WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th August, 2020) The US government executed the only Native American on Federal death row, the Bureau of Prisons confirmed in a statement.
Navajo Nation opposed the execution because they argued it violated tribal sovereignty and treaties with the federal government, yet the Supreme Court would not halt it. The government reportedly executed Mitchell based on a lesser murder charge in order to bypass the treaty.
"Lezmond Mitchell has been executed by lethal injection. He was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time by the Vigo County Coroner," the statement said on Wednesday regarding the execution that took place in a federal prison in the state of Indiana.
Mitchell declined to make statements before the execution. When asked if he wanted to make a final statement Mitchell aid, "No, I'm good," according to media witness Sarah Lehman from local WTHI-TV.
Mitchell, 38, was sentenced to death in 2007 for kidnapping and murdering two Navajo victims - 63-year-old Alyce Slim and her nine-year-old granddaughter, on Navajo Nation territory.
The victims' family is expected to make a statement shortly.
Earlier in August, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez wrote a letter to US President Donald Trump calling on him to commute Mitchell death sentence.
The Trump administration resumed federal executions in July after 17 years. Mitchell became the fourth individual, who was executed since that time.
