It appears to be a first where an indigenous tribesmen is executed for the deaths of fellow tribe members. It’s an interesting case, IMO, in that it begs the question of should tribesmen be subject to their own laws or to those of individual states or the U S Federal Government?
The Navajo Nation has opted out of the death penalty. The condemned was tried under a federal statute that made him eligible for the death penalty in deaths of others while in the commission of a federal offense. His victim’s father doesn’t feel the Navajo Nation represents him in the death penalty opt out & that justice has been served.
Not really a death penalty supporter, but can’t say I’m losing any sleep over this creep. What say you?
Should the condemned have been kept within Navajo law, or tried in the same federal court system as other Americans?
