On the eve of an Arizona man’s scheduled death, a small group of demonstrators gathered in Phoenix on Tuesday to oppose the first federal execution of a Native American in modern history.

Lezmond Mitchell, 38, is a member of the Navajo Nation. He is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday evening at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. 

He was convicted of killing Alyce Slim, 63, and her granddaughter Tiffany Lee, 9, in 2001. 

“It’s a question of sovereignty,” said Dan Peitzmeyer, spokesman for Death Penalty Alternatives for Arizona. “It is another slap in the face of Indigenous people and another promise broken.” 

The Navajo Nation has consistently objected to the federal government pursuing the death penalty against Mitchell.

According to Mitchell’s lawyers, his case is the only time in modern history the federal government has sought the death penalty over the objection of a tribe when the crime was committed on tribal land.

During the days leading up to his execution, MItchell’s lawyers and the Navajo Nation sought help from appeals courts, the U.S. Supreme Court and President Donald Trump. The Supreme Court on Tuesday night denied the request to halt the execution. 

Members of Death Penalty Alternatives for Arizona and Pax Christi, a Catholic peace organization, stood outside the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday to demonstrate.

The murders

In 2001, Mitchell, then 20, and Johnny Orsinger, who was a teenager at the time, traveled from Round Rock, Arizona, to Gallup, New Mexico, and then hitchhiked back to the Navajo Nation.

Slim and her granddaughter were traveling to Tohatchi, New Mexico, to see a traditional medicine person for leg ailments and then to Twin Lakes, New Mexico.

At some point on the trip, Mitchell and Orsinger got into Slim’s truck. 

Slim stopped near Sawmill, Arizona, to let the men out, but they stabbed her 33 times. They made Tiffany sit next to her grandmother’s body, and Mitchell drove to the mountains before ordering Tiffany out of the truck. 

According to court records, Mitchell cut her throat, and when she did not die, Orsinger used rocks to kill her. 

A few days later, Mitchell was involved in the robbery of a trading post in the Navajo Nation. The employees were tied up in the vault room, and the men took $5,530 and a purse. 

Because the crimes occurred on tribal land, Mitchell was tried in federal court. 

He was convicted of robbery, firearm violations, carjacking resulting in death, murder and kidnapping. He was sentenced to death.

Since Orsinger was a juvenile, he was ineligible for the death penalty. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. 

Why are people demonstrating? 

Advocates across the country have called on the federal government to stop Mitchell’s execution because of sovereignty concerns. The Navajo Nation is against the death penalty and told the federal government it did not want capital punishment to be pursued in Mitchell’s case. 

In 1994, the Federal Death Penalty Act allowed tribal governments to say if they wanted capital punishment to be applied to their citizens. But there are exceptions.

The federal government did not need the Navajo Nation’s permission to pursue the death penalty because one of Mitchell’s charges was “carjacking resulting in death.” The crime is considered to have “nationwide applicability,” meaning it can be charged as a federal crime no matter where it takes place across the country. 

Dave Zabor, a member of Pax Christi, said he hopes more people educate themselves about the death penalty and that they think about these reasons while they are electing leaders.

Have thoughts about Arizona’s legal system? Reach criminal justice reporter Lauren Castle at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Lauren_Castle.

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