Trump Administration Carries Out First Federal Execution in 17 Years
LIFE OR DEATH
The Trump administration has carried out the first federal execution since 2003 after getting the go-ahead from the Supreme Court. Convicted killer Daniel Lewis Lee was scheduled to receive a lethal injection Monday—but a court order from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan prevented his execution. The Supreme Court then reversed the lower court decision with a 5-4 vote, writing in an unsigned opinion that “executions may proceed as planned.” The four liberal justices dissented, according to the Associated Press. The execution took place hours later—Tim Evans, a journalist for the Indianapolis Star who witnessed the event, said Lee’s last words were: “You’re killing an innocent man.” Lee was executed by lethal injection at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was convicted in Arkansas of the 1996 killings of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife, Nancy, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell. It was the first federal execution since Louis Jones was killed in 2003 for the 1995 murder of a young woman soldier.