A countdown for a historic execution in the U.S. had begun: it was called off an hour before.

A decision that drew attention only an hour before Christa Pike's scheduled execution in Tennessee was issued. The federal appellate court said it needed more time to consider the legal objections in Pike's case and postponed the execution.

Pike's execution by lethal injection was planned. Had the execution taken place, it would have been the first time a woman had been executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously cleared the way for the execution, and the Tennessee governor had rejected Pike's pardon request.

The murder committed in 1995 shook the United States.

Today 50‑year‑old Christa Pike was sentenced to death for the murder of 19‑year‑old Colleen Slemmer, which she committed with her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp when they met in a vocational training program at age 18.

The murder committed in 1995 remained on the national agenda for a long time. According to information in the report, Pike accused Slemmer of insulting her and attempting to take her boyfriend. After the incident, Pike was sentenced to death, while Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence.

The defense brought up abuse during the defendant's childhood.

Pike's attorneys, however, have been drawing attention to their client's childhood in the years-long legal battle. The defense team argues that Pike suffered serious neglect, physical and sexual abuse in his childhood, and that this background was not adequately conveyed to the jury during the initial trial.

The forensic psychologist Dr. Diana McCoy's assessment also contained findings that Pike had experienced serious neglect and abuse during his childhood. However, it was noted that the original defense team did not call McCoy to testify and failed to summon some of the suggested witnesses. Years later, the new defense team raised the issue as a claim of 'ineffective legal representation,' but the court rejected that allegation.

The appellate court intervened.

The legal process that paved the way for Pike's execution was largely complete. The Tennessee Supreme Court had previously ruled that there were no conditions warranting a reduction of the sentence.

However, shortly before the execution, a stay order came from the federal appellate court. The court, stating that more time was needed to review the legal arguments in the file, halted the execution. Thus, Pike's scheduled execution on September 30 was postponed at the last moment.

The victim's mother wants the execution carried out.

On the other side of the lawsuit, there is the years‑long waiting of Colleen Slemmer's family, who was killed. Colleen's mother May Martinez has repeatedly expressed that she wants Pike to be executed.

Martinez, saying she relives the pain of her daughter's death every day, said that carrying out Pike's sentence would bring an end to the long‑running process for her.

The execution of women in the United States is quite rare.

One of the factors that makes Pike's file stand out is the infrequent application of death sentences against female inmates in the United States. According to the data shared, since the 1970s, 18 women have been executed in the United States, while the number of men executed in the same period is recorded as 1,663.

With the postponement of Christa Pike's execution, attention has now turned to the federal appeals process. The court’s forthcoming assessment will determine the next stage of the legal process regarding whether Pike's death sentence will be carried out.