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Appeals

Feds Put First Black Inmate To Death Since Execution Restart

The federal government executed the seventh person in a span of just over two months and the second this week (article available here). Christopher Vialva, 40, was pronounced dead shortly before 7 p.m. EDT at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.

In a last statement, Vialva asked God to comfort the families of the couple he had killed in 1999, saying, “Father … heal their hearts with grace and love.”

Keith Nelson Executed Friday In Terre Haute

Keith Dwayne Nelson was executed today, Friday, August 28, 2020 at 4:32 p.m. EDT, according to the Bureau of Prisons, marking the fifth federal execution in the past six weeks. The first four were Daniel Lewis Lee (July 14, 2020), Wesley Purkey (July 16, 2020), Dustin Honken (July 17, 2020) and Lezmond Mitchell (August 26, 2020).

The Justice Department reinstated federal executions in mid-July after a 17-year hiatus.

Justice Department Sets Execution Date For Only Native American On Death Row

Today, Attorney General William P. Barr today directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to schedule the execution of Lezmond Mitchell, the only Native American on federal death row (article available here). The execution is scheduled to occur on August 26, 2020, at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Tribal leaders and the victim's family oppose the death penalty.

Justice Department Schedules Two Additional Federal Executions

The federal government plans on executing two people this week: Lezmond Mitchell on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 and Keith Dwayne Nelson on Friday, August 28, 2020.

Two more people are scheduled to be killed in the same week in September: William Emmett LeCroy on September 22, 2020, and Christopher Andre Vialva on September 24. The executions will take place at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Justice Department Sets Execution Date For Only Native American On Death Row

Today, Attorney General William P. Barr today directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to schedule the execution of Lezmond Mitchell, the only Native American on federal death row (article available here). The execution is scheduled to occur on August 26, 2020, at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Tribal leaders and the victim's family oppose the death penalty.