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DPA
Washington
The United States on Tuesday carried out the first federal execution in 17 years, after a series of legal battles that ended in the Supreme Court clearing the way for the administration to revive capital punishment by the federal government.
Daniel Lewis Lee, a white supremacist who was convicted of murdering a family of three in the 1990s, was put to death by lethal injection in the US state of Indiana, the Department of Justice said in a press release.
The execution was due to take place on Monday, but was delayed by a US District Court judge to allow death row inmates to continue legal challenges against the new lethal injection protocol announced by the government last year.
The Supreme Court then overturned the halt in a late-night order.
The victims’ relatives had earlier attempted to delay the execution, citing concerns that they would be exposed to the coronavirus if they attended, though that halt was overturned by a federal appeals court.
The decision to go ahead with the execution - the first at a federal level since 2003 - has been criticized as a political move, with civil rights activists expressing concern about cases being rushed.
Three more federal executions are scheduled in the next few weeks.
Attorney General William Barr last summer announced he was bringing back the death penalty, of which President Donald Trump has been a long-time vocal advocate.
Washington
The United States on Tuesday carried out the first federal execution in 17 years, after a series of legal battles that ended in the Supreme Court clearing the way for the administration to revive capital punishment by the federal government.
Daniel Lewis Lee, a white supremacist who was convicted of murdering a family of three in the 1990s, was put to death by lethal injection in the US state of Indiana, the Department of Justice said in a press release.
The execution was due to take place on Monday, but was delayed by a US District Court judge to allow death row inmates to continue legal challenges against the new lethal injection protocol announced by the government last year.
The Supreme Court then overturned the halt in a late-night order.
The victims’ relatives had earlier attempted to delay the execution, citing concerns that they would be exposed to the coronavirus if they attended, though that halt was overturned by a federal appeals court.
The decision to go ahead with the execution - the first at a federal level since 2003 - has been criticized as a political move, with civil rights activists expressing concern about cases being rushed.
Three more federal executions are scheduled in the next few weeks.
Attorney General William Barr last summer announced he was bringing back the death penalty, of which President Donald Trump has been a long-time vocal advocate.
