Lisa Montgomery Becomes First Woman Executed Federally Since 1953
Lisa Montgomery, 52, was put to death by lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was pronounced dead at 1.31am on Wednesday, marking the first federal execution of a woman in nearly 70 years. Montgomery was also the only female inmate on federal death row.
Supreme Court Denies Last-Minute Appeal
Montgomery’s lawyers made a desperate late bid to save her, arguing she deserved a competency hearing to prove her severe mental illness. Such a hearing could have ruled her ineligible for the death penalty. However, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal on Tuesday night. She was the 11th federal inmate executed under the Trump administration after federal executions resumed following a 17-year pause.
Lawyers Slam Government Over Execution
“The government stopped at nothing in its zeal to kill this damaged and delusional woman,” said her attorney Kelley Henry. “Lisa Montgomery’s execution was far from justice.”
Her legal team and supporters had pleaded with President Donald Trump to grant clemency and commute her sentence to life without parole—but to no avail.
Gruesome Crime and Legal Battles
Montgomery was convicted and sentenced to death in 2008 by a Missouri jury over the 2004 murder of a pregnant woman. She cut the unborn baby from the victim’s womb and kidnapped the infant—who survived the ordeal.
A federal judge briefly stayed Montgomery’s execution Tuesday afternoon to consider a competency hearing just hours before the scheduled execution.
More Executions on Hold
Two other executions planned this week, for Corey Johnson on Thursday and Dustin Higgs on Friday, have been delayed by a federal judge because both inmates are still recovering from Covid-19. Prosecutors plan to appeal the decision, according to court filings.
