First US federal execution of woman in seven decades
Washington, US - An American woman was put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday, becoming the first woman to be executed by US federal authorities in nearly seven decades.
Lisa Montgomery’s execution came in the final days of the government of US President Donald Trump, which pushed forward with her execution despite a legal battle that the Supreme Court ended with a ruling in the early hours of Wednesday.
Montgomery (52) murdered an expectant mother to steal her baby, though she had sought a stay of execution on the grounds she was mentally ill.
She was the 11th person to be put to death after the Trump administration successfully fought to resume federal executions in July following a 17 year hiatus.
Her lawyer Kelley Henry, in a scathing statement, called the decision - the first for a woman inmate since 1953 - a ‘vicious, unlawful, and unnecessary exercise of authoritarian power’.
“The craven bloodlust of a failed administration was on full display tonight,” Henry said.
“Everyone who participated in the execution of Lisa Montgomery should feel ashamed.”
The US Supreme Court voted 6-3 in favour of lifting a last minute stay of execution and allowing Montgomery’s execution to proceed despite doubts about her mental state.
The court’s three liberal dissenters voted to grant her a stay of execution.
Montgomery’s defenders did not deny the seriousness of her crime: in 2004, she killed a pregnant 23 year old to steal her baby.
Unable to have a child, Montgomery carefully identified her victim - dog breeder Bobbie Jo Stinnett - online.
Under the guise of buying a puppy, Montgomery went to Stinnett’s home, where she strangled her and cut the baby from her body. The baby survived.
In 2007 she was convicted of kidnapping resulting in death and handed a death sentence.
Her defenders believe that she suffered from severe mental health issues stemming from abuse she suffered as a child. She did not understand the meaning of her sentence, they said, a prerequisite for execution.
On Monday evening, a federal judge offered the defence a brief lifeline, ordering a stay of execution to allow time to assess Montgomery’s mental state.