A federal appellate court issued a stay of execution on Wednesday morning, preventing the carrying out of the capital sentence against the sole female inmate on Tennessee’s death row approximately one hour prior to the scheduled execution time.
In a decision rendered at the eleventh hour, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit determined that it was necessary to undertake a review of the legal arguments presented by Christa Pike’s counsel in their effort to forestall her execution.
“The interests of justice and the finality of Pike’s impending execution compel the entry of a short stay of execution in order to properly analyze the parties’ fully briefed arguments and resolve the issues on the merits,” the court said.
