The Trump administration is set to carry out the execution of the first federal prison inmate in 17 years after the Supreme Court overruled lower court decisions, allowing federal executions to proceed.
Daniel Lewis Lee, who was convicted in Arkansas of the 1996 killings of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife Nancy, and her 8-year-old daughter Sarah Powell, was initially scheduled for execution on Monday. However, a court order by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan postponed Lee’s execution.
The administration’s attempt to intervene was rejected by a federal appeals court in Washington, prompting a 5-4 Supreme Court decision, with 5 conservative judges in favor and four against the execution.
During court proceedings, some members of the victims’ family expressed concerns about the high risk of contracting Coronavirus if they were required to travel for the execution. They sought to delay the execution until it was safer to travel, a request which was initially granted but later overturned by the Supreme Court.
In an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court stated that the prisoners’ “executions may proceed as planned,” with Lee’s execution scheduled for about 4 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, according to court papers.
Lee, from Yukon, Oklahoma, has had access to social visitors, met with his spiritual adviser, and received mail, according to prison officials. He will have three family members, his lawyers, and spiritual adviser present during his execution.
“The government has been trying to plow forward with these executions despite many unanswered questions about the legality of its new execution protocol,” said Shawn Nolan to the Associated Press.
Shawn is one of the attorneys representing the men facing federal execution.