WASHINGTON — The Justice Department intends on Wednesday to execute the only Native American man on federal death row, despite urgent pleas from more than a dozen tribes to respect Navajo culture and spare his life. The inmate, Lezmond Mitchell, 38, faces the death penalty for his part in the 2001 murder of a Navajo woman, Alyce Slim, and her 9-year-old granddaughter, Tiffany Lee. Barring any last-minute stays, his execution would be the first time a Native American man has been put to death by the federal government for a crime committed against another Native American on a reservation. Tribal activists have argued that Mr. Mitchell’s case exemplifies the fraught relationship between tribes and federal law enforcement, which often disregards protections for tribal sovereignty. The Justice Department secured Mr. Mitchell’s conviction through a loophole that allowed it to ignore Navajo preferences.

Source: New York Times August 25, 2020 20:26 UTC