In the hours surrounding Lisa Montgomery’s execution, the world spoke — in outrage, in grief, and in love.
These are the voices that refused to look away. Attorneys, advocates, and journalists who bore witness to her final days and the government’s unrelenting determination to end them.
Their words form a record of what happened — and a call to ensure it never happens again.
Lisa’s story did not end in Terre Haute. It continues here, in the truth left behind by those who loved her, defended her, and believed she was more than the worst thing she had ever done.
The craven bloodlust of a failed administration was on full display tonight. Everyone who participated in the execution of Lisa Montgomery should feel shame. No one disputes that she was the victim of unspeakable torture, sexual violence, and lifelong mental illness. Yet the government killed her anyway — violating the Constitution, federal law, and basic decency.
Lisa was much more than the horrors she endured and the crime she committed. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and sister; a gentle, creative soul who found moments of grace even in a life marked by pain.
Her execution was far from justice. It was the unnecessary exercise of authoritarian power — a failure of compassion, law, and humanity. We cannot let this happen again.
-Kelley Henry, attorney for Lisa Montgomery-January 13, 2021
Newsweek: “Lisa Montgomery’s Attorney Denounces ‘Craven Bloodlust of a Failed Administration’”
In the early hours of January 13, 2021, Lisa Montgomery was executed by the U.S. government — the first woman in nearly 70 years to face a federal death sentence. Her attorney, Kelley Henry, called it “the craven bloodlust of a failed administration,” condemning the government’s decision to kill a woman whose life had been defined by torture, trafficking, and mental illness.
“Lisa’s execution was far from justice,” Henry said. “She was much more than the tragic crime she committed. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and sister — a gentle and caring person whom I was honored to know and represent.”
The Newsweek report detailed Henry’s accusations that the Trump administration violated federal law, ignored Lisa’s severe mental illness, and rushed the execution despite the pandemic. It also noted that Lisa’s plea for clemency — supported by thousands of advocates — went unanswered.
“We should recognize Lisa Montgomery’s execution for what it was,” Henry concluded. “The vicious, unlawful, and unnecessary exercise of authoritarian power. We cannot let this happen again.”
The Tortured Life And Tragic Crime Of The Only Woman On Death Row
Sandra Babcock, faculty director of the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide noted that while at least a dozen other women across the U.S. have committed a similar crime in the past 20 years — killing a pregnant woman to kidnap her baby — Montgomery was the only one sentenced to death. In the other cases, she said, prosecutors opted not to seek the death penalty or juries did not impose it because it was obvious the women were suffering from profound mental illnesses.
“Nobody has said that Lisa should never have been punished. They’re saying that a sentence of life without the possibility of parole is more than sufficient punishment for someone who has endured what she did.”