FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AP) — Attorneys for the only Native American on federal death row are asking a judge to delay his execution while they argue the procedures must follow Arizona law.
Lezmond Mitchell, who is Navajo, is set to be put to death on Aug. 26 at the federal prison in Indiana where he's being held.
A U.S. District Court judge in Arizona heard arguments Wednesday on the request for a delay and says he'll make a decision quickly. The U.S. Justice Department urged the judge to reject the request, calling it untimely, unpersuasive and unjustified.
Mitchell was convicted in the 2001 killing of a Navajo woman and her granddaughter on the Navajo reservation.
