https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2019/07/25/navajo-federal-execution-scheduled Federal prosecutors said Mitchell killed Alyce Slim, 63, and her granddaughter in October 2001 during a carjacking in Arizona. Another employee was pushed against the counters when she tried to hide. the federal government is preparing to execute, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. It has been more than 16 years since the federal government executed an inmate. Seventy-four face federal charges from Portland protests. For the first time in two decades, the federal government is preparing to execute inmates. Victims Alyce Slim, 63 Tiffany Lee, 9 (no picture) With execution on hold, Navajo inmate presses court on jury bias claim Four Murders Shock Navajo Reservation Man convicted of carjacking, murder gets death sentence United States of America v Johnny Orsinger 2014 United States of America v Lezmond Charles Mitchell 2007 (conviction and sentence affirmed)… Mitchell's execution is the fourth to take place this summer, and there are three more scheduled to take place in the next month. Lezmond Mitchell, 37, a citizen of the Navajo Nation from Round Rock, was convicted in 2003 of murdering Alyce Slim, 63, and her 9-year-old granddaughter Tiffany Lee. “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. Lezmond Mitchell had no last words before he was executed in front of witnesses that included members of the surviving family of his victims, simply responding, "No, I'm good.". Mitchell was among the men whose federal executions were announced by the Trump administration in June after a 17-year moratorium. "Over the steadfast objection of the Navajo Nation, and despite urgent pleas for clemency from Navajo leaders and many other Native American tribes, organizations, and citizens, the Trump Administration executed Lezmond Mitchell, a Navajo man, for a crime against other Navajo people committed on Navajo land. Daniel Lee, father of Tiffany Lee, wipes his face as he leaves the podium after a statement by his attorney at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. In a statement released shortly after the execution, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said, "Nearly 19 years after Lezmond Mitchell brutally ended the lives of two people, destroying the lives of many others, justice finally has been served.". 63-year-old Alyce Slim and her 9-year-old granddaughter were murdered and decapitated in 2001. A store manager was mopping the floor when she was assaulted by one of the men. Lezmond Mitchell, 38, who is a member of the Navajo Nation and the only Native American on federal death row, was convicted of killing Alyce Slim … "In light of the constitutional rights at stake and the grave sentence faced by Mitchell, the district court should have exercised its discretion in granting Mitchell a limited opportunity to interview his jurors," his attorneys argued in the motion. "I have waited 19 years to get justice for my daughter, Tiffany," Lee's statement said. They must file their opening brief with the court by Aug. 28. meaww.com. © 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Support local journalism. Slim stopped near Sawmill, Arizona to let the men out, but they stabbed her 33 times. ", First published on August 26, 2020 / 9:21 PM. He was convicted of killing 63-year-old Alyce Slim, and her 9-year-old granddaughter, Tiffany Lee, in Arizona in 2001. Mitchell became the fourth prisoner to … That effort came down to the wire on Wednesday when the Supreme Court denied a last ditch attempt to delay his execution, declining to review whether or not the jurors at Mitchell's trial in Arizona should have been interviewed for potential bias against Native Americans. Alyce Slim was 63 when she and her granddaughter were killed in 2001. Tiffany's father, Daniel Lee, attended the execution, and minutes later stood tearfully next to a lawyer who read a statement to reporters on his behalf. Mitchell and his victims were members of the Navajo Nation, and while Lee's family supported his death sentence, tribal leaders from across the country strongly opposed his execution and called on the president to commute his sentence. Among the reasons, they say, is the court in 2009 didn't let Mitchell's attorneys interview the original jurors, which prevented them from learning whether Mitchell truly got a jury of his peers. Sometime in October 2001, Mitchell and three other men decided to rob a trading post on the Arizona side of the Navajo reservation, according to court records. Later that month, Mitchell and another man, Johnny Orsinger, traveled from Round Rock, Arizona to Gallup, New Mexico to look for a vehicle to use in the robbery. A few days later, three men robbed the Red Rock Trading Post. The issue of execution drugs has been controversial in recent years, following executions that went awry in Arizona and elsewhere. And an Arizona man is among the first five on the list. He was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m., less than a half an hour after he was injected with the lethal drug pentobarbital. Copyright © 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Prosecutors argued Mitchell was carrying a 12-gauge shotgun at the time. Mitchell, then 20, and his friend bummed a ride from Alyce Slim as she drove with her granddaughter, Tiffany Lee, to the nearby town of Sawmill. 1 seed ousted in March Madness, Trump looking to launch social media platform, adviser says, Bodies of two hikers found at Acadia National Park in Maine, Duckworth calls for "deeper investigation" into anti-Asian crimes, U.S. defense chief visits Afghanistan as troop deadline looms, Severe flooding hits New South Wales, Australia, GoFundMe page raises over $2 million for sons of Atlanta shooting victim, U.S. looking to loan AstraZeneca vaccine to other countries, Some teachers uneasy about returning before getting vaccine, Trump urges people to get COVID vaccine, saying it's safe and works, IRS to delay tax filing deadline until May 17, Teens try to cope after both parents die from COVID, First baby born with COVID antibodies to vaccinated mother, Moderna testing COVID-19 vaccine on young kids, Vaccines drive optimism about containing COVID pandemic — CBS News poll, Elderly Asian woman turns tables on alleged attacker, Heart attack or homicide? This has made it easy to store away those special and irreplaceable Christmas ornaments with the 64 compartment ornament chests. © 2021 www.azcentral.com. Lezmond Charles Mitchell, 37, is set to be executed on December 11 for the 2001 murders of Alyce Slim, 63, and her nine-year-old granddaughter Tiffany Lee on Navajo land in Arizona. Slim was stabbed 33 times. Have thoughts about Arizona’s legal system? This innovative, heavy-duty chest is designed specifically to protect your heirloom Christmas trees ornaments, keeping them safe between holiday seasons years after year. Biden administration pressed to allow media to border facilities, Illinois becomes first No. They then forced the child to ride next to her grandmother’s corpse for 40 miles before murdering her as well. Federal prosecutors said Mitchell killed Alyce Slim, 63, and her granddaughter in October 2001 during a carjacking in Arizona. The employees were tied up in the vault room after the men took $5,530 and a purse. Tiffany’s grandmother, 63-year-old Navajo woman, Alyce Slim, was stabbed 33 times on a Navajo reservation located in the northeast of Arizona. Mitchell was found guilty in 2003 of multiple charges, including the gruesome murders of 63-year-old Alyce Slim and her nine-year-old granddaughter Tiffany Lee. Their beheaded, mutilated bodies were found in a shallow grave on the reservation. Mitchell was found guilty in 2003 of multiple charges, including the gruesome murders of 63-year-old Alyce Slim and her nine-year-old granddaughter Tiffany Lee. Slim and her granddaughter were in a GMC pickup truck when they were abducted. Court documents say that somewhere near Sawmill, the men stabbed Slim 33 times, killing her and dumping her in the back of the truck, where they forced the granddaughter to sit with the body. In October 2001, Mitchell murdered Alyce Slim, a 63-year-old grandmother, and her nine-year-old granddaughter as part of a carjacking in Arizona. He is being held at the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institution in Indiana and is scheduled to be executed Dec. 11. They later mutilated both bodies. Lezmond Charles Mitchell, 37, is set to be executed on December 11 for the 2001 murders of Alyce Slim, 63, and her nine-year-old granddaughter Tiffany Lee on Navajo land in Arizona. They apparently were stabbed to death. Attorneys for Mitchell are appealing the death penalty to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Lezmond Mitchell, a 38-year-old Navajo man, is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, on charges he murdered Alyce Slim, 63, and her granddaughter, Tiffany Lee, 9, during a carjacking. Slim and her granddaughter had traveled in her Sierra GMC truck from Fort Defiance, Arizona to Tohatchi, New Mexico to see a traditional medicine person for leg ailments. "Today, the federal government added another chapter to its long history of injustices against Native American people," said Jonathan Aminoff and Celeste Bacchi, attorneys for Mitchell. The executions will involve a single drug called pentobarbital, replacing a prior three-drug cocktail. Mitchell is the only Native American on federal death row. August 27, 2020 / 7:28 AM Like Mitchell, the two were Navajo Nation residents. Mitchell was among the men whose federal executions were announced by the Trump administration in June after a 17-year moratorium. "But I hope this will bring some closure.". However, under interstate laws, prosecutors did not have to seek the tribe's permission to seek the death penalty, according to a report by The Associated Press. On Oct. 28, 2001, Mitchell and Orsinger abducted Alyce Slim, 63, and her 9-year-old granddaughter, in Slim’s GMC pickup truck. They stabbed Slim 33 times, slit Tiffany’s throat and stoned her to death. The bodies of Fort Defiance residents Alyce Slim, 63, and her 9-year-old granddaughter were found in late October 2001 in a wooded area near Tsaile. The case began in October 2001 when Mitchell and Johnny Orsinger carjacked Alyce Slim, 63, and her 9-year-old granddaughter near Sawmill so they could use Slim’s GMC pickup truck to rob a trading post on the Navajo reservation. An undated family photo Lezmond Mitchell, who is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind., for the 2001 killing of Alyce Slim and her granddaughter. They also claimed his co-defendant, Johnny Orsinger, was the primary aggressor and had committed an unrelated double homicide months before the killing of Alyce Slim, 63, and her 9-year-old granddaughter. ", "Had it not been for the Trump administration," Lee's statement said, "I do not think I would have ever received justice or a sense of finality. In April, the Ninth Circuit allowed the lawyers to proceed with their appeal. Seventy-four people are now facing federal charges related to protests that have rocked Portland, Oregon, for three months since George Floyd was killed, the local U.S. attorney announced Thursday. Everything but Mitchell's head and hands were concealed beneath a … After getting a ride from Slim in her pickup truck, Mitchell and an accomplice stabbed her 33 times … Victims Alyce Slim, 63 Tiffany Lee, 9 (no picture) With execution on hold, Navajo inmate presses court on jury bias claim Four Murders Shock Navajo Reservation Man convicted of carjacking, murder gets death sentence United States of America v Johnny Orsinger 2014 United States of America v Lezmond Charles Mitchell 2007 (conviction and sentence affirmed)… Their … He was convicted of the murder of grandmother Alyce Slim, 63, and her granddaughter Tiffany Lee, 9, in 2001. They argued there were "racial undertones" in the case, and Mitchell should have been allowed to investigate whether racial bias played a role in his conviction and sentence. Mitchell, 38, and an accomplice were convicted of killing Tiffany Lee and 63-year-old Alyce Slim, who had offered them a lift in her pickup truck as they hitchhiked on the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona in 2001. They made the child sit next to her grandmother's body, and Mitchell drove to the mountains before ordering the girl out of the truck. The victims were members of the Navajo Nation, having lived in Fort Defiance, Arizona, and their dismembered bodies were found in 2001 near Tsaile, Arizona, according to The Daily Times archives. Husband poisoned with eye drops, Louisiana man accused of trying to kill and dismember gay man, A camera was rolling as a woman was attacked at a Walmart store in San Bernardino, Judge makes key rulings in Chauvin trial as jury selection continues. Orsinger was a juvenile and received a life sentence, while Mitchell, who turned 20 just weeks before the crimes, was sentenced to death. They next went to Twin Lakes, New Mexico to see another person. Mitchell became the fourth prisoner to … / CBS News, The only Native American on federal death row was executed on Wednesday night for murdering two women in 2001, according to the Department of Justice. The pair later slit the child's throat twice and crushed her head with rocks, before dismembering the victims and burning their clothes. Lezmond Mitchell was convicted in 2003 of murdering Alyce Slim, 63, and her 9-year-old granddaughter, Tiffany Lee. Mitchell, along with Johnny Orsinger, 16, abducted Alyce Slim, 63, and her nine-year-old granddaughter. According to court records, Mitchell cut the child's throat and, when she did not die, Orsinger used rocks to kill her. The bodies of Fort Defiance residents Alyce Slim, 63, and her 9-year-old granddaughter were found in late October in a wooded area near Tsaile. Mitchell fatally stabbed Alyce Slim, 63, and then forced her 9-year-old granddaughter to sit beside her grandmother’s lifeless body as he drove about 40 miles, before he slit the young girl’s throat. The two hitchhiked back to the reservation. Reach criminal justice reporter Lauren Castle at Lauren.Castle@gannett.com. Mitchell and an accomplice were convicted of killing 9-year-old Tiffany Lee and her grandmother, 63-year-old Alyce Slim, in 2001. The two hitchhiked back to the reservation. The family of Alyce Slim and her nine-year-old granddaughter have issued a statement through their attorney stating they support the execution of the man who brutally murdered the pair. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. (Michael B. Slim was stabbed 33 times by Mitchell and his accomplice, after she gave the pair a ride in October 2001. Mitchell and an accomplice abducted Alyce Slim, 63, and her granddaughter in October 2001 with plans to use Slim’s vehicle in a robbery. He was convicted of killing 63-year-old Alyce Slim, and her 9-year-old granddaughter, Tiffany Lee, in Arizona in 2001. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Like the three men who were put to death before him, Mitchell had exhausted all possible appeals in an attempt to halt his execution. Mitchell later directed law enforcement to their bodies after confessing to the heinous killings. All rights reserved. Meanwhile, on the afternoon of Sunday, October 28, 2001, Alyce Slim (63 years old) and her nine year-old granddaughter, Jane Doe, left Fort Defiance, Arizona to go to Tohatchi, New Mexico where Slim hoped to secure the services of Betty Denison, a traditional medicine person, for leg ailments. Indianz.Com on SoundCloud: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals - Lezmond Mitchell v.USA - December 13, 2019. California Privacy/Information We Collect. Lezmond Mitchell, 38, was hitchhiking with his accomplice in New Mexico in 2001 when Alyce Slim, 63, and her 9-year-old granddaughter picked them up. Prosecutors say Mitchell stabbed to death 63-year-old Alyce Slim in 2003 and slit the throat of her 9-year-old granddaughter, Tiffany Lee. meaww.com. At some point on the trip, Mitchell and Orsinger got into Slim's truck. Slim had offered Mitchell and another teenager a lift in her pickup truck as they hitchhiked on the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona. According to a report by The Arizona Republic, at the time of his sentencing, the Navajo Department of Justice asked that Mitchell not receive the death penalty because capital punishment violates tribal custom and culture. Sometime in October 2001, Mitchell and three other men decided to rob a trading post on the Arizona side of the Navajo reservation, according to court records. He was convicted of killing 63-year-old Alyce Slim, and her 9-year-old granddaughter, Tiffany Lee, in Arizona in 2001. Tiffany’s grandmother, 63-year-old Navajo woman, Alyce Slim, was stabbed 33 times on a Navajo reservation located in the northeast of Arizona. Later that month, Mitchell and another man, Johnny Orsinger, traveled from Round Rock, Arizona to Gallup, New Mexico to look for a vehicle to use in the robbery. 63-year-old Alyce Slim and her 9-year-old granddaughter were murdered and decapitated in 2001. When Slim stopped to let the pair out in Arizona, they stabbed her 33 times. The case began in October 2001 when Mitchell and Johnny Orsinger carjacked Alyce Slim, 63, and her 9-year-old granddaughter near Sawmill so they could use Slim’s GMC pickup truck to rob a trading post on the Navajo reservation. Indianz.Com on SoundCloud: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals - Lezmond Mitchell v.USA - December 13, 2019. Court documents say that somewhere near Sawmill, the men stabbed Slim 33 times, killing her and dumping her in the back of the truck, where they forced the granddaughter to sit with the body. Follow her on Twitter: @Lauren_Castle. ", The decision to restart enforcing these sentences came after a 17-year freeze on the federal death penalty. Mitchell was found guilty in 2003 of multiple charges, including the gruesome murders of 63-year-old Alyce Slim and her nine-year-old granddaughter Tiffany Lee. Attorney General William Barr announced the decision last year, saying in a statement at the time, "The Justice Department upholds the rule of law — and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system. 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. The family of Alyce Slim and her nine-year-old granddaughter have issued a statement through their attorney stating they support the execution of the man who brutally murdered the pair. The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday set Aug. 26 as the execution date for the convicted killer of a 63-year-old woman and her granddaughter two decades ago, in what would be the fourth federal execution this summer after a 17-year hiatus. On Oct. 28, 2001, Mitchell and Orsinger abducted Alyce Slim, 63, and her 9-year-old granddaughter, in Slim’s GMC pickup truck. "Mitchell was ultimately tried before a jury with only one Native American member regarding crimes committed on Native American land with Native American victims," his attorneys wrote in the motion.