Arizona man listed for federal execution after killing a woman and her granddaughter
An Arizona man that was convicted of a murder in 2003 after killing a woman and her granddaughter will be among one of the first five individuals to be executed.
Azcentral reports for the first time in two decades, the federal government is preparing to execute inmates.
Lezmond Mitchel, a citizen of the Navajo Nation from Round Rock, Ariz. was convicted in the 2003 murder of Alyce Slim and her nine-year-old granddaughter Tiffany Lee and is currently being held at the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institute in Indiana. Azcentral stated his execution is scheduled for December 11.
According to Azcentral, Mitchell and three other men robbed a trading post on the Arizona side of the Navajo reservation. Later that month, Mitchell and another man traveled from Round Rock, Ariz. to Gallup, New Mexico to look for a vehicle to use in the robbery. The two men hitchhiked back to the reservation.
Slim and her granddaughter had traveled from Fort Defiance, Ariz. to Tihatchi, NM to see a traditional person for leg aliments. Azcentral stated at some point in the trip, Mitchell and the other man got into Slim’s truck. When Slim stopped to let the man out, they stabbed her 33 times and drove to the mountains before ordering the girl to get out of the truck. Azcentral states Mitchell cut the child’s throat and when she did not die, the other man used rocks to kill her.
At the time of Mitchell’s sentencing, the Navajo Department of Justice asked for Mitchell, not to receive the death penalty because of the capital punishment violates tribal custom and culture.
Azcentral reports that under interstate laws, prosecutors did not have to seek the tribe’s permission to see the death penalty.
In a statement on Thursday, U.S. Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department “upholds the rule of law” and owes it to the victims and their families to complete the sentences, reported Azcentral.
“Congress has expressly authorized the death penalty through legislation adopted by the people’s representatives in both houses of Congress and signed by the President,” Barr stated.
