The high court’s action Wednesday granted Tennessee’s emergency request to vacate the stay issued by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling removes that particular legal barrier to Pike’s execution, which had been scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
The Supreme Court’s brief majority order did not explain its reasoning or decide the merits of Pike’s underlying legal claim. It also did not state whether Pike’s execution was ultimately carried out or provide a new execution date or time.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The dissent argued the 6th Circuit should have been allowed to complete its review before an irreversible execution took place.
Earlier Wednesday, a divided 6th Circuit panel issued what it called a short stay of execution at 8:17 a.m. CDT, less than two hours before Pike’s scheduled execution.
The appeals court said it needed time to consider a procedural question involving Pike’s request to reopen her earlier federal habeas case. The order did not overturn Pike’s conviction or death sentence.
Pike’s attorneys argue Tennessee’s recent acknowledgment that she suffered severe childhood sexual abuse and rape undermines the foundation of earlier court proceedings.
During an August hearing in a separate challenge, a state attorney said Tennessee did not dispute the “terrible things” Pike had suffered and did not intend to minimize her trauma.
Pike’s attorneys contend earlier courts treated her abuse history differently while considering her claim that trial lawyers failed to adequately investigate and present mitigating evidence during the sentencing phase.
The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office told FOX 17 News:
“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 had asked the 6th Circuit to allow her to reopen her 2016 federal habeas case under Rule 60(b)(6), a rule that can permit a court to revisit a final judgment in extraordinary circumstances.
A federal district court transferred that request to the 6th Circuit, finding it should be treated as a second or successive habeas petition. Pike challenged that conclusion, and the 6th Circuit’s temporary stay was meant to allow the court to examine the issue.
https://fox17.com/news/local/tennessee-grants-temporary-stay-of-execution-for-christa-pike
_______________
Follow! Like! Share! Subscribe!
WZTV on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foxnashville/
WZTV on X: https://twitter.com/FOXNashville
https://fox17.com
Email us: news@fox17.com
Call the Newsroom: 615.369.1717
Fox 17 provides local news, weather, sports, traffic and entertainment for Nashville and nearby towns and communities in Middle Tennessee, including Forest Hills, Brentwood, Franklin, Fairview, Dickson, Clarksville, White House, Greenbrier, Springfield, Gallatin, Hartsville, Lebanon, Mt Juliet, Smyrna, College Grove, Thompson’s Station, Centerville, Murfreesboro, Columbia, Lewisburg, Shelbyville, Manchester, McMinnville, Smithville, Sparta, Cookeville, Hohenwald, Waverly, Camden, Paris, Lafayette, Portland, and in Kentucky, Russelville, Bowling Green, Franklin, Alvaton, Scottsville, Hopkinsville, Glasgow.
#WZTV #fox17news #foxnashville #nashville #tennessee #tn #middletn #localnews #breakingnews #trending
