The Trump administration’s blitz of federal executions hit a setback on Thursday after a federal judge in Indiana ruled that more measures had to be taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the Terre Haute federal prison facility before executions could continue.
The administration hopes to carry out three more executions, including the execution of Lisa Montgomery, who will be the first woman executed by the federal government in nearly seven decades if the injunction is lifted.
In her opinion issued yesterday Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Indiana wrote that the federal government s poor management of the previous 10 executions “has created a substantial risk” that plaintiffs in the case, who are two prisoners at the Terre Haute facility not on death row, and other inmates and staff may contract the virus.
By Web Desk
Dec 23, 2020 2:53 PM
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) A federal judge wants more answers regarding a COVID-19 outbreak at the Vigo County Jail.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against Sheriff John Plasse and other Vigo County officials earlier this on behalf of inmate Jauston Huerta after more than 100 inmates tested positive for the virus, including an inmate who died.
Vigo County officials filed a status report Dec. 18 at the request of Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson, answering various questions regarding COVID-19 at the jail.
According to the court documents, 108 inmates tested positive for the coronavirus. Inmates who tested positive are housed separately from those who tested negative, and the entire jail is on lockdown to prevent further spread.
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