Justice Department carried out fifth execution in two months

A child murderer was executed at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Friday, in the fifth death sentence carried out this year.

Keith Dwayne Nelson pleaded guilty in 2001 of grabbing a 10-year-old girl from the street as she rollerbladed by, as her sisters looked on. He would rape and strangle her.

“More than two decades after viciously taking the life of Pamela Butler, causing untold devastation to those who loved her, Nelson finally faced the justice he deserved,” said Kerri Kupec, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department.

Nelson was the second person put to death by the federal government this week, as the Trump administration pursues a relatively rapid pace after years of stagnation.

Before this year, the last federal execution was in 2003.