Supreme Court Clears Way for Execution of Federal Prisoner

Supreme Court Clears Way for Execution of Federal Prisoner
Daniel Lewis Lee waits for his arraignment hearing for murder in the Pope County Detention Center in Russellville, Ark., on Oct. 31 1997. Dan Pierce/The Courier via AP
The Associated Press
Updated:

TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—The Trump administration was moving ahead early Tuesday with the execution of the first federal prison inmate in 17 years after a divided Supreme Court reversed lower courts and ruled federal executions could proceed.

Daniel Lewis Lee had been scheduled to receive a lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital at 4 p.m. EDT Monday. But a court order issued Monday morning by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan prevented Lee’s execution.