When will Lisa Montgomery be executed? Judge grants only woman on federal death row last-minute stay of execution
In a recent development, Lisa Montgomery, who after being sentenced to death in 2008 by a Missouri jury, was granted a stay of execution by a federal judge. This was done just hours before she was scheduled to die. Judge James Hanlon of the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana wrote in the order stating: "Ms. Montgomery's motion to stay execution is GRANTED to allow the Court to conduct a hearing to determine Ms. Montgomery's competence to be executed."
This could mean the date of her execution could be pushed after the inauguration of Joe Biden, who has indicated his opposition to federal capital punishment, according to the New York Times. The 52-year-old made headlines for the heinous murder of a pregnant woman in 2004, where she cut the fetus out and the baby survived.
Montgomery was slated to die by lethal injection on Tuesday, January 12 at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. However, prior to this, her attorneys, family members, and supporters had pleaded with President Donald Trump to read their clemency petition. They hoped he would make a decision to commute her sentence to life without the possibility of early parole. A CNN report carried details about a statement from her attorney, Kelley Henry. "The Court was right to put a stop to Lisa Montgomery's execution," Henry said.
"As the court found, Mrs. Montgomery 'made a strong showing' of her current incompetence to be executed. Mrs. Montgomery has brain damage and severe mental illness that was exacerbated by the lifetime of sexual torture she suffered at the hands of caretakers," the statement added. "The Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of people like Mrs. Montgomery who, due to their severe mental illness or brain damage, do not understand the basis for their executions. Mrs. Montgomery is mentally deteriorating and we are seeking an opportunity to prove her incompetence," Henry added.
MEAWW had earlier covered the incident which contains details about how she found her victim and was delusional about her pregnancy. Bobbie Jo Stinnett was the unfortunate victim. She was all of 23 when Montgomery strangled her to death and then carved out her womb with a knife. Montgomery herself was faking being pregnant at the time. Stinnett's baby miraculously survived the attack.
During the attack, as Montgomery choked Stinett with a rope, the victim was still conscious and trying to defend herself as a kitchen knife was used to cut the baby out of the womb, prosecutors revealed. "The only good thing that comes from this tragedy is that little Victoria is a healthy baby and is reunited with her family," US Attorney John F Wood had said during the trial.
Montgomery is one of the last three of the 13 people the Trump administration has executed, or scheduled for execution since resuming federal capital punishment after a 17-year gap. Montgomery also has a petition before the US Supreme Court, The CNN report said.