Judge halts 1st federal execution in 17 years, citing COVID-19 concerns

Click here for updates on this story

    LITTLE ROCK, AR (KFSM) — A federal judge in Indiana is halting the first federal execution in 17 years, citing concerns over the coronavirus.

Daniel Lee had been scheduled to die by lethal injection on Monday. But Chief District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson in Indiana ruled Friday that the execution would be put on hold because the family of the victims wanted to attend but were afraid of traveling during the coronavirus pandemic.

The injunction delays the execution until there is no longer such an emergency.

The 47-year-old Lee, of Yukon, Oklahoma, was convicted in Arkansas of the 1996 killings of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife, Nancy, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell of Russellville.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.