Federal Court Denies Habeas Relief to Navajo Man Sentenced to Death (over Navajo Nation’s Wishes)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Some of you might remember this case — the Ninth Circuit’s opinion affirming the death sentence was a big part of the discussion at the FBA Indian Law Conference three years back — US v Mitchell CA9 Opinion.

Here is the district court order on habeas review: Order Denying Mitchell Habeas Relief

The Federal Death Penalty Act, 18 USC 3598, requires federal prosecutors to seek tribal concurrence on the death penalty before seeking the sentence for Indian country crime committed by tribal members. So the Ashcroft Dept. of Justice sought the death penalty under a different jurisdictional statute, and successfully avoided the tribal concurrence provision.

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  1. Pingback: Lezmond Mitchell v. U.S. Cert Petition | Turtle Talk

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