US Supreme Court grants federal executions of Daniel Lewis

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the federal executions of Daniel Lewis Lee for killing three members of an Arkansas family in 1996.

The order which was granted on Tuesday July 14, 2020, would be the first federal execution in 17 years in the United States.

On Monday, Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. district court in Washington ordered the justice department to delay four executions scheduled for July and August.

Chutkan’s order was issued less than seven hours before they execution of Daniel Lee was due to take place in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The order was later affirmed by a U.S. appeals court.

“The plaintiffs in this case have not made the showing required to justify last-minute intervention by a Federal Court. Last-minute stays like that issued this morning should be the extreme exception, not the norm,” the Supreme Court said.

“The government has produced competing expert testimony of its own, indicating that any pulmonary edema occurs only after the prisoner has died or been rendered fully insensate,” the court added.

The authorities were prepared to move forward with Lee’s execution at 4 am EDT (0800 GMT) on Tuesday after the Supreme Court’s decision, documents filed in the district court in Washington by Lee’s lawyers showed

“In light of the imminent and irreparable harm that he faces, Lee respectfully requests that the court immediately issue a ruling on his pending supplemental claim and motion for preliminary injunction,” his lawyers said.

It could, however, not be verified if the execution took place at 4 am EDT. The U.S. justice department declined to respond to requests for comment.