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Convicted murderer Orlando Hall was executed in the United States. He was killed by lethal injection in an Indiana prison, the United States Department of Justice announced. In doing so, the Donald Trump administration has broken an old tradition: normally, outgoing governments hold back from a change of power in federal executions.
Hall was found guilty of involvement in the kidnapping, rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl the previous year and sentenced to death in 1995. According to his lawyers, the African American has not denied his involvement in the crime. According to his information, the jury, made up only of whites, was not informed of his family background. Additionally, she was not allowed to hear Hall’s confession of repentance and his apology to the victim’s family.
Conservative judges give the green light to execution
Hall’s death sentence was carried out after the Supreme Court rejected Hall’s appeal. For the first time, new constitutional judge Amy Coney Barrett was involved in such a decision. The lawyer had sided with his five conservative colleagues, thus giving the green light to the execution.
Barrett was confirmed by Trump in October as successor to the Constitutional Court left-liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Since then, the Conservative camp has had a good majority of six of the nine Supreme Court judge posts.
It was the eighth execution since the summer to have been performed at the federal level. After a decision of the Supreme Court, the death sentences at the federal level have been done again until mid-July, after a break of 17 years.
Break with the 131-year tradition
Hall’s execution goes against a 131-year tradition in the United States. Consequently, the outgoing governments leave the responsibility for these controversial decisions to the new government.
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