U.S. carries out 13th and final execution under Trump administration

The federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

The United States government on Friday night executed Dustin Higgs — the 13th federal death row inmate to be executed since the Justice Department resumed federal capital punishment in July 2019 after a 17-year gap — at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Supreme Court declined to stay the final execution under the Trump administration, despite an appeal from Higgs' attorney Shawn Nolan, although some justices dissented. Justice Sonia Sotomayor called it an "unprecedented rush," arguing the government "should have proceeded with some measure of restraint to ensure it did so lawfully."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.