NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — The Tennessee Attorney General’s office is now asking the United States Supreme Court to allow Christa Pike’s execution to move forward.
It’s a decision the state says was already considered by the courts and an attempt to revisit a claim. This comes after a federal appeals court has paused the execution for Pike, paperwork obtained by FOX 17 News reveals.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a temporary stay of execution for Pike at 8:17 a.m. CT, according to the court clerk. Pike was scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10 a.m.
In the filing, the central argument is that the state has now changed its position concerning her history of childhood sexual abuse and rape. According to Pike, the state previously treated her as having fabricated that abuse, but recently acknowledged that she did suffer those things.
She argues that this reversal “erodes the foundation” of the earlier state-court proceedings, because the courts’ treatment of her abuse history affected the assessment of her ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim.
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The two-judge majority said it needed more time to resolve the central procedural question and therefore stayed her execution “until further order,” so it could fully analyze the arguments.
The order does not overturn her conviction or death sentence.
The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office told FOX 17 News that it is common in capital punishment cases for last-minute objections from the defense to be raised. Below is the following statement:
“We will continue to advocate for the lawfully-imposed sentence as the courts work through this technical issue. It is common in capital cases for the defense 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.”
Pike’s execution has drawn national attention from opposing sides of whether or not a victim of sexual abuse herself should be executed after the state passed a law in 2024 allowing the death penalty for those accused of aggravated rape of a child.
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Tennessee granted a temporary stay of execution for Christa Pike on Wednesday, Sept.30, 2026, the day of her scheduled execution for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, pictured here. (Photo: SBG)
Pike, now 50, and her boyfriend were convicted of stabbing and beating 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville reportedly over jealously involving the boyfriend.
The couple lured Slemmer into a wooded area, cut her with a box cutter, cutting a pentagram on her body, beat her with a large chunk of asphalt and carving out a piece of her skull. Pike had reportedly bragged about the ordeal.
Pike was sentenced to death while her boyfriend was sentenced to life in prison. Pike’s attorney wants her age at the time to be considered, but others want justice.
Documents conclude there is no new execution date in this order. One judge dissented, arguing Pike’s filing should be dismissed and the execution should move forward.
Ultimately, if the execution proceeds lie in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court recently denied Pike’s request to stop the execution. Pike unsuccessfully asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop her execution based on challenges involving Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol and the process for litigating those claims. The U.S. Supreme Court had not only denied the stay application, but denied to take up the appeal.
On Wednesday, Pike is asking the Sixth Circuit to allow her to reopen her earlier federal habeas case, arguing that Tennessee’s recent acknowledgment of her sexual-abuse history undermines the factual foundation used in earlier proceedings.
FOX 17 News is awaiting the Court’s decision which could come as soon as Wednesday, but timeline is still unknown.
To view the court documents in its entirety, see below:
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Order to StayPDF previewPreview PDF
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Order to Stay
This is a breaking news story. Check back as we learn more.