It planned to use this protocol in five executions scheduled for December and January, the federal government’s first since 2003. The Justice Department, meanwhile, said it would keep pushing to carry out the sentences. Iowa has no death penalty, but in that case, the courts selected Indiana — where federal executions are carried out — as its death-penalty state. Mitchell’s execution was stayed in October by a federal appeals court. Lee’s execution, the first on the schedule, was also briefly stayed by another judge until an appeals court vacated that order.

Source: Washington Post December 06, 2019 23:59 UTC