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Exact reason Christa Pike's execution is halted in the eleventh hour as everyone asks the question of why
Just an hour before she was set to become the first woman to be given the lethal injection in Texas in over 200 years, Christa Pike’s permanent punishment was temporarily halted.
At the very last minute, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit approved a last-minute request for a stay of execution for Pike, meaning her life was spared, even if it may only be for a short while.
Authorities want to investigation her allegations of abuse
According to judges, they want to carry out a thorough review of whether her allegations of sexual abuse and rape as a child were fully considered before she was sentenced to death.
Pike, 50, was just 18 when she was sentenced to spend the rest of her life on death row after she tortured and killed fellow student Colleen Slemmer, 19, with the help of her boyfriend in 1995.
The death row inmate’s legal team fought until the last moment to have her sentence reduced to life imprisonment, citing her childhood trauma involving sexual and physical abuse, neglect, and domestic violence, which was never addressed by prosecutors during her initial trial three decades ago.
Christa was sexually abused between the ages of two and five. It also noted that she was allegedly raped by a 37-year-old neighbor who received a suspended sentence when she was just 11.
Christa also claims that at 17, she was dragged into the woods and raped by a stranger while on her way to a shop. Attorneys claim the attacker was never identified.
Shortly after being sentenced to death, the teenager was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD.
Christa’s longstanding legal team argues that excluding details about her past abuse stopped jurors from fully understanding that they were prosecuting a troubled teenager, not a heinous villain.
It has not been revealed when Christa will have her punishment
In the new petition, her attorneys wrote: “Christa was broken, not evil. She was broken by a mental health system, juvenile system, and a criminal justice system that ignored, misdiagnosed, and mistreated her at every turn.”
Since the announcement that her final punishment has been paused, Christa’s attorney has said: “The court has stayed this, recognizing the serious concerns about Christa’s scheduled execution.”
While it has not yet been decided when or if her execution will go ahead, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said Pike's execution is now stayed "until further order of this court.”