The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for Tennessee to execute death row inmate Christa Gail Pike for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer after overturning a temporary stay from the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that had halted the lethal injection less than two hours before it was set to take place.

Pike, now 50, had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville at 10 a.m. Central Time Wednesday. The execution was stopped at the last minute when a divided Sixth Circuit panel issued a temporary stay at about 8:17 a.m., saying it needed additional time to consider a legal challenge brought by Pike’s attorneys.

Tennessee immediately appealed the stay to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to allow the execution to proceed. The high court granted the state's request and vacated the lower court's order.

Three justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented from the Supreme Court's decision. The majority did not explain its reasoning in the brief order.

Pike's latest legal challenge centers on allegations that her history of childhood sexual abuse and rape was not adequately considered during the sentencing phase of her case. Her attorneys have argued that the newly emphasized evidence should allow her to reopen an earlier federal habeas case and challenge her death sentence.

The Sixth Circuit's temporary stay was issued specifically to give the court time to consider that procedural issue. The appeals court did not overturn Pike's conviction or death sentence.

The Supreme Court had already rejected a separate request from Pike on Tuesday seeking to halt her execution over challenges involving Tennessee's lethal injection protocol. The court's Sept. 29 order denied both her application for a stay and her petition for review.

Pike was convicted of first-degree murder for the killing of Slemmer, a fellow participant in a Jobs Corps program in Knoxville. Pike was 18 at the time of the 1995 murder. She and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, were convicted in connection with Slemmer's killing, while Shipp received a life sentence with the possibility of parole because he was 17 when the crime occurred.

Pike's case has received renewed attention because of her age at the time of the crime and arguments concerning her childhood abuse. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee previously denied her request for clemency, leaving the death sentence in place.

If carried out, Pike's execution would mark the first time Tennessee has executed a woman in more than 200 years. She is also the only woman currently on Tennessee's death row.

The Supreme Court's decision removes the federal appeals court's stay, but the execution was not immediately carried out following the ruling. Tennessee's current execution order expires at midnight Wednesday, meaning additional action by state authorities could be necessary if the execution does not occur before then.