India, Oct. 1 -- The US Supreme Court has officially cleared the way for the state of Tennessee to administer a lethal injection to Christa Pike, lifting a temporary stay of execution on Wednesday evening. The late judicial intervention by the nation's highest court ensures that the fifty-year-old inmate will face capital punishment for a brutal 1995 murder, cementing her status as the only woman currently on the state's death row.

Barring any unforeseen executive clemency, the scheduled procedure will mark a grim historical milestone, as she becomes the first female prisoner to be executed by the state in more than two centuries.

Christa Pike Execution: Why Did The Supreme Court Intervene In The Case?

The decisive intervention from th...