Updated

Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee's death row, came within an hour of being executed on September 30 when a federal appeals court issued a stay — before the U.S. Supreme Court lifted that stay and allowed the execution to proceed. Witnesses reported that after two syringes of lethal injection chemicals were administered, Pike remained alive, prompting confusion about the execution's status. Pike, sentenced nearly three decades ago, would have been the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years. The case drew national attention for its last-minute legal whiplash, with justices including Sonia Sotomayor weighing in on the court's decision to allow the execution to move forward despite the complications during the procedure.