The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on Wednesday that permits the state of Tennessee to move forward with the execution of Christa Pike. The high court’s order effectively overturned an eleventh-hour stay previously granted by an appeals court, which had temporarily halted the process. The execution, which is to be carried out by lethal injection, was originally scheduled for earlier on Wednesday before the legal intervention occurred.

This development is significant as it clears the way for Tennessee to execute a woman for the first time in more than 200 years. The Supreme Court’s decision was not unanimous; the three liberal justices on the bench dissented, though the specific reasoning behind their opposition was not detailed in the initial reports. While the legal path is now clear for the state, the case has drawn attention due to both the rarity of female executions in the state and the last-minute nature of the judicial back-and-forth. The Hill and BBC News both confirm the lifting of the stay, though they differ slightly in their focus on the historical context of the execution versus the immediate procedural timeline.