WASHINGTON – The Justice Department says it will carry out executions of federal death row inmates for the first time since 2003.
The department says five inmates will be executed, starting in December. All five were conivcted of murdering children.
North Dakota U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley prosecuted the state’s only federal death penalty case. Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. has been on death row since 2006 for the kidnapping and murder of Dru Sjodin.
“This is an important development in the carrying out of these lawfully gained and finally defended convictions around the United States” Wrigley said. “It shows a renewed commitment to actually carrying out these sentences. It’s critically important.”
Attorneys for Rodriguez have been filing various appeals for several years. Wrigley says it’s not clear whether the new policy could accelerate the schedule for Rodriguez’s execution. “I don’t have any way to calculate what the impact would be on the timeline. We’re proceeding on a timeline that is established by the court as we go along through the appellate process.”
In 2014, President Obama directed the Justice Dept. to conduct a review of capital punishment and issues surrounding lethal injection drugs. That review resulted in what effectively was a freeze on executions.
The department says the Bureau of Prisons has completed the review and the executions can continue.
