US judge delays second federal execution in 17 years hours before it was due to take place

A US District Court in Washington early on Wednesday delayed the second federal execution in 17 years, hours before it was due to take place, reported news agency Reuters.

The report said the US Department of Justice had planned to execute Wesley Purkey, a convicted murderer, over objections by his lawyers that he has dementia and no longer understands his punishment.

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"The court finds that at least one of plaintiffs' claims has a likelihood of success on the merits, and that absent a preliminary injunction, plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm," District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan said.

A former white supremacist convicted of the 1996 murders of a family of three was put to death by lethal injection on Tuesday in the first federal execution in the United States in 17 years.

Daniel Lewis Lee, 47, was pronounced dead at 8:07 am (1207 GMT) at Terre Haute prison in the Midwestern state of Indiana, the Justice Department said.

Lee was the first of three federal inmates to be executedthis week after President Donald Trump ordered a resumption of capital punishment at the federal level.