Determined to proceed with the first federal execution in nearly two decades, the Justice Department plans to appeal a judge’s ruling that would halt authorities from carrying it out on Monday.
FILE - In this Oct. 31 1997 file photo Danny Lee waits for his arraignment hearing for murder in the Pope County Detention Center in Russellville, Ark. A federal judge in Indiana on Friday, July, 10, 2020, halted the first federal execution planned in 17 years scheduled three days from now over COVID-19 concerns. Daniel Lee had been scheduled to die by lethal injection. Lee, 47, of Yukon, Okla.
The family of the victims in the case had requested that it be called off because their fear of the coronavirus would keep them from attending. Not that they wanted to see the killer die; they have long asked that he be given a life sentence instead, and their pandemic objection could postpone the execution indefinitely.
The Justice Department argues that it is likely to win an appeal. It contends that executions require extensive planning and coordination with other law enforcement officials and says dozens of staff members were already being brought in from other facilities ahead of Monday’s planned execution.Attorney General William Barr has said part of the reason the Trump administration wants to resume executions is to deliver a sense of justice to the victims’ families.
The relatives, including Earlene Branch Peterson, who lost her daughter and granddaughter in the killing, have argued that their grief is compounded by the push to execute Lee in the middle of a pandemic. The relatives would be traveling thousands of miles and witnessing the execution in a small room where the social distancing recommended to prevent the virus’ spread is virtually impossible. There are currently four confirmed coronavirus cases among inmates at the Terre Haute prison, according to federal statistics, and one inmate there has died.
Lee’s attorneys also sought the delay on grounds that they’ve been forced to choose between their own health and adequately defending their client.
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