Tennessee woman still alive after attempts to execute her, lawyers say

The court’s order came after a divided panel on a federal appeals court earlier in the day briefly paused the execution and said more time was needed to consider the case. Her lawyers had argued that Pike’s initial legal defence did not adequately present her history of child sexual abuse and neglect.

The three liberal justices on the Supreme Court dissented from the order allowing the execution to proceed, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing that the majority “unnecessarily prevents” the appeals court from fully considering Pike’s argument.

“I see no reason to short-circuit the ordinary process of appellate review, particularly in light of the grave consequences of an erroneous decision,” Sotomayor wrote. She was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Sotomayor added that “Tennessee’s desire to expedite Pike’s execution by a few days or even weeks cannot outweigh” Pike’s interest in protecting her own life.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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