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Lisa Montgomery will be executed on January 12, during the term of the President of the United States, Donald Trump. A United States appeals court has clarified the death date of the only woman who hopes to be executed in federal prison. Montgomery would be the first woman to be executed by US federal authorities in 67 years.
The verdict was approved Friday by a panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. In doing so, they concluded that a lower court judge was wrong when he overturned the execution date last week.
Montgomery was supposed to be executed by lethal injection on December 8 at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. A judge had postponed the appointment after Montgomery’s attorneys became infected with the corona virus and were unable to visit their client.
A three-judge appellate panel has ruled that the decision to revoke the execution date was incorrect. January 12 was set as the new date. Montgomery’s legal team wants to continue trying to avoid execution. They argue that Montgomery has a serious mental illness. Instead of the death penalty, they say there will be life in prison without parole.
The 52-year-old man was sentenced to death for the murder of 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett in December 2004. According to authorities, he strangled the victim, who was eight months pregnant, and removed the baby from the womb. After that, according to prosecutors, she took the girl with her and tried to pose as her own.
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Shortly before the end of the term, the Trump administration tried to have as many executions as possible. For the first time in US history, federal authorities ordered more executions than all US states combined.
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With the executions following his electoral defeat in early November, Trump breaks with an American tradition. For the past 131 years, it has been a common practice in the United States that outgoing American presidents do not have executions carried out.
President-elect Joe Biden, who will take office on January 20, is against the death penalty. According to his spokesperson, he wants to work to make sure it is no longer used. It is not clear whether this should also apply to executions at the federal level. (with AFP)
