An Indiana prison carried out the first federal execution in 17 years after a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling cleared the way.
Daniel Lewis Lee was executed by lethal injection early Tuesday at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Lee was originally scheduled to receive a lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital at 4 p.m. Monday, but a federal judge's order prevented his execution.
Hours later, the Supreme Court issued an unsigned majority opinion saying that "the plaintiffs have not established that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their Eighth Amendment claim" and "that claim faces an exceedingly high bar."
The Eighth Amendment bars cruel and unusual punishment. The majority opinion says that four executions, all planned to take place at the penitentiary in Terre Haute, may proceed as planned.
In 1996, Lee and four other associates, who were members of a white supremacist organization, went on a crime spree that included the murders of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife, Nancy, and her 8-year-old daughter Sarah Powell. His execution was first halted Friday over concerns the victims’ families could not attend due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Two more executions are scheduled this week: Wesley Ira Purkey on Wednesday and Dustin Lee Honken on Friday. Keith Dwayne Nelson is scheduled to be executed in August.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
