- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted a last-minute stay of execution for 50-year-old Christa Pike, halting what would have been Tennessee 's first execution of a woman in at least 200 years just an hour before it was scheduled to take place.
- A “stay” pauses the execution until the court issues a further decision. The federal appeals court issued the stay to review whether Pike's allegations of sexual abuse and rape as a child were fully evaluated prior to her original death sentence.
- "To adequately address and resolve the issues now presented to this court and in carefully balancing the equities, we find that a stay of Pike’s execution is necessary," judges wrote.
- Three judges, Clinton, W. Bush and Obama appointees, will now "properly analyze the parties’ fully briefed arguments and resolve the issues on the merits."
- A representative of Pike's attorneys told the media that they don't know how long it will be before a decision is made.
IN FULL
Christa Pike’s execution halted by a court an hour before it was set to take place
