Update 07/14/2020 2:23pm:
In 2019, the Department of Justice blocked the Trump administration’s plans to restart federal executions. However, the block was only for a temporary amount of time. Attorney General William Barr noted the administration was appealing the block. Now, the United States has reportedly carried out its first federal execution in 17 years.
Convicted murderer and white supremacist Daniel Lewis Lee was executed on Tuesday morning, with the Supreme Court deciding to move forward with the execution last night. Reports noted the execution was scheduled to take place on Monday but was blocked by a judge who challenged the lethal injection protocol by the government.
AG William Barr spoke on the matter, saying, “The American people have made the considered choice to permit capital punishment for the most egregious federal crimes, and justice was done today in implementing the sentence for Lee's horrific offenses.” Despite the offenses Barr spoke of, relatives of the family of Lee’s victim reportedly did not want the execution to take place.
source: CNN
Original 11/23/2019 5:14pm:
According to Attorney General William Barr, the Trump administration’s decision to restart federal executions was blocked by a district court judge for a temporary amount of time.
Barr issued a statement saying, “There are people who would say these kinds of delays are not fair to the victims, so we can move forward with our first group." There are currently five people on death row, and if the government wins their appeal, those execution process could begin as soon as December 9. Stay tuned for more updates.
source: Newsweek
