Lezmond Charles Mitchell

Lezmond Charles Mitchell (September 17, 1981 – August 26, 2020) was a Native-American criminal who was executed by the United States federal government for the 2001 murders of a woman and her granddaughter in Arizona.

The murders were committed during the course of a carjacking, and since this is qualified as a federal offense, Mitchell was tried and convicted in federal court.

His case sparked controversy as the Navajo Nation tribe he was a part of openly opposed the government's plans for his execution, along with Mitchell himself maintaining he was involved in the murders but was not the mastermind behind them.

Lezmond Charles Mitchell was born in Fort Defiance, Arizona on September 17, 1981.

Born 1/4 Navajo, 1/4 White, and 1/2 Marshallese, Mitchell was of Native-American heritage.

He and his family were a part of the Navajo Nation tribe.

Mitchell was raised by his grandparents George and Bobbi Jo who were allegedly abusive.

In his early years, his grandparents beat him with a variety of objects; a ruler, broom handles, and appliance parts to be exact.

As a result of the beatings Mitchell developed depression, cognitive disorder, and antisocial personality disorder.

This also led to him struggling with his weight and his Native-American heritage, as he believed that he was not a "true Navajo."

In his 6th grade year, Mitchell was moved to California to live with his mother.

Upon living with her, she began inflicting control on to him; she contacted students at the school to report any of Mitchell's behavior to her and required Mitchell to check in with her every 30 minutes.

She also made fun of weight and often ranted about wasting money on food for him.

The emotional abuse Mitchell received from this led him to start drinking and doing drugs, which eventually led to addiction.

He also ran away from home once.

At 14 years old Mitchell had his first run in with the law after he vandalized a bathroom wall.

He graduated high school as an honors student in 2000.

In 2001, Mitchell crossed paths with 16-year-old Johnny Theodore Orsinger, a teenager who had been involved in the carjacking and double murder of 47-year-old David Begay and 30-year-old Jasbert Sam on August 28.

In October, the two made their own plans for a carjacking and murder.

On October 28, 2001, Mitchell and Orsinger were hitchhiking when they were picked up by 65-year-old Alyce Slim and her 9-year-old granddaughter Tiffany Lee.

Slim and Lee were returning home after a visit to two women in Gallup.

Slim drove Mitchell and Orsinger to their requested location, but when there both attacked her and Lee; The duo produced a knife and stabbed both multiple times, with Mitchell slitting Lee's throat, bludgeoning Slim with rocks and stabbing her to death.

Afterwards, when both were dead, they dragged both their bodies into the nearby woods, decapitated their bodies and lit them on fire.

Both then buried their remains in a shallow grave.

They then carjacked their vehicle and kept it in their possession.

On October 31, three days after the murders, three armed men robbed the Red Rock Trading Post Office while wearing Halloween masks, and used Slim's vehicle as a getaway car.

They ended up abandoning the car on November 1 and attempted to light it on fire.

As a result of a large investigation, on November 4 and 5, 2001, the Navajo Nation Strategic Reaction Team surrounded the Round Rock residences of Mitchell, Orsinger, 34-year-old Teddy Orsinger, 20-year-old George Nakai, 23-year-old Jimmy Nakai Jr., Danny Leal, and Jason Kinlicheenie on suspicion of being involved in the murders, with most of them being present at the Begay and Sam murders.

They were captured, and in November, a federal grand jury indicted Mitchell on 11 counts, including kidnapping, carjacking, robbery and murder.

Since he was being tried federally, prosecutors sought a death sentence.

The Navajo Department of Justice openly opposed the prosecutors plans to seek the death penalty in a statement in 2002.

Orsinger, since he was juvenile, was ordered to be tried separately.

The Orsingers, the Nakais, Leal, and Kinlicheenie were all convicted for their roles in the Begay and Sam murders and sentenced to life in prison.

Mitchell's trial began in April 2003, and lasted a month.

Mitchell's lawyers maintained that, while their client was present at the time of the killings, he was not the one that perpetrated them, but instead Orsinger was the actual mastermind behind it.

On May 8, Mitchell was convicted on all counts and sentenced to death.

On September 15, he was formally sentenced to death by Judge Mary H. Murguia.

Orsinger was convicted later in December for his role in the Slim and Lee murders and given another life sentence.

In 2015, Mitchell argued his case to a three-judge panel.

Mitchell was the only Native-American on federal death row up until his execution via lethal injection on August 26, 2020.