The federal execution of a woman who was mentally ill was the act of a morally bankrupt administration<\/p>
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Lisa Montgomery became the first woman<\/a> to be put to death by the United States government for almost seven decades. At the Indiana penitentiary where she was executed by lethal injection, there are no facilities for female prisoners. So during prolonged legal wrangling over her fate, Montgomery was cruelly placed in a holding cell in the execution-chamber building itself.<\/p> Her crime was horrific. In 2004, Montgomery strangled a young woman, Bobbie Jo Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant. She then cut a baby girl from her womb, and attempted to pass her off as her own. The pain and suffering of Ms Stinnett\u2019s family can barely be imagined. But the political context of this week\u2019s execution, and overwhelming evidence of Montgomery\u2019s longstanding mental illness, suggests a gross miscarriage of justice has taken place.<\/p> Continue reading...<\/a>\n