an hour ago
Photo author, Reuters
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Lisa Montgomery was sentenced to death in 2007
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A US court has suspended the execution of the death sentence against Lisa Montgomery, who was supposed to be the first woman in 70 years to be executed in the United States by a federal decision.
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Judge James Hanlon decided that Montgomery’s sanity hearings should be held prior to execution. The woman’s lawyers claim that she has a congenital brain defect, and she simply does not understand what exactly is happening to her.
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“In her current mental state, Montgomery is so distant from reality that she cannot rationally judge the reasons why the government intends to execute her,” the judge said.
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The date for the hearing on Montgomery’s sanity will be set later.
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The woman’s lawyers welcomed the court’s decision. “As the court found, Montgomery has clearly demonstrated that her mental state does not allow her to be executed,” said defense attorney Kelly Henry. life on the part of those who had to take care of her. “
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According to CNN, prosecutors intend to challenge the court’s decision.
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The Montgomery Crime
Lisa Montgomery, now 52, was abused by her stepfather for several years as a child. At the age of 36 (this was in 2004), she strangled a pregnant woman and removed the premature baby. The child subsequently survived.
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Photo author, Getty Images
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Indiana prison where Lisa Montgomery is being held
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According to lawyers, her crime was associated with an exacerbation of mental illness.
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Montgomery’s execution has been postponed for the second time: she was supposed to have been given a lethal injection back in December, but her lawyer fell ill with Covid-19, and the execution was postponed.
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The last woman to be executed in the United States at the federal level was Bonnie Heady, who kidnapped and killed a child in 1953 for ransom. She was sentenced to capital punishment and sent to the gas chamber.
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It is possible that Montgomery will now be able to avoid execution, since US President-elect Joe Biden intends to end the execution of death sentences handed down at the federal level.
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The administration of outgoing President Donald Trump has resumed federal executions after a 17-year hiatus (although over the years people have continued to be executed at the state level).
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Since last summer, 10 federal death sentences have been carried out, Lisa Montgomery was slated to rank 11th. Federal authorities are planning to execute two more convicts this week.
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Instead of the death penalty, the Biden administration proposes to impose life imprisonment in the form of punishment without the possibility of being released on parole.
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According to the latest Gallup study, 54% of Americans believe the death penalty is ethically acceptable. And while this percentage seems high, it is actually an all-time low – six percentage points lower than a year ago.
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