A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has stayed all pending federal executions—including one that had been set for Monday.
“[B]ecause the public is not served by short-circuiting legitimate judicial process, and is greatly served by attempting to ensure that the most serious punishment is imposed in a manner consistent with our Constitution, the court finds that it is in the public interest to issue a preliminary injunction,” U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote in an order.
Daniel Lee was scheduled to be executed Monday at 4 p.m. in the first federal execution in nearly two decades. A federal appeals court on Sunday ruled that the execution could proceed as scheduled, overturning a lower court order that had delayed the execution over concerns of the coronavirus.
Monday morning’s ruling puts that on hold. The ruling is likely to bring another round of quick appeals from the government to allow the executions to proceed.
Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
