Daniel Lewis Lee, who served more than 23 years on death row, was pronounced dead by lethal injection of pentobarbital early Tuesday. Lee’s execution came hours after the Supreme Court sided with William P. Barr, in a 5-4 overnight decision.
A federal prisoner has been executed in the United States for the first time in 17 years.
Daniel Lewis Lee, who served more than 23 years on death row, was pronounced dead by lethal injection of pentobarbital early Tuesday. Lee’s execution came hours after the Supreme Court sided with William P. Barr, in a 5-4 overnight decision, vacating a preliminary injunction that was issued by U. S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in the District of Columbia.
Judge Chutkan issued the injunction on the grounds that the federal government’s execution method — injection of pentobarbital sodium — could constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” by causing “extreme pain and needless suffering.”
Five Supreme Court Justices disagreed, stating that the drug “is widely conceded to be able to render a person fully insensate” and does not have the risks “of pain that some have associated with other lethal injection protocols.
