Montgomery's alcoholic mother, Judy Shaughnessy, knew about the assaults but blamed Montgomery for bringing them upon herself. They introduced her as their daughter, Abigail, and made multiple other stops. Two days before the crime, her former husband (and stepbrother) sought custody of two of her children. The following day, the police arrested Montgomery at her home. Today there is a single restaurant and few of the streets are paved. Her case is one of the most extreme of all the cases that Ive looked at, in terms of the severity and repetition of the violence that she experienced, she said. Montgomery lamented that she couldn't be present to console them because she was in solitary confinement, said Dorr, Montgomery's friend since they met in a federal prison in 2006. It makes him even angrier that it was Stinnett's mother who discovered her that way. Her attorneys say that while Montgomery feels deep remorse for her crimes, her understanding of her situation waxes and wanes. Lisa Montgomery has been charged in the December 16 death of Bobbie Jo Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant at the time. She has writtenopinion piecespublished in Elle and Newsweek. But the cousin, a sheriff's deputy, confessed to Montgomery's current legal team that he did nothing. "There was so much pressure on her at that point," says Henry. I cant understand why they have to kill this woman, knowing her background and everything that happened, he said. "She needs to be put to death.". "Bobbie deserves to be here today. While a six-week time period to prepare for clemency might always be unreasonable, it is particularly arduous given the pandemic.. At the same time, she blames it for the fate of her younger half-sister, Lisa Montgomery. Montgomery graduated in 1986 from high school at Cleveland, Okla., with hopes of joining the Air Force to earn money for college. Shaughnessy knew that Mattingly was sensitive about abandonment due to her severed relationship with her birth mother, and so she would strip Mattingly naked and push her outside the front door, pretending that she was kicked out. ", "I live with regret for not speaking up about what happened to Lisa," Kidwell said, adding that he just didnt know what to do.. Im not a psychiatrist, so I cant go any further than that.. Montgomery's second husband Kevin Montgomery, who lives near Melvern and remains married to her voiced support for her bid for clemency in a statement releasedthrough his wife's attorneys. She liked going down to the Nodaway River to swim, and playing Nintendo games at slumber parties. Until July 2020, there had been no federal executions for 17 years. Judy later married a man named Jack who punched, kicked and choked his children, including Lisa. In the cases where women are sentenced to death, prosecutors often use gender stereotypes against the defendants, she said, characterizing them as transgressive or not normal in some way. There is a decision that has to be made, separate from guilt, about whether someones behavior is so morally reprehensible that they deserve the death penalty, she said. He also noted that after she confessed to killing Stinnett, she changed her story to contend the murder was committed by her half-brotherTommy Kleiner. "I get these images in my head of [Bobbie Jo's mother] finding her daughter that way.". Recently, there has been a virus outbreak on death row at the institution, and previous executions have been linked to outbreaks among the execution team and prison staff. The girls' biological father left the home, and after a while, Mattingly was whisked away to foster care. Babies born naturally tend to have misshapen heads initially because of the pressure experienced as they go through the birth canal, he said. Judy Shaughnessy, Montgomery ' s mother, raised Lisa in poverty and chaos, with multiple stepfathers and in dozens of different homes, according to scores of interviews and documents cited. And it's never about what my friend went through," she adds. Montgomery's execution date was subsequently bumped back to Jan. 12. She was often spaced out, appearing disconnected from reality. The infant found later that day to weigh 5 pounds, 11 ounces was "very still" and didn't cry, which concerned Strong. After Mattingly was removed from the home by social services, Montgomery fell prey to her mother's new husband, who according to statements from his other children, was a violent alcoholic who began sexually abusing Montgomery when she was a pre-teen. But Fischer was a name that Montgomery had been using when she separately began messaging Stinnett from a different email address inquiring about buying one of her puppies. Shaughnessy drank excessively during her pregnancy, causing brain damage to Montgomery, according to court records. In Trumps 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. Montgomery became the first female federal prisoner executed in 67 years, the first woman executed in the United States since Kelly Gissendaner in 2015, and the first person executed in the United States in 2021. Montgomery was put on suicide watch as soon as her execution date was set, Henry said, adding thatMontgomery had previously attempted suicide but not since 2012. Montgomery said she was seeking a dog for a Christmas gift. Around this time, she repeatedly claimed to be pregnant again, although she had undergone sterilisation after her fourth baby was born. The baby was returned to her father, after being recovered from Montgomery. Montgomery often read her Bible or did things with her hands, including writing, quilting, and making placemats and bookmarks, Dorr said. The father was a teacher. Family members have claimed that Shaughnessy blamed Montgomery for the abuse and the divorce. She enacted this in the grip of a very broken mind.". According to her lawyers and witnesses, Montgomery suffered years of childhood abuse so severe it was akin to torture. They had been called in as part of the Northwest Missouri Major Case Squad, which was workingwith the FBI to identify Stinnett's killer and find the missing child. Nobody has said that Lisa should never have been punished. When Montgomery was 15, Shaughnessy and Kleiner separated. And to not fail her.". She has always accepted responsibility. "There's so many people that failed her throughout her whole life. Around age 8, she said, a man began raping her in the bedroom she shared with Montgomery, then 4, who lay in bed right next to her. They had corresponded for weeks on an online forum for rat terrier breeders and enthusiasts called "Ratter Chatter". Shaughnessy beat her children with belts, cords and hangers, put them in cold showers and put duct tape over Montgomery's mouth to silence her, the attorneys said. DNA testing later showed they were Stinnett's. She also told one of her stepbrothers about the sexual abuse around that time. A clemency petition asking Trump to reduce Montgomerys sentence to life without parole is expected to be filed in the coming weeks. Randy Strong, who investigated the case,is unhappy that some people are asking thatMontgomerys life be spared. Montgomery told investigators she was surprised at how nicely they had treated her, considering what she had done. I am begging that somebody will finally stand up for her and say, shes been punished enough.. And theyre taking me away from her.. "The people that are defending [Montgomery], I wish I could take them back in time, and put them in that room," he says. Her lawyers say that as she lost touch with reality, she fantasised about being pregnant. Dr Katherine Porterfield, a clinical psychologist who evaluated Montgomery and spent about 18 hours with her, says that psychosis does not always look the way people expect it to. Two other inmates are scheduled to die at Terre Haute prison before Mr Trump's presidency ends. Who was the last woman executed by the US government? As Strong crossed the threshold, hesaw a TV set airing an Amber Alert about the abduction of Stinnett's baby. Often the woman, now 52 and a grandmother of 12, is knitting or doing needlepoint. Montgomerys case is not about whether she is responsible for the crime; she is. Bobbie Jo's mother and husband have have not spoken publicly in many years. When they came to take me, I thought they were coming to take all of us. But Lisa was broken. Diane Mattingly is the sister of Lisa Montgomery, who is scheduled for execution by the federal government on December 8, 2020. Weddle said she moved to Melvern when she retired nine years ago because she wanted peace and quiet after more than 30 years as a Topeka police officer. At 18, Judy pressured Lisa to marry her stepbrother. Lisa Montgomery, who endured years of sexual and physical abuse, murdered an expectant mother and took the baby. Today, residents are tired of Melvernbeing connected with Lisa Montgomery, said current Mayor Lyndon Weddle, who describesMelvern asafriendlyrural community where people wave when they pass each other. Her mother, Judy Shaughnessy, beat and tormented all of her children, proudly telling an investigator that her daughter's first sentence was "Don't spank me, it hurts." Montgomery's first stepfather . She has exhausted all legal options. It was a terrifying household, she says, where physical, psychological and sexual abuse at the hands of Judy Shaughnessy, Montgomery's mother, and her boyfriends was routine. It turns out that it only takes a few people to save a child's life: being loved by my foster parents saved mine. As a teenager, Montgomery confided in her cousin, a deputy sheriff, that she was being raped by Kleiner and other men orally, vaginally and anally. The mom, Judy Shaughnessy, was so cruel she once beat the family dog to death in front of her kids, the petition states. Fourteen of those offenders are serving long prison sentences, while the twoothers died by suicide in custody, according to a list Henry provided. But none of those other victims responded by killing a woman and cutting her baby out of her stomach, hesaid. On December 8, the federal government plans to execute her for a crime she committed in the grip of severe mental illness after a lifetime of living hell. "I would say, 'President Trump, I want you to look at the life that Lisa had led, I want to look at all the people that have failed her, I want you to look at the rape, the torture, the mental abuse, the physical abuse that this woman had endured,'" she says. Back home, the couple announced the birth of their daughter to their friends and relatives. Because of Stinnett's easy-going reputation, Morrow remembers instantly dismissing the initial reports of her murder. If they all go ahead, the federal government will have executed more people than any administration in nearly 100 years. Montgomery smelled like a sour ashtray and body sweat" as Don Fritz and Randy Strong interrogated her on Dec. 17, 2004, Strong recalled. Why the fate of the only woman on federal death row hinges on these Tennessee attorneys and their health, Lisa Montgomery's execution, delayed by attorneys' COVID-19 cases, rescheduled for Jan. 12, Only woman on federal death row asks President Trump to be a 'hero,' commute her sentence, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Nationwide, only 54 women have been executed since 1900. "It was pretty awful.". But they were what we come to understand as neuro-physiological adaptations to survive being constantly under assault.. Mattingly said her heart sank when she realized Montgomery wasn't coming with her. Although the alumni have scattered somewhat, in recent years, the Nodaway-Holt R-VII High School graduating class of 2000 - which had only 22 members - has a tradition to mark the anniversary of the death of their classmate Bobbie Jo Stinnett. Mattingly said she was fortunate to have been moved to a lovinghome of high school history teacher and coach Floyd Gwin;his wife, Zella Gwin;and their three biological children. Many there believe the final moments of Bobbie Jo Stinnett were so horrific, the death sentence is warranted. Both became infected with COVID-19, believing it to be transmitted duringthe prison visit. When Lisa Montgomery murdered pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett and ripped her unborn baby from her womb, the whole world reeled in horror. Defense attorney Fred Duchardt told jurors that sexual abuse during her childhood had caused Montgomeryto become mentally ill and killed her soul. One of those men started coming into their bedroom and raping Mattingly regularly, Mattingly said. A former paramedic who had watched the births of all three of his children, Strong also considered the baby's head to be unusually round. A few years after Mattingly was removed from the home, when Montgomery was in kindergarten, her mother remarried a man named Jack Kleiner. Montgomery's family moved from place to place during her adult years, continuing the pattern she hadknown as a child. "There were so many opportunities where people could have intervened and prevented this," says Henry. My sister is on death row, Kleiner wrote in the lawsuit petition. If her execution goes forward, she will be the first federal female inmate to be executed in almost 70 years. Lisa Montgomery, a Kansas native scheduled within days to become the first woman executed by the federal government in 67 years, lived a childhood so abusive her attorneys call it akin to torture. "I fell in love immediately.". Montgomery first claimed to have had the baby at a Topeka birthing center but began changing her story after investigatorsseparated her from her husband and the infant, Strong said. She is permitted Sudoku puzzles and coloring pages andone book at a time. After previously being allowed contact with a limited number of inmates, Montgomery was moved to a solitary confinement cell at Carswell and kept there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Henry said. The family treated Mattingly as one of their own, and gave her a sense of belonging and self-worth, she said. As a teenager, Montgomery confided in a cousin, telling him the men would tie her up, beat her and even urinate on her afterwards. When Floyd Gwin died last July at age 81, Mattingly was listed among the survivors in his obituary. Victims of severe childhood sexual abuse can overcome their trauma with certain factors, Porterfield said, such as the presence of a nurturing adult who provides love and connects them to resources to promote healing. Patterson and Shaughnessy divorced in 1971, and Shaughnessy took custody of the girls. "Last year, we got flowers, and gave her a $100-plus gift card and then paid her water bill," says Jena Baumli. The threat of losing her children, combined with the years of untreated trauma and severe mental illness, pushed Lisa over the edge. Montgomery's father, John Patterson, a 25-year-old in the military, was also an alcoholic. There are certain crimes that are universally abhorred by the public, ones that evoke a primal response of disgust and revenge from those who hear about it. Her mother also began trafficking her, allowing handymen like electricians and plumbers to sexually abuse Montgomery in exchange for work on the house. They gave me unconditional love, they taught me my self-worth, she said. Her mouth was covered with duct tape so frequently that she learned not to cry. Nodaway County Sheriff Randy Strong says that the scene that he and his four colleagues found that day was so bloody, they are still traumatised by it. As Montgomery grew up, court records say, observersnoticed that she increasingly appeared to be "spaced out," "not emotionally present" or in "her own little world.". Several high-profile figures had appealed for clemency in Brandon's case but Mr Trump did not heed those calls. But those who believe she should be put to death say her lifetime of horrorscan't excuse what came next: OnDec. 16, 2004, she loaded a steak knife, umbilical cord clamps and part of a clothesline into her car anddrove 175 miles from her home in east-central Kansas to the northwest Missouri home of Bobbie Jo Stinnett, an expectant mother she had met at a dog show. Montgomery, who confessed, was later sentenced to death for the especially heinous murder as decided by a jury who heard her trial. As long as she was given cigarettes, Montgomery continued to talk, Strong said. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Judy ultimately married six times, and had multiple partners throughout Lisa's childhood. Montgomery and Stinnett participated inthe "Ratter Chatter" online message board for rat terrier dog enthusiasts. I was thinking, shes still back there. Montgomery also talked about the abuseshe had endured from her stepfather, Jack Kleiner, and the first of her two husbands, Carl Boman, Dorr said. . However, the executions ordered by President Trump are continuing. She was beaten, repeatedly raped by her stepfather and his friends and sexually trafficked by her mother. She does not deserve to die. View the profiles of people named Judy Shaughnessy. The couple returned to their home near Melvern, which was being watched by investigators working to identify the woman who had told Stinnett she was Darlene Fischer. After their biological father left the home, Mattingly says they were left alone with Shaughnessy's boyfriends, at least one of whom started raping Mattingly. Mrs. After she gave birth to four children, Judy pressured Lisa into an involuntary sterilization. My heart goes out to the family of Bobbie Jo Stinnett and the loss that they have felt and are still feeling. "As a result, Lisa has trouble processing information and navigating social relationships. The nature and circumstances of Montgomerys crime show she had lost touch with reality, says her half-sister, Diane Mattingly. Every time she has a birthday, it will also be the anniversary of the slaughter of her mother, Whitworth said. Grandmother of 12, is knitting or doing needlepoint during her adult years, continuing the pattern she hadknown a. While Montgomery feels deep remorse for her crimes, her understanding of her children, including Lisa current team. 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