A judge blocked the execution of the only woman on federal death row from taking place this year, accusing the Justice Department of unlawfully scheduling her death.
U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss prohibited the Bureau of Prisons from rescheduling Lisa Montgomery’s execution until at least Jan. 1 after delaying the execution set for this month following her attorneys contracting the coronavirus while visiting their client and requested the judge extend the amount of time to file a clemency petition.
When the agency tried to reschedule Montgomery’s execution for Jan. 12, Moss ruled against the move, saying it cannot do so while a stay is in place. “The Court, accordingly, concludes that the Director’s order setting a new execution date while the Court’s stay was in effect was ‘not in accordance with law,’” Moss wrote, according to the Associated Press.
Under Justice Department guidelines, a death row inmate must be notified at least 20 days before his or her scheduled execution, which could put Montgomery’s life in the hands of the incoming Biden administration.
Montgomery was initially set to be put to death in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Dec. 8. Montgomery was convicted of killing a 23-year-old pregnant woman in Missouri in December 2004. The now 52-year-old used a rope to strangle the woman then used a kitchen knife to cut the fetus from her womb. Prosecutors said Montgomery removed the baby, took the child with her, and passed the girl off as her own.
The Trump administration has been scrambling to proceed with a slate of executions as President Trump prepares to exit office next month. Five executions were scheduled before the Jan. 20 inauguration, breaking with a 130-year-old precedent of pausing executions during the presidential transition period, according to the BBC.
If all five take place, the administration will have conducted 13 executions, the most since Grover Cleveland’s presidency in the 1890s.
President-elect Joe Biden has said he opposes the death penalty and will work to end its use when he takes office. Biden’s representatives, however, have not said whether executions would be immediately paused once the Democrat enters the White House.
