The U.S. government executed the only Native American on its death row on Wednesday, the first of two set for this week and the fourth since the Justice Department resumed capital punishment last month after a 17-year hiatus.
Lezmond Mitchell of the Navajo Nation was put to death in Terre Haute, Ind., for the 2001 deaths of a 63-year-old woman and her 9-year-old granddaughter during an Arizona carjacking, the Associated Press reported.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Mitchell’s stay requests, refusing to review his claims related to alleged jury bias and the government’s lethal injection execution protocol.
The Navajo Nation opposed the execution, and said the U.S. broke yet another promise to tribes by ignoring its wishes and violating its sovereignty.
Keith Nelson is scheduled for execution on Friday. He and the other four were convicted in child deaths.
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