a comprehensive review by an outside party to establish exactly what happened. In the same statement, he said the year's last remaining execution would not go ahead as planned.

Tennessee's execution protocol provides for a second set of drug syringes if the person does not die after the first set. It does not specify what should happen if the person remains alive after the second set.

The attempt followed a Supreme Court decision late Wednesday overturning a reprieve that a lower court had granted earlier that day. The lower court had paused the execution because it needed more time to consider the arguments in Pike's case.

Lawyer says Christa Pike hospitalized after failed execution attempt

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