US Judge Again Delays Execution Of Lone Woman On Federal Death Row

A U.S. federal judge said that the Justice Department broke the
law when it rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal
death row last month, potentially pushing her execution into
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s new administration.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss on Thursday vacated an order
from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which is part of the Justice
Department, that had rescheduled convicted murderer Lisa
Montgomery’s execution to January 12, reports Reuters.

Her execution had originally been scheduled for December 8, but
Moss agreed last month to delay after Montgomery’s attorneys fell
ill with COVID-19 and were unable to file a timely clemency
petition on her behalf.

Moss on November 19 gave Montgomery’s lawyers until December 24
to file the clemency request and granted Montgomery a stay of
execution until December 31. On November 23, the Bureau of Prisons
announced it was rescheduling her execution to January 12,
2021.

Moss on Thursday sided with Montgomery’s lawyers, who argued
that federal regulations bar the Bureau of Prisons from
rescheduling an execution during a stay period. Under Moss’s
Thursday order, the Bureau of Prisons cannot set a new date for
Montgomery’s execution until January 1.

Justice Department rules require inmates be notified of their
execution date at least 20 days beforehand, except when the date
follows a postponement of fewer than 20 days. That means
Montgomery’s execution could be pushed to after Biden, who opposes
the death penalty, takes office on January 20.

The Justice Department, under Attorney General William Barr, who
stepped down earlier this week, resumed the use of the federal
death penalty earlier this year following a 17-year hiatus.

Montgomery, now 52, was convicted in 2007 of kidnapping and
strangling Bobbie Jo Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant.
Montgomery then cut the baby, who survived the attack, out of the
womb. Her lawyers had said that
Montgomery has long suffered from severe mental illness and was the
victim of sexual assault.

“Given the severity of Mrs. Montgomery’s mental illness, the
sexual and physical torture she endured throughout her life, and
the connection between her trauma and the facts of her crime, we
appeal to President Trump to
grant her mercy, and commute her sentence to life imprisonment,”
Sandra Babcock, an attorney for Montgomery and clinical professor
of law at Cornell Law School, said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department did not immediately
provide comment on the Christmas holiday.

A U.S. federal judge said that the Justice Department broke the
law when it rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal
death row last month, potentially pushing her execution into
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s new administration.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss on Thursday vacated an order
from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which is part of the Justice
Department, that had rescheduled convicted murderer Lisa
Montgomery’s execution to January 12, reports Reuters.

Her execution had originally been scheduled for December 8, but
Moss agreed last month to delay after Montgomery’s attorneys fell
ill with COVID-19 and were unable to file a timely clemency
petition on her behalf.

Moss on November 19 gave Montgomery’s lawyers until December 24
to file the clemency request and granted Montgomery a stay of
execution until December 31. On November 23, the Bureau of Prisons
announced it was rescheduling her execution to January 12,
2021.

Moss on Thursday sided with Montgomery’s lawyers, who argued
that federal regulations bar the Bureau of Prisons from
rescheduling an execution during a stay period. Under Moss’s
Thursday order, the Bureau of Prisons cannot set a new date for
Montgomery’s execution until January 1.

Justice Department rules require inmates be notified of their
execution date at least 20 days beforehand, except when the date
follows a postponement of fewer than 20 days. That means
Montgomery’s execution could be pushed to after Biden, who opposes
the death penalty, takes office on January 20.

The Justice Department, under Attorney General William Barr, who
stepped down earlier this week, resumed the use of the federal
death penalty earlier this year following a 17-year hiatus.

Montgomery, now 52, was convicted in 2007 of kidnapping and
strangling Bobbie Jo Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant.
Montgomery then cut the baby, who survived the attack, out of the
womb. Her lawyers had said that
Montgomery has long suffered from severe mental illness and was the
victim of sexual assault.

“Given the severity of Mrs. Montgomery’s mental illness, the
sexual and physical torture she endured throughout her life, and
the connection between her trauma and the facts of her crime, we
appeal to President Trump to
grant her mercy, and commute her sentence to life imprisonment,”
Sandra Babcock, an attorney for Montgomery and clinical professor
of law at Cornell Law School, said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department did not immediately
provide comment on the Christmas holiday.