Early this morning at 1:31 AM EST, Lisa Montgomery was executed by the United States Federal Government, becoming the first woman to be federally executed in the country in nearly 70 years. After a life marked by extreme childhood sexual abuse, torture, and neglect, which lead to Lisa having several mental illnesses, the US government continued the cycle of abuse in her life by executing her. There have now been eleven federal executions carried out by the Trump Administration, with two more executions scheduled this week.
Lisa Montgomery’s attorney, Kelly Henry, issued a statement after the execution:
“The craven bloodlust of a failed administration was on full display tonight. Everyone who participated in the execution of Lisa Montgomery should feel shame. No one disagrees that Mrs. Montgomery was the victim of unspeakable torture and sex trafficking. No one can credibly dispute Mrs. Montgomery’s long standing debilitating mental disease – diagnosed and treated for the first time by the Bureau of Prisons’ own doctors. Our Constitution forbids the execution of a person who is unable to rationally understand her execution. The current administration knows this. And they killed her anyway. Violating the Constitution, federal law, its own regulations, and longstanding norms along the way.” Read the full attorney statement here.
Families of Lisa Montgomery and Bobbie Jo Stinnett declined to offer statements following the execution. In this moment of injustice, we hope for the healing of all victims of the death penalty.
Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs both face federal execution this week. Currently, stays of execution for both Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs are in place from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals finding that to subject them to lethal injection while recovering from lung damage from COVID-19 would violate the 8th Amendment. The US Department of Justice is likely to appeal stays of executions for Mr. Johnson and Mr. Higgs. For more information about Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs and stopping their executions, visit www.change.org/p/president-trump-stop-the-execution-of-corey-johnson and www.savedustinjhiggs.com.
The execution of Lisa Montgomery and the executions of ten others over the past seven months have furthered the cycle of violence in society. We will continue to pursue an end to the rampant abuse of law and an end to capital punishment in Missouri.