US Supreme Court sides with Tennessee to allow its first execution of a woman in 200 years

Death row inmate Christa Pike, held at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution (RMSI) in Tennessee and convicted of murdering a schoolmate three decades ago, who is due to be executed by lethal injection on Sep 30, 2026, is shown in this 2023 Tennessee Department of Correction booking photograph. (File photo: Tennessee Department of Correction via Reuters)

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WASHINGTON: The United States Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday (Sep 30) that Tennessee could proceed with its first execution of a woman in 200 years, clearing the way for Christa Pike to be put to death by lethal injection for murdering a schoolmate as an 18-year-old three decades ago.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement to Reuters afterwards that it planned "to move forward with the execution today".

Pike, 50, whose clemency petition highlighting childhood trauma and sexual abuse was denied by Governor Bill Lee on Monday, would also be the only person in the modern era of US capital punishment to be executed in Tennessee for a crime committed as a teenager.

In an order decided by its 6-3 conservative majority, the Supreme Court lifted a stay of execution that was granted by a three-judge panel of the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals one hour before Pike had been scheduled to be put to death.

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