Federal court halts execution of Christa Pike in 11th hour

A federal court has stayed the execution of Christa Pike less than two hours before it was set to be carried out.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an order the morning of Sept. 30 staying Pike's execution "until further order of this court," citing new arguments relating to Pike's traumatic childhood, which was marked by years of sexual assaults.

"The interests of justice and the finality of Pike’s impending execution compel the entry of a short stay of execution in order to properly analyze the parties’ fully briefed arguments and resolve the issues on the merit," the court wrote in the order obtained by USA TODAY.

It was not immediately clear what the court meant by a "short stay" and whether Pike's execution could still be carried out later on Sept. 30. Her execution had been set for 10 a.m. ET.

If Pike's execution does proceed, she would become the first woman put to death in the state in more than 200 years and only the third woman to be executed in the U.S. in the past decade. Pike, 50, was convicted of the prolonged and brutal 1995 murder of her romantic rival, 19-year-old Colleen…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/