Execution of US murderer Christa Pike halted shortly before it was due to happen

Fonte da imagem, Departamento de Correções do Tennessee Legenda da imagem, Se a execução prosseguir, Christa Pike seria a primeira mulher a ser executada no Tennessee em mais de 200 anos.

• Published30 September 2026, 15:33 BST.

Supremo Tribunal dos EUA nega última tentativa de Christa Pike de impedir execução Publicado há 23 horas.

The execution of Tennessee inmate Christa Pike has been halted just over an hour before it was due to happen.

Pike, 50, has been awaiting execution since she was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer.

In their ruling on Wednesday, judges from the Sixth Circuit Appeals court said they needed more time to consider the arguments in Pike's case. It is unclear how long the pause will last.

Esta decisão mais recente vem depois que o Supremo Tribunal negou um alívio e o governador do Tennessee recusou conceder o pedido de clemência de Pike no início desta semana.

Her lawyers said that for years, the state of Tennessee argued in court that Pike had lied about being sexually abused as a child.

But at a recent hearing about her execution method, the State said it does not dispute she suffered sexual abuse and rape.

A equipe jurídica de Pike pediu ao tribunal de apelações que devolvesse sua moção ao tribunal distrital, argumentando que, se os tribunais federais basearam sua decisão na alegação anterior do estado de que ela estava mentindo, então a revisão federal foi afetada.

The appeal that led to Wednesday's stay is different from that made to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear Pike's appeal.

Isso surgiu do seu desafio ao método de injeção letal do Tennessee, que os advogados de Pike disseram que poderia causar sofrimento além do necessário para executar a sentença de morte – algo que a Constituição não permite.

The lawyers argued that Tennessee's procedures had denied Pike a fair chance to prove this.

We will continue to advocate for the lawfully imposed sentence as the courts work through this technical issue," Tennessee's Attorney General said in a statement.

It is common in capital cases for the defence to raise last minute objections following decades of litigation in numerous courts. We are asking the Supreme Court of the United States to lift the stay.

Fonte da imagem, folheto da família Legenda da imagem Colleen Slemmer tinha 19 anos quando foi assassinada em 1995.

She was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and murdered Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old they met at a job training camp for troubled teens.

O assassinato provocou uma febre midiática em Knoxville, Tennessee, em 1995, quando a adolescente foi encontrada com um pentagrama — um símbolo associado a grupos satânicos — gravado em seu peito.

Pike has denied carving the pentagram herself.

She had accused Slemmer of insulting her and trying to steal her boyfriend. Two other residents at the camp later testified that Pike had bragged about the murder before and after and showed them a piece of Slemmer's skull.

Um ano depois, Pike foi condenado à morte, enquanto Shipp – que tinha 17 anos na época – recebeu uma sentença de prisão perpétua com possibilidade de liberdade condicional.

Pike has a documented history of childhood sexual abuse, abandonment and neglect. Her lawyers believe that if she was found guilty of the same crime today as a teenager she would not receive a death sentence.

Last year, Tennessee's Supreme Court ruled Pike had not shown circumstances that would justify commuting her sentence.

No momento de sua prisão, Pike era a pessoa mais jovem na fila da pena de morte, segundo o Departamento de Correções do Tennessee.

US Supreme Court denies Christa Pike's last-ditch bid to halt execution.

Assassina Christa Pike será executada em poucos dias - mas sua defesa diz que ela também é vítima.