Barr Drops Hammer on Four Child Killers, Orders Execution Dates
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will resume the executions under Barr's orders
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Attorney General William Barr has ordered the dates for executions for four inmates who were convicted of murdering and raping children.
The scheduled executions will be the first federal executions since 2003.
Barr said in a statement:
“The American people, acting through Congress and Presidents of both political parties, have long instructed that defendants convicted of the most heinous crimes should be subject to a sentence of death."
“The four murderers whose executions are scheduled today have received full and fair proceedings under our Constitution and laws,” he said.
“We owe it to the victims of these horrific crimes, and to the families left behind, to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system.”
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The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will resume the executions under Barr's orders.
The informal moratorium on federal executions has been in place since 2003 when Louis Jones was executed for the rape, murder, and kidnapping of a female soldier.
The BOP was blocked from carrying out the executions age a district court issued a preliminary injunction.
But in April, the U.S. Court of Appeals vacated the injunction, which cleared the way for the continuation of executions.
Barr ordered the BOP to schedule the executions on Monday.
Those inmates convicted of child rape and murder who are scheduled for execution are:
Daniel Lewis Lee, convicted of murdering a family of three, including an 8-year-old girl.
After robbing and shooting them with a stun gun, he covered their heads with plastic bags, sealed them with duct tape, and threw them into a bayou.
EVIL: Pedophile says he ‘identifies’ as 6-year-old girl, defends child porn possession under 1st Amendment
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Wesley Ira Purkey, who was convicted or raping and murdering a 16-year-old, and murdered an 80-year-old woman with a claw hammer.
Keith Dwayne Nelson, who kidnapped a 10-year-old girl rollerblading in front of her home, and raped and strangled her to death with a wire.
Dustin Lee Honken, who shot and killed five people -- including a mother and her 10- and 6-year-old daughters.
Three of those executions will begin July 13.
Nelson's execution is scheduled for Aug. 28.
But the inmate's lawyers are demanding the Supreme Court to intervene.
The inmates’ lawyers urged the Supreme Court to intervene.
Lee’s lawyers argued the government relied on “junk science and false evidence” in his case.
Meanwhile, Purkey’s lawyer said her client has schizophrenia, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease, according to The Associated Press.
Honken’s attorney argued that the sentencing was “plagued by misconduct and the ineffectiveness of counsel.”
Additional executions will be set at a later date, according to The Justice Department.
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