[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS

[Rick Halperin]

April 20




ARKANSAS----execution

Arkansas executes death-row inmate Ledell Lee


After a series of challenges to the U.S. Supreme Court failed, Ledell Lee was 
put to death by lethal injection Thursday night in the 1st execution in 
Arkansas since 2005.<P>

Lee, who was sentenced to death in 1995 for the killing 2 years earlier of 
Debra Reese in Jacksonville, was the first to die of 8 inmates whose executions 
were scheduled over 11 days this month.

3 others whose deaths were scheduled before Lee — Bruce Earl Ward, Don Davis 
and Stacey Johnson — had their lethal injections halted through court 
challenges.

Lee pursued multiple appeals in the hours before his death, and while some 
resulted in temporary stays that pushed his lethal injection past its original 
7 p.m. scheduled start time, none spared his life before the death warrant 
expired at midnight.

Lee was pronounced dead at 11:56 p.m., 12 minutes after the execution process 
began. He was 51.

Lee did not make a final statement.

On Feb. 9, 1993, Lee bludgeoned Reese to death with a tire iron that her 
husband had given her as a form of protection.

Lee was arrested within an hour of Reese's death after some of the cash taken 
from her wallet was used to pay a bill at a Rent-A-Center store.

Reese's family declined to speak to reporters after the execution and said they 
would release a written statement later.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge noted that the family "has waited 
more than 24 years to see justice done."

"I pray this lawful execution helps bring closure for the Reese family,” 
Rutledge said.

3 other executions are scheduled for next week.

Lee becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
Arkansas and the 28th overall since the state resumed capital punishment
in 1990.

Lee becomes the 7th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the
USA and the 1449th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 
1977.

(sources: Arkansas Online & Rick Halperin)