Navajo Nation

Lezmond Mitchell Urgent Message

August 12, 2020Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Lezmond Mitchell defense team:

Urgent Message to the Native American Community:

With Lezmond Mitchell’s execution date just two weeks away, time is running out to try to correct this gross violation of tribal sovereignty. Lezmond, a Navajo man, was sentenced to death over the objections of the Navajo Nation and the victims’ family for a crime against Navajo people committed on Navajo land. This was only possible because the government exploited a legal loophole, and it is the ONLY time the federal government has pursued a death sentence for a crime on tribal land over a tribe’s opposition.

YOU CAN HELP STOP THIS INJUSTICE. Lezmond Mitchell has asked President Trump to commute his sentence to life imprisonment without possibility of release. All Native American people can express their support for Lezmond’ clemency by signing this letter.

On August 11, Navajo President Nez personally appealed to President Trump to ask that he grant Lezmond clemency. The U.S. President needs to hear that Native American people across the country demand a correction to the infringement of tribal sovereignty and the insult to Native American values that this death sentence represents. Again, please sign this letter now. It is very important that the letter be signed by ONLY Native American people, even though many non-Native American allies also support clemency for Lezmond Mitchell.

With Support of Navajo Nation, Lezmond Mitchell Asks Pres. Trump to Commute His Death Sentence Before August 26 Execution Date

August 11, 2020Matthew L.M. Fletcher

With Support of Navajo Nation, Lezmond Mitchell Asks President Trump to Commute His Death Sentence Before August 26 Execution Date

Navajo President to Appear Before U.S. Pardon Attorney Today, Stating in New Letter that Mitchell’s Commutation Would Honor “Our Religious and Traditional Beliefs”

(Washington, D.C.) Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez personally appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to request clemency for Lezmond Mitchell, the only Native American person under a federal death sentence. President Nez is scheduled to appear before the U.S. Pardon Attorney later today to personally advocate on behalf of Mr. Mitchell’s petition for executive clemency.

In a letter [https://tinyurl.com/y59d3a9v], President Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer called on the American president to demonstrate respect for the Navajo Nation’s tribal sovereignty by commuting Mr. Mitchell’s sentence to life imprisonment with no possibility of release. He pointed to the tribe’s steadfast opposition to Mr. Mitchell’s execution in light of the tribe’s long-standing position on the death penalty for Native Americans, and noted,

“The United States Department of Justice sought the death penalty against Mr. Mitchell despite the Navajo Nation’s public opposition, against the express wishes of the victim’s family, and ostensibly against the recommendation of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. The Navajo Nation is respectfully requesting a commutation of the death sentence and the imposition of a life sentence for Mr. Mitchell. This request honors our religious and traditional beliefs, the Navajo Nation’s long-standing position on the death penalty for Native Americans, and our respect for the decision of the victim’s family…We need to address this issue to move forward in our trust of our federal partners and to continue to work on the importance of protecting our People.”

Continue reading →

HCN: “Contested water settlements inflamed the Navajo Nation’s health crisis”

August 11, 2020Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Federal Court Holds Insurance Company Not Subject to Tribal Jurisdiction

August 10, 2020Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order in Zurich American Insurance Company v. McPaul (D. Ariz.):

42 DCT Order

Briefs here.

Lezmond Mitchell Letter in Support — Please Consider Signing

August 7, 2020August 7, 2020Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Lezmond Mitchell’s defense team . . . .

Over the objections of the Navajo Nation, Lezmond Mitchell, the only Native American person on the federal government’s death row, is scheduled to be executed on August 26. 2020. Mr. Mitchell, a Navajo man who was just 20 years old at the time of his crime, was sentenced to death for killing two Navajo people on Navajo tribal land. Although the Navajo Nation opposed a death sentence for him – and has steadfastly maintained this opposition – the government exploited a legal loophole to capitally prosecute Mr. Mitchell.

Whether Mr. Mitchell lives or dies is now in President Trump’s hands. Mr. Mitchell has filed an application for executive clemency asking the President to commute his sentence to life without the possibility of release.

It is vital to demonstrate the widespread opposition to Mr. Mitchell’s death sentence from tribal leaders and Native American citizens throughout the country. We hope you will add your name to a letter urging President Trump to grant him clemency. TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR LEZMOND MITCHELL, so please click here to add your name now. Signatures must be received by August 16, 2020.

Thank you so much for adding your voice to this important effort, and please share this widely with other Native Americans.

Again, the letter is available at this link.

Federal Government Sets Execution Date for Lezmond Mitchell

July 30, 2020July 30, 2020Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is “Justice Department sets execution date for only Native American on death row.”

Here is the most recent opinion in his case, where two Ninth Circuit judges questioned his sentence.

Below is a statement from counsel for Mr. Mitchell. Deputy Federal Public Defenders Jonathan Aminoff and Celeste Bacchi:
“With the enactment of the Federal Death Penalty Act, Congress made a commitment to the Native American peoples that no Native American would be subjected to the death penalty for a crime committed against a fellow Native American on Native American land unless the tribe consented. In what the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals referred to as a “betrayal of a promise made to the Navajo Nation,” the Department of Justice exploited a legal loophole and sought the death penalty against Mr. Mitchell for the federal crime of carjacking over the objection of the Navajo Nation, the victims’ family, and the local United States Attorney’s Office. The federal government’s announcement that it now plans to execute Lezmond Mitchell demonstrates the ultimate disrespect for the Navajo Nation’s values and sovereignty.
The Government’s contravention of tribal autonomy did not end with the decision to pursue a death sentence against Mr. Mitchell. In addition to the charging decision, the Government committed misconduct in the course of this prosecution by confining Mr. Mitchell in a tribal jail where they continually interrogated him over the course of 25 days without providing him an attorney. Furthermore, the Government systematically excluded Navajos from serving on Mr. Mitchell’s jury, resulting in a jury composed of 11 white people and only one Navajo. Unfortunately, we have been barred from investigating concerns of juror bias amongst Mr. Mitchell’s jury. Under these circumstances, allowing Mr. Mitchell’s execution to go forward would be a grave injustice and an unprecedented affront to tribal sovereignty, and it should not be permitted to proceed. We will continue to pursue all available avenues of relief for Mr. Mitchell from his unconstitutional convictions and death sentence.”

-Deputy Federal Public Defenders Jonathan Aminoff and Celeste Bacchi, attorneys for Lezmond Mitchell

-July 29, 2020

Environmental Groups Challenge BLM Oil and Gas Leases at Navajo

July 14, 2020July 14, 2020Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment v. Bureau of Land Management (D.N.M.):

1-complaint-3.pdf

IHS Letter

Turtle Talk