Lezmond Mitchell, Murder of Grandmother and Granddaughter, Indiana 2001

Federal Inmate's Execution Rescheduled for Brutal Murders

Alyce Slim, a 63-year-old grandmother, and her nine-year-old granddaughter were brutally murdered in a carjacking in Arizona in October 2001. Lezmond Mitchell, the federal inmate convicted of their murders, is set to be executed on August 26, 2020 at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Mitchell was initially scheduled for execution in December 2019, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit entered a stay of execution while it resolved an additional appeal by Mitchell. The court of appeals unanimously rejected Mitchell's claim in April 2020 and denied his request for full-court rehearing earlier this month.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Mitchell murdered Slim and her granddaughter as part of a carjacking in Arizona. After getting a ride from Slim in her pickup truck, Mitchell and an accomplice stabbed her 33 times and threw her body into the backseat beside her granddaughter. Mitchell then drove the truck 30-40 miles into the mountains, ordered the girl “to lay down and die,” slit her throat twice, and crushed her head with rocks.

Mitchell was found guilty of numerous federal crimes, including first-degree murder, felony murder, and carjacking resulting in death, in May 2003. He was sentenced to death. His convictions and sentence were affirmed on appeal, and his claims for collateral relief were denied by every court that considered them.

The execution of Lezmond Mitchell is set to occur without further delay, as there are no legal impediments to prevent it. The brutal murders of Alyce Slim and her nine-year-old granddaughter are a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of violent crime.

Defendant: Lezmond Mitchell

Criminal Charges: First-degree murder, felony murder, and carjacking resulting in death

City and State: Arizona (initial crime location), Terre Haute, Indiana (execution location)

Exact Date: October 2001 (crime date), May 2003 (sentencing date), August 26, 2020 (execution date)

Sentence or Outcome: Death penalty

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/execution-rescheduled-federal-inmate-convicted-brutally-murdering-grandmother-and-her-nine