The Supreme Court of the United States on Tuesday cleared the path for the first federal executions in 17 years, overturning an earlier order by a lower court to delay them.
“We vacate the District Court’s preliminary injunction so that the… executions may proceed as planned,” the Supreme Court ruled, referring to four scheduled executions.
They were suspended by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan to allow for legal challenges to the lethal injection that was to be used in the executions.
There have been just three federal executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1988.
Lee and another man, Chevie Kehoe, were convicted in Arkansas in 1999 of the 1996 murders of gun dealer William Mueller, his wife, and her eight-year-old daughter.
Trump, who faces a tough re-election battle in November, has called for stepped-up use of capital punishment, especially for killers of police officers and drug traffickers.
Only a handful of US states, mainly in the conservative South, still actively carry out executions. In 2019, 22 people were put to death.
Most crimes are tried under state laws, but federal courts handle some of the most serious crimes, including terror attacks and hate crimes.
