The push by the US federal government to execute Lisa Montgomery before Trump leaves office on 20 January 2021 has caused outrage even among people who support capital punishment in principle. The furore is not purely about the death penalty itself, but about the morality of using it to punish a woman suffering from severe mental illness resulting from the most heinous history of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
In the early hours of 13 January 2021, following a Supreme Court ruling to overturn the stay of execution granted by a lower court, the federal government put Lisa Montgomery to death for the murder of 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett. She was only the fourth woman to face federal execution in the US, and the first in 67 years. Lisa Montgomery's case has drawn international attention, particularly in recent weeks, owing to the horrific crime she committed and the savage brutality of the abuse she suffered from a young age.
