First execution of a woman in US state of Tennessee for 200 years halted

A US appeal court on Wednesday halted the ⁠execution of death row inmate Christa Pike in Tennessee, less than two hours before she was scheduled to become the first woman that state has put to death in more than 200 years.

The 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a “short stay of execution” to give it time to weigh Pike’s claim that her allegations of childhood sexual abuse were not adequately considered during her sentencing. The court did not provide a specific time frame.

Pike, whose clemency petition highlighting ‌childhood trauma and sexual abuse was denied by Governor Bill Lee, would be the only person in the modern era of US capital punishment to be executed in Tennessee for a crime committed as a teenager.