TERRE HAUTE, Indiana - A court has ruled that the first in a series of four executions, including an Iowa convicted killer, can proceed Monday at a prison in Indiana.
The family of the first inmate scheduled to die had convinced a federal judge to block his execution Friday over concerns that they'd be exposed to COVID-19 at the facility.
A federal appeals court then ruled Sunday that the family's concerns were frivolous, and has allowed the execution to proceed.
Iowa convicted killer Dustin Honken is scheduled to be executed Friday at the same U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Honken was a northern Iowa drug dealer facing federal drug charges in 1993 when he shot and killed five people, including two children.
He was convicted of the murders and given the death penalty in 2004, and a district judge upheld the ruling in 2013. All of his appeals have been exhausted.
The Trump administration has been seeking to restart federal executions this month after a 17 year gap.
The family of the Oklahoma man scheduled to be executed Monday is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.