The court's ruling came less than 24 hours before Pike's scheduled execution on Sept. 30. It follows earlier rejections from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and lower courts, which had already turned down arguments to halt the execution.
Amnesty International pushed Gov. Lee to step in before the Supreme Court ruled, calling it "unthinkable" that he would let the execution proceed. The organization's appeal did not change the outcome. With the nation's highest court now siding with the state, Pike has run out of legal options to stop her death.
Her case draws attention because of her rare status. Few women sit on death row nationwide, and Pike stands alone in that category in Tennessee. Barring any last-minute intervention that hasn't happened, her execution will end a case that moved through Tennessee's courts, the governor's office, and now the U.S. Supreme Court in the span of a day.