In what was the first federal execution in 17 years, Daniel Lewis Lee was put to death for slaughtering an Arkansas family, including an eight year old girl in 1996.
The execution proceeded after some last minute legal wrangling that saw a DC district Judge issuing an injunction yesterday just prior to the scheduled time for the execution. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, vacated that injunction early this morning and allowed the execution to go forward.
“The plaintiffs in this case are all federal prisoners who have been sentenced to death for murdering children,” the court wrote in an unsigned opinion. “The plaintiffs committed their crimes decades ago and have long exhausted all avenues for direct and collateral review. ”
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Attorney General Bill Barr announced the return of the federal death penalty last year, saying he owed it to the victims’ families to resume executions.
“Under Administrations of both parties, the Department of Justice has sought the death penalty against the worst criminals, including these five murderers, each of whom was convicted by a jury of his peers after a full and fair proceeding. The Justice Department upholds the rule of law—and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system,” Barr said.