TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) – After a more than 7 hour legal delay, the federal government executed Lisa Montgomery, making her the only woman to be federally executed in nearly 70 years.
The death sentence was carried out inside the execution chamber at the United State Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Montgomery, 52, was pronounced dead at 1:31 Wednesday morning. Her execution had been scheduled for six o’clock Tuesday evening.
Media witnesses entered the Death House at 1:14 a.m. The curtains lifted just moments later as Lisa Montgomery glanced into the rooms in front of her. She tapped the fingers of her left hand on the gurney, a heart tattoo just at the crease of her thumb.
Montgomery was asked if she had any last words before a female prison official gently removed her face mask, her arms already strapped down with IVs in both hands. Montgomery responded with a simple “no.”
At 1:17 a.m. the execution proceeded with the administering of a lethal dose of pentobarbital. Montgomery faced slightly to her left. She blinked a few times behind red rimmed glasses. Moments later her chest and stomach heaved. Eventually, she was still. An official with a stethoscope came into the room to check Montgomery at 1:30 a.m. At 1:31 a.m., an announcement was made that death had occurred.
Lisa Montgomery was sentenced to death for murdering Bobbie Jo Stinnett and cutting the pregnant woman’s baby from her stomach. Stinnett’s family declined to speak with the press or provide a written statement following Montgomery’s execution.
Montgomery’s legal team fought the execution with a series of legal cases that reached the Supreme Court. In a statement, Attorney Kelley Henry said, “The craven bloodlust of a failed administration was on full display tonight. Everyone who participated in the execution of Lisa Montgomery should feel shame.” Henry says society failed Montgomery who suffered years of abuse and from mental illness and brain damage.
More federal executions are planned for this week.
