FEDERAL EXECUTION

First federal execution in 17 years; another set Wednesday

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — The federal government has carried out its first execution in almost two decades. 47-year-old Daniel Lewis Lee was killed by lethal injection Tuesday at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was convicted of murdering an Arkansas family in a 1990s plot to build a whites-only nation in the Pacific Northwest. His last words were to proclaim his innocence. Lee is the first death row inmate to be executed since 2003. His execution came over the objection of the victims’ family and following a series of delays and legal challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic. Critics of the Trump administration argued the government was pushing capital punishment for political gain.

FEDERAL EXECUTION-PURKEY

Whether inmate mentally fit for execution could cause delay

CHICAGO (AP) — Legal experts say the man next on the list to be executed by the federal government after a nearly 20-year hiatus ended this week may have a better chance of avoiding lethal injection. That’s because Wesley Ira Purkey suffers from dementia. His lawyers say he can no longer grasp why he’s slated to die. Purkey was convicted of a 1998 killing and is scheduled for execution Wednesday at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. That’s where Daniel Lewis Lee was put to death Tuesday. Lee was convicted of killing an Arkansas family in a 1990s plot to build a whites-only nation. He was the first of four condemned men scheduled to die this summer.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-INDIANA

Indiana reports 13 more COVID-19 deaths, 662 new cases

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State health officials say 13 more Indiana residents have died from COVID-19 and the state has 662 new confirmed cases of the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The Indiana State Department of Health said Tuesday that the nine additional deaths bring the number of Hoosiers confirmed to have died from COVID-19 to 2,582. The state agency has also recorded 193 fatalities considered coronavirus-related by doctors but without confirmation of the illness from test results. Those deaths give Indiana 2,775 confirmed or presumed deaths from COVID-19. Indiana’s 662 newly diagnosed COVID-19 case raise the state’s number of confirmed cases to 52,685.

DEADLY INDIANA CRASH

Trucker charged with drug use before Indiana crash killed 4

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say a semitrailer was going 72 mph when it crashed into a car that had slowed for an Indiana highway construction zone, killing four young siblings. The truck’s driver, 31-year-old Corey Withrow of Camden, Ohio, faces charges of driving while intoxicated causing death for Thursday’s crash on Interstate 70 in eastern Indiana. Court documents allege Withrow was under the influence of cannabis and a strong central nervous system stimulant. The car’s driver, 34-year-old Aaron Bruce, of Kansas City, Missouri, was severely injured. Police say the children killed were 15, 13, 8 and 6 years old and were Bruce’s children or stepchildren.

BLACK LEGISLATOR-CONFRONTATION

Officer’s actions toward Black Indiana senator under review

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana State Police spokesman says the agency is reviewing allegations that a white Capitol Police officer reached for his handgun while confronting a Black state senator inside the Statehouse over the weekend. The incident happened Saturday after Democratic Sen. Eddie Melton of Gary and another senator led a few dozen people taking part in an Indiana Racial Justice Alliance rally inside the Statehouse when a thunderstorm arrived. A white senator said two Capitol Police officers were too aggressive from the start even though they might not have recognized the legislators since they were in casual clothes.

DOUBLE HOMICIDE-ARREST

SC double homicide suspect arrested in Indiana

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (AP) — A 19-year-old suspect in the shooting deaths of two South Carolina women has been arrested in Indiana. Authorities allege that Damayjhon Quintez Gadson was involved in the June 29 killings of 61-year-old Lori Gentile, of Mount Pleasant, and 25-year-old Lashawn Gadson, of Reevesville. The Post and Courier reports Gadson was arrested Monday by U.S. Marshals in Evansville, Indiana. Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call about a car accident June 29 in Cross and found the two women with gunshot wounds. No further details were immediately available. Authorities say Gadson will be extradited back to Berkeley County to face charges.

LIGHTNING STRIKE DEATH

Indiana man dies after being struck by lightning on roof

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A coroner says a man who was struck by lightning last week while working on the roof of a southwestern Indiana warehouse has died from his injuries. Vanderburgh County Coroner Steve Lockyear says 34-year-old Jose Louis Lopez Mora died Sunday afternoon while the Seymour man was undergoing treatment at an Evansville hospital. The Evansville Courier & Press reports that Lopez Mora’s death was ruled an accident, and no autopsy is scheduled. He was struck by lightning last Wednesday while working on the roof of an Evansville warehouse that’s leased by Berry Global.

CASINO LAYOFFS-BOYD GAMING

Casino company Boyd Gaming laying off workers in 10 states

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A U.S. casino company with 29 properties in 10 states is laying off thousands of employees, citing a slow restart to business following closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corp. said in a statement Monday that an unspecified number of furloughed employees will not return to work. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported 2,500 company workers in Nevada could be affected. The publicly traded company had about 10,000 employees in Nevada and another 14,300 nationally, according to its last annual report. It also has properties in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania.