Lisa married twice. The MontgomeryFamily have entrusted arrangements to Cremation Society of Charlotte. After driving to Stinnett's house, Montgomery overpowered the pregnant woman, strangled her with a piece of rope, and cut the baby out of her womb. No one beat her, ever, but we all tried. She also loved, in no particular order, birds, cats, weak coffee, political intrigue, most things British and her family. (AP) A Kansas woman was executed Wednesday for strangling an expectant mother in Missouri and cutting the baby from her womb, the first time in nearly seven decades that the U.S. government has put to death a female inmate. They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel. To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of Search by Name. . Every memory left on the online obituary will be automatically included in the book. "It was a needless indignity and a deprivation of really her basic humanity," said Amy Harwell, another one of Montgomerys lawyers, said. Earlier this week her lawyers launched an 11th hour bid to prevent her execution, arguing she was brain damaged, severely mentally ill and has suffered a lifetime of sexual abuse. Linda Michele Hunt Montgomery passed away on July 21, 2021 at the age of 62. February 28, 2023 (78 years old) View obituary. "He could have provided comfort and a prayer.". "The government stopped at nothing in its zeal to kill this damaged and delusional woman," she said in a statement. Obituary. Under a pseudonym, Ms. Montgomery who had falsely told others that she was pregnant expressed interest in buying a dog from Bobbie Jo Stinnett, a rat terrier breeder in Skidmore, Mo. View Steven Ray Montgomery's obituary, send flowers and find service dates or sign the guestbook. Her mother forced her to pay the bills through sexual acts with various repairmen, and her stepfather regularly subjected her to sexual abuse, a clinical psychologist said in a court declaration filed by her defense team. Montgomery became the first woman to be put to death by the state since 1953 after a lengthy legal battle and a number of delays prevented her sentence being carried out. She left the city to attend LSU in Baton Rouge, but never considered moving anywhere else. Lisa was an accomplished designer, Atlanta business owner and active member of her church and community. However, her lawyer, Kelley Henry, said that Montgomery was "denied a prayer with her spiritual adviser" prior to her death. Unless you are experienced as an estate executor, you probably should hire an attorney. Montgomery Herald - a place for remembering loved ones; a space for sharing memories, life stories, milestones, to express condolences, and celebrate life of your loved ones 2023 BBC. She tapped her fingers nervously for several seconds, a heart-shaped tattoo on her thumb, but she otherwise showed no signs of distress, and quickly closed her eyes. Rev. Prosecutors said Stinnett regained consciousness and tried to defend herself as Montgomery cut the baby girl from her womb. For some people, the best send-off is one that they would have loved to attendthemselves: a big party. Lisa Rene Montgomery, 56 of McQueeney, passed away on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Lisa Montgomery - the only female inmate on federal death row in the US - has been executed for murder. Police had initially gone to Montgomery's home after tracing online communications to her IP address, hoping to interview her as a witness. January 14, 2021 at 1:53 pm. No other woman has been executed for a similar crime, because most prosecutors have recognized that it is inevitably the product of trauma and mental illness. Obituaries Section. Montgomery was arrested in Kansas the next day and charged with kidnapping resulting in death a federal crime. Since 1976, 16 women other than Lisa Montgomery have been executed but all by individual states rather than by the government. She spent that summer reading obituaries, searching for birth certificates and often being surprised by the events that led to divorce in the early 1900s. Stinnett was discovered by her mother Becky Harper, lying in a pool of blood, approximately an hour after the murder. Montgomery's legal team has also insisted that she was not represented properly in her previous trials. She became the first woman federal prisoner to be executed in 67 years after she was convicted of the horrific murder of 23-year-old dog breeder Bobbie Jo Stinnett, in 2004. [23] Fenner required Duchardt to be cross-examined in November 2016. Lisa Montgomery, talented litigator, kindhearted sister and cherished twin, died Nov. 10, 2021 in Charlotte, N.C., two weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. She was the first woman executed by the federal government in 67 years. You dont see them out killing pregnant women and cutting babies out, he said. granddaughters Elizabeth Montgomery and Aurora May, sister-in-law Lisa Mason, brother-in-law David Mason, several nieces and nephews. As the lethal injection began, Montgomery kept licking her lips and gasped briefly as pentobarbital, a lethal drug, entered her body through IVs on both arms. She was originally due to be executed at 6pm on Tuesday. HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 27: (L-R) Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow attend the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony for Courteney Cox on February 27, 2023 in Hollywood . That opinion is supported by 41 current and former lawyers as well as human rights groups like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Still, Ms. Montgomerys lawyers cited the repeated physical and sexual abuse she endured as a child in pleas for leniency, arguing that President Trump would affirm the experiences of abuse survivors by commuting her sentence to life imprisonment. She was 62. According to TIME, Montgomery looked 'bewildered' at the journalists watching from behind a glass window and 'tapped her fingers nervously' before closing her eyes to die. She is also survived by siblings Michael Montgomery (Jo Anne) of Hammond, La., Christine Montgomery of Metairie, La., and a cousin, Robin Jennings (William) of Shreveport, La. [49] The stay was then vacated by the Supreme Court via a 63 vote. Lisa Darlene Montgomery, 59, of Bassett, Va., passed away on Friday, January 13, 2023. A visitation will be held from 4:00pm to 5:00 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, at Bassett Funeral Service, where a memorial service will be conducted at 5:00pm, with Pastor Jerome Denny presiding. Lisa Montgomery's crimes were unspeakably horrific. . She became the first woman federal prisoner to be executed in 67 years after she was convicted of the horrific murder of 23-year-old dog breeder Bobbie Jo Stinnett, in 2004. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Tribute Archive. The fight to save the life of a death row inmate is always dramatic up until the very last moment, and none more so than the fight to save Lisa Montgomery. She received the death penalty in April 2008. In her last years, she was a tender presence in the lives of her two nearby siblings. Lisa M. Montgomery, 52, was the only woman on federal death row. The 52-year-old - who was convicted of killing a pregnant woman and carving out her child - was pronounced dead at 1.31am, after receiving a lethal injection at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. Not a drinker or carouser, her addictions were beautiful clothes, stylish but sensible shoes and art. Lisa passed away suddenly on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at Oklahoma Heart Hospital in Oklahoma City. Montgomery's legal team has also insisted that she was not represented properly in her previous trials. Create an obituary. That claim was dismissed, with the courts saying the felony murder rule nullified this and that Montgomery needed to kill Bobbi regardless in order to complete the kidnapping. I think, you know, its not right always to say an eye for an eye, but I think the communitys hurt enough that it would definitely help with some closure.. A native of Myrtle Beach, SC but raised in Richland, GA; Mrs. Montgomery was born February 14, 1963 to the late George and Sara Alston. She used a rope to strangle the eight months pregnant Stinnett, then cut her baby girl from the womb with a kitchen knife. Menu. In the 21st century, it's not just urns and gravestones anymore. Montgomery was the first woman killed by the federal government in nearly 70 years. [31] Both federal prosecutor Roseann Ketchmark and the opposing expert witness forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz disagreed strongly with the diagnosis of pseudocyesis. Duchardt rejected all criticism and defended his conduct. Her lawyers had claimed that she was incompetent for execution, citing mental illness, neurological impairment and complex trauma. Giving to charity is a meaningful way to honor someone who has died. to the family or plant a tree Lisa Montgomery. Prosecutors told the jury Montgomery drove about 170 miles from her Melvern, Kansas, farmhouse to the northwest Missouri town of Skidmore under the guise of adopting a puppy from Stinnett. Lisa Montgomery was executed in the early hours of January 13, 2021. Art crowded every wall in her home, and it somehow worked, lending beauty and elegance to her cozy surroundings. But the Supreme Court cleared the way for the execution to proceed, as it has done with the previous 10 inmates executed by the Trump administration. Biden has pledged to end the death penalty on the federal level. EST. You can search by first or last name, state and publication date. We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. After her story fell apart, she confessed to the killing. Ways to honor Lisa Montgomery's life and legacy. No, Montgomery responded in a quiet, muffled voice and said nothing else. Accordingly, since Bobbi had died beforehand, the crime was instead a "death resulting in kidnapping." Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. They were told she pretended to be a pregnant woman named "Darlene Fischer" to bond with Stinnett. [5] There was no sign of forced entry; authorities believe that Montgomery, posing as customer "Darlene Fischer", had arranged to visit Stinnett's house on that day. [23] The case of Atkins v. Virginia ruled that executing individuals with intellectual disability violates the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding cruel and unusual punishments. The baby girl lived and turned 16 last month on the anniversary of her mothers death. A few minutes later, her midsection throbbed for a moment, but quickly stopped. But a look at her past reveals she had one thing in common with 87 others on death row. Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. She was born on. [8], In her final days, Montgomery had kept a calendar marked with Joe Biden's inauguration date. She left the city to attend LSU in Baton Rouge, but never considered moving anywhere else. She was hooked. Ultimately, the US Supreme Court ruled against Montgomery in all three of her final legal challenges, including one that argued that it would be unconstitutional to execute Montgomery because she is not mentally competent. Lisa was a New Orleans girl through-and-through. A federal judge in the District of Columbia blocked their executions in a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that the government has already appealed. The child miraculously survived and Montgomery tried to pass the baby off as her own, even telling her husband she had given birth. When Montgomery was 14, her mother discovered the abuse and reacted by threatening her daughter with a gun. As a child she was routinely sexually and physically abused by her father and trafficked by her mother, family members said. Montgomery, 52, the only woman on federal death row, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Jan. 12 in the U.S. Penitentiary at Terre Haute, Ind. In Trump's final days in office, Lisa Montgomery a mentally ill victim of sex trafficking is set to be the first woman the U.S. executes in 70 years. Linda Michele Hunt Montgomery is survived by her children Ariel Hunt and Zachary Hunt and grandchildren Mia Allen and Ahmad Campbell. But after she arrived at Ms. Stinnetts house, Ms. Montgomery strangled her, used a knife to cut her abdomen and extracted the fetus, then claimed the child as her own. Blogs; Online will; Shop. Her treatment was so violent that it amounted to torture, her lawyers say. The alert was initially denied as it had not been used before in an unborn child's case and thus there was no description of the victim.