Inter-American Commission Grants Precautionary Measures Against U.S. in Death penalty case

While federal executions have rapidly escalated in the waning days of the Trump presidency, state level executions continue apace.  Christa Pike, the only woman on death row in Tennessee, has been held in solitary confinement for 23 years -- not because of penological policies, but because she is the only woman on death row and is not allowed to mingle with either men on death row or other female inmates not awaiting execution.  She was convicted of a heinous murder committed when she was 18 years old. 

On December 11, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution granting Pike's request for precautionary measures, filed on her behalf by students and faculty at Cornell Law School and members of the federal defender service.  The United States appeared to defend the execution and the process leading up to it, arguing, among other things, that the IACHR's rulings would not be binding on the US but would simply be taken under advisement.

After examining the submissions, the IACHR requested that the United States of America: a) adopt the necessary measures to protect the life and personal integrity of Christa Pike; b) refrain from carrying out the death penalty on Christa Pike; c) ensure that Christa Pike’s detention conditions are consistent with international standards, giving special consideration to her personal conditions; and, d) agree on the measures to be adopted with the beneficiary and her representatives.  

Christa Pike's execution date has not yet been set, but on December 2, after Pike's petition was filed in the IACHR, the Tennessee Supreme Court granted an extension of time for Pike's response to the state's motion to set an execution date.  Pike's response is now due March 8, 2021.