A judge has further delayed the planned execution of the only woman on the federal death row in the U.S.
In a ruling that will potentially leave the Trump administration with no choice but to postpone execution beyond the end of his term, a federal judge ruled it illegal to attempt to reschedule it for January.
Lisa Montgomery, 52, was convicted of the murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett, 23, in the city of Skidmore, northwest Missouri, in December 2004.
After strangling Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant, Montgomery cut the girl from the womb with a kitchen knife. The minor survived and prosecutors said Montgomery tried to leave her as her own.
Montgomery was scheduled to die in December at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, but U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss delayed the execution after his lawyers contracted coronavirus and asked him to extend the time allowed for present a clemency. request.
Moss banned the Prisons Office from executing Montgomery before the end of the year and officials rescheduled the Jan. 12 execution date. But on Wednesday, Moss ruled that the agency was also prohibited from rescheduling the date while there was a stay.
“The court, accordingly, concludes that the director’s order setting a new execution date while the court’s suspension was effective is not in accordance with the law,” Moss wrote.
A Justice Department (DoJ) spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under the order, the Prisons Office cannot reschedule Montgomery’s execution until at least Jan. 1.
In general, according to Department of Justice guidelines, a prison inmate must be notified at least 20 days prior to execution.
Due to the judge’s order, if the DoJ chooses to reschedule the date in January, it could mean that execution would be scheduled after Joe Biden takes office on January 20th.
A Biden spokesman told the Associated Press that the president-elect “opposes the death penalty now and in the future” and would work as president to end his use in office.
Biden representatives have not said whether the executions would be stopped immediately once he takes office.
Montgomery’s legal team has argued he has serious mental illness. One of her lawyers, Sandra Babcock, said in a statement: “Given the severity of Mrs Montgomery’s mental illness, the sexual and physical torture she suffered throughout her life and the connection between her trauma and the facts of his crime, we appeal to President Trump will grant him mercy and commute his sentence to life imprisonment. “