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Federal Government Executes Alfred Bourgeois, Second Inmate in Two Days

Bourgeois killed his own 2-year-old daughter by smashing her head into his dashboard after she upended her potty training seat.

The United States executed Alfred Bourgeois by lethal injection late Friday at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Bourgeois, 56, is the federal government’s second execution in two days and the 10th this year, following the high-profile execution of Brandon Bernard, 40, on Thursday night. Bourgeois was convicted of torturing, sexually abusing, and murdering his 2-year-old daughter by smashing her head into his car dashboard repeatedly after she upended her potty training seat. He has been on death row for 15 years, and his lawyers have argued that an intellectual disability should preclude him from facing the death penalty. Donald Trump’s administration resumed federal executions this summer after a 17-year-hiatus. The Justice Department has scheduled the deaths of three more inmates, including the first woman to face federal execution in nearly 70 years, before President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January.