Jury: Death For Expectant Mom Killer

Lisa Montgomery Guilty Of Murdering A Pregnant Woman And Attempting To Steal The Fetus

(CBS/AP)  A federal jury decided Friday that a woman convicted of killing an expectant mother and cutting her baby from her womb should receive the death penalty.

Jurors deliberated more than five hours before recommending the sentence for Lisa Montgomery. Judge Gary Fenner will sentence Montgomery, but he had told jurors he was obligated to abide by their recommendation. A sentencing date has not been set.

Montgomery, 39, was convicted Monday of kidnapping and killing Bobbie Jo Stinnett on Dec. 16, 2004, in the victim's home in the northwest Missouri town of Skidmore. She was arrested the next day in Melvern, Kan., where she was showing off the newborn as her own.

Montgomery wiped her eyes with a tissue as the jury announced its sentencing decision. Her attorney, Fred Duchardt, had his hand on her shoulder.

When the jurors were asked if they agreed with the decision, each responded: "Yes, your honor." Afterward, the jury asked to speak to prosecutors and defense attorneys but did not say why.

Lisa Montgomery's husband, Kevin, and his parents were not in the courtroom when the verdict was read but came in as the jurors left. The family then went into another room without speaking to reporters.

Prosecutors argued that Stinnett's killing and mutilation is the kind of crime for which capital punishment is intended.

Showing jurors photos of the bloody crime scene, the prosecution told jurors Thursday that Montgomery deserves to die because of the heinousness of her crime, and because computer evidence — including Internet searches on performing Caesareans — shows the crime was premeditated.

Federal prosecutor Roseann Ketchmark said Montgomery had violated Stinnett in the "most wicked way possible," then failed to seek medical attention for the infant, who was four weeks shy of her due date.

Defense attorney Fred Duchardt, who claims sexual abuse during Montgomery's childhood led to mental illness, asked the jury to spare his client's life. He said emotional abuse from her mother and sexual abuse from her stepfather "killed Lisa's soul."

"I'm not ashamed to ask you all for mercy," Duchardt told the jury. "I ask for it on behalf of Lisa and all the people who love her."

Prosecutors claimed Montgomery was faking mental illness to aid her defense. They also noted that few of the many people who have been sexually abused go on to kill.

Ketchmark showed jurors crime scene photos highlighting the blows to Stinnett's head, injuries to her elbows, defensive cuts to her hands and strangulation marks.

"Look at the ragged abdominal cuts," she said. "This is vicious. This defendant mutilated her."

Ketchmark also described how the gruesome death had hurt Stinnett's family, particularly her husband, Zeb, who was forced to raise their daughter alone, and her mother, Becky Harper, who found her daughter's body.

[mswolfestock]

I''d like to thank the brave people who sat on the jury in this terrible case for handing down the only appropriate sentence for this crime. I only hope the members of the jury can get past this in their lives, I hope they don''t suffer any mental anguish for having to weigh all the graphic evidence. Personally I cannot imagine how somebody could commit this type of crime. But I am very glad that this evil person will be put to death - she does not deserve to live, she does not deserve to have tax money spent on her to sit in a jail cell. Some crimes are beyond redemption and this is one of them (along with any kind of child abuse, which I guess this crime qualifies for child abuse, too).

[rmmm201]

The said thing is we will have to keep her for 25 years while they appeal the case.

[Krazcarl]

GOOD usualy takes 10=15 years before appeals are run out there should be a fast track but theres to much maoney to be made and the laws were written by lawyers.

[nexgen99]

And I think the form of execution should be public disembowelment.

[sevenveils]

Death seems proper but perhaps life in prison with no parole would be more fitting. imagine the years of torment in the penal system. It''s the next best thing to Abu Ghraib.

After all, that prison was run by military with civilian penal experience.

[nexgen99]

Death seems proper but perhaps life in prison with no parole would be more fitting. imagine the years of torment in the penal system. It''''s the next best thing to Abu Ghraib.

After all, that prison was run by military with civilian penal experience.

Posted by sevenveils
==================================

Abu Ghraib was about as painful as a college hazing.

[gmond]

The only problem with the sentence is that she will magically find God on death row and become a poster child for the anti-death penalty brigade while her lawyers file automatic appeals for the next decade or two. It might have been better to give her life in prison, then the other prisoners might have carried out her death sentence.

[jn122736]

MY thanks also to the Jury.

This was a just and appropriate finding.

Due to the lack of doubt in this case, all appeals should, rightfully, be over and execution carried out within 1 year

[namesnames]

No anti-death penalty posts?! It seems some crimes just leave no room for debate. She should be executed in the same manner that she killed the young mother.

[jeanner6]

And the b*tch decides to shed some tears after the sentencing is read? Are those tears true remorse or that she will never see the outside world again? HMMMM

[houstonmac]

some people go to such lengths to have children.

...makes the world go ''round.

[Krazcarl]

scarlet...you poor little lying loser i will no longer take the time to read your filthy post little boy..Sorry folks fe likes to talk dirty on the post and thinks he''s funny just a troll and a very filthy one.

[kevzgrl]

rmmm201, you are absolutely right. There will be appeal after appeal, and that baby girl will be grown and married and have children of her own, who will never get to kiss their grandma, before this heartless woman is brought to true justice. The lawyers who will handle those appeals won''t bat an eyelash while upholding this killer''s "rights" and Bobbie Jo will eventually just be a name buried in all the paperwork the courts will crank out in the years to come, while this woman continues to live at taxpayer''s expense. I know people who have gone through years of sexual abuse and other horrible things, and, funny enough, they have never ripped someone''s body apart to take a baby out of it. I get so sick of hearing about how some psychopathic criminal had a "lousy childhood" and that made them the way they are - wrong, wrong, wrong - they CHOSE their criminal behavior, and I won''t shed a tear for them when the needle is inserted...

[rshoff2]

Cut off her hands, then stone her to death. I cannot comprehend what she did. And I can''t accept it. It''s barbaric. And she deserves the same.

[scully152]

As sick as her crime was I am slightly torn over the sentence. I am a mother to 3 wonderful kids. I am So very sad for baby Victoria because she will NOT have a mother while she grows up. I DO believe in the death penalty and this woman deserves a most heinous sentence. I am just not too sure that the sentence she got is the right sentence for her. She should definately be in jail for the rest of her life. Part of me wants to see her fry for what she did to that mother and her family but I also feel for HER family, not for her...and I feel that way BECAUSE I am a mother.

[michellem99-2009]

I say death now for her and that is should be done..No dragging it thru the court system..There is no sense locking her up in a cage..Don''t blame a poor childhood..I was raised in abused foster homes..So that is not it. Don''t cry mental illness. That is not it. She killed for a child not hers. She was fixed for a reason.. No babying / paw holding.
crzmeat..sharlet and I had a few words some time back..If she holds a Phd..She is rude. She was not taught much..I told her right here on them there boards..

[gorph001]

FRY THE MONSTER!!!!!--How!!!!, Could this monster do this!!!!!!

[Krazcarl]

scully152...When you really look at it the death penalty is more merciful than the rest of your days in a cage. In prison there is nothing lousy food the medical benefits are minimal no reeducation no purpose to your existence outside your next breath. People that say the death penalty isn''t humane never spent any time there you spend the rest of your life reading books eating lousy food and hanging out with the scum of the earth you have to befriend or go insane

[gorph001]

try living at the modesto mission!!, then you''ll know how awful what you just printed reallt is!!!!!

[fibonacci_]

Boooo all you death penalty supporters. You support killing - you cannot deny that. You say that it helps deter the crime, but look at the statistics of the USA in murder rates compared to European countries (and others) which don''t have the death penalty. How do you teach a society not to kill by killing people -don''t you supporters of state sponsored killing at least see some degree of irony in that?

I say make it worse than death - send these people to a place just like supermax in colorado...we could use more prisons like that. Make them work their ***** off. If they want to off themselves in the process that is their right.

Just remember, if you support the death penalty you are supporting killing in some fashion. Ironic. I admit, I don''t feel sorry for people like Saddam or Tim McVeigh when they get death...but I do not support a system which tries to teach people not to kill by killing people. Shame on those that do. No more killing!

[bluehart-2009]

How could Lisa have been so disturbed and her husband/family members not notice it? She had to be faking a pregnancy. I am amazed that no one knew what was going on with her. She deserves a quick and speedy death. I think lethal injection is too nice and painless-for anyone. Lisa certainly wasn''t concerned about the pain and suffering she caused Bobbie Jo or her baby. Bring back the previously used forms of execution, and see if the crime rate decreases. People can be forgiven for their crimes, but they still have to pay the penalty. Seems like criminals think it''s just a little pin prick and it''s all over. No suffering for them.

[knyghtwolf]

The ONLY way I support the Death Penalty is if and only if the DNA proves conclusively beyond a shadow of a doubt that the killer did the murder. If there is any room for doubt, then life or some other form of public service such as new or experimental drug tests or test surgical procedures, voluntary of course as an option. Other than that, find the real culprit. Television would lead on to believe that homicides are solved on a daily basis but this is NOT true; most homicides, about 80 to 90% go unsolved.

[likeitis5050]

scully152 she will languish for 10 years or more on death row. She will get to see her children grow. She will have access to what is going on in their lives. The death penalty is not swift enough to be a deterrent in these kinds of crimes. If it were swift, and did not drag out for years, but instead gave the murderer 1 week to get affairs in order, perhaps people like this hideous creature wouldn''t ''lose their minds'' and rip babies from wombs and leave families in shreds.

Our legal system serves to give criminals like this enough wiggle room to make what they choose to do worthwhile to them in some way. And until we can be sure those who are sentenced to die actually committed the crimes they are accused of, it needs have some wiggle room. But once we have reached a place where death sentences are totally backed up by DNA and other technological advances that leave no doubt...the wiggle room needs to be removed. Only then, I believe, will people think twice before committing a crime that will have them facing death one week after sentencing. Lisa is a cold blooded murderer and doesn''t deserve to see the light of day, let alone her own family, for the rest of her life.

But you are right to feel that what she did tore up two families, not just Victoria''s family. Lisa made a decision to murder without considering just how much her own family would have to suffer for her crime.

[fibonacci_]

Killing - stop the killing, murderers and supporters of state-sponsored killing. At least let them live a crappy life in a hard-core prison. Like some people here have said...this could be even worse than death for some. I am not a softy, I just believe that we can not teach the value of life to people by offing people who off people.

[libsluvsuvs]

Killing - stop the killing, murderers and supporters of state-sponsored killing. At least let them live a crappy life in a hard-core prison. Like some people here have said...this could be even worse than death for some. I am not a softy, I just believe that we can not teach the value of life to people by offing people who off people.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by fibonacci_ at 06:44 PM : Oct 26, 2007
+ report abuse


**********

trust me when I say that these "anti-state sponsored killings'' advocates aka BLEEDING HEART LIBERALS had made these state penn as luxurious as your garden variety ''place to suffer of your sins'' centers..they eat 3 times a day, medical attentions, conjugal visits and an opportunity to kill other inmates..ALL PAID BY YOUR TAX DOLLARS.


screw the ''teaching the values'' and on with the rid society of its parasites and criminals NOT UNLESS YOU WANT TO DO IT AND PAY FOR IT..i know i dont.

[toolmangler-2009]

I do not want to support her life with my taxes. End it now.There are no redeeming qualitys in her.

[toolmangler-2009]

Killing - stop the killing, murderers and supporters of state-sponsored killing.
Posted by fibonacci_ at 06:44 PM : Oct 26, 2007


I have not killed her, she did that herself.
If you feel so much for her then you take her home with you and spend your money to keep her alive, don''t demand that I do it...

[hazelknows]

Montgomery''s death won''t be as cruel as her victim. so kill her nowwwwwwww

[michellem99-2009]

I DON''T AS RULE PUSH FOR DEATH BUT THIS WILL BE PANDERED/BABIED..CRZMEAT IS RIGHT. SCULLY152. Yer a ma and a good one.. I have a friend who aunt is a judge..She told him that the killers don''t care if they live or die. Live is hopeless for them.So they are are getting 3 meals aday,medical care, Some even have sexx change done in there,on and on. Prisoms are full. Yer know what the immates will do to her if she is not placed in a cell alone..That''s right they kill her.

[hedonist3]

"If you feel so much for her then you take her home with you and spend your money to keep her alive, don''''t demand that I do it...

Well spoken, ToolMangler.

[kailumego1]

Absolutely no sympathy, I can''t imagine what this mother must have felt walking into her daughter''s home and finding her mutilated bloodied body..

HORRIFIED!

There is absolutely no doubt this woman murdered and mutilated this young woman, so all the "pity chanting" by her lawyer and family means noting...

Childhood abuse is no excuse for viciously violating someone, neither does it excuse grotesque acts of murder, it only demonstrates how pathetically disturbed this individual is, but it doesn''t excuse her behavior.

What she has done is "identified" with her abusers, but that''s her "psychological decision", of which she had a chance to recover from her horrendous experience if she had simply sought help....

So, don''t cry now!

It infuriates me when family members come out of the closet with claims of abuse, not saying it didn''t happen, after their child, husband, etc. has committed a hideous crime, for the sole reason of "pampering" their guilt.

Sick or not, she was in control, a sociopath, certainly, suffering from an borderline/histrionic personality, a grave possibility, but does that mean she should be granted leniency for her crime HELL NO...

[trenticus-2009]

GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hedonist3]

"...she was in control, a sociopath..."

kailumego1 - While I agree with your bottom line, aren''t the two in direct opposition? A sociopath, by its very nature, cannot be "in control". It''s a terribly sad case all the way around; senseless lives lost. In any event, this human being needs to be eliminated, so she can do no further harm.

[hedonist3]

lol - meant to say "senseless loss of lives". It''s he// gettin'' old...

[rshoff2]

Scully152 - I was reading back through the posts and was moved by your compassion on your earliest comment (on Page 3). It''s something that is hard to find and so lacking in the world and it was nice to be reminded that compassion has a higher human value than revenge. HOWEVER, my argument remains that she did this to herself and she did it to her family. Past tense. Compassion cannot undo what she has done. And it''s precisely for your children''s sake, indeed everyone''s sake, that people like her are severely and permanently removed from our society. And if we can make an example of it to other sociopaths (people who themselves have no compassion), all the better.

[rshoff2]

lol Hedonist - You''ve create a fantastic expression. Senseless lives lost... Thank you :) I may borrow it from you though...

[michellem99-2009]

scully153,Dear, Yer have to see the light..I am kind old lady..Would ye want yer body ripped opened and yer baby stold out of yer person as yer lay dying and bleeding to death..She did not care for ye.. All she wanted a child not hers..As yer lay dying yer other children have no Ma..Yer know that is hell of a way to die. I know the sound of that cry ..so pitiful..He hit a tree and died in the middle of the night. I was a foster child then..That woman showed no mercy/humane toward that lady..We must now..That is not right...She sits in prisom.Lovely..They get life..In a cage..We are all paying for it..Peace ..Barbara...

[jonesforch]

MichelleM99

Yer have to see the light..I am kind old lady.

HUH?

[gvalentino]

There is not a whole lot that can be said on behalf of Lisa Montgomery. It was a horrible thing she did. I am, in most cases, against the death-penalty. However, in this case there is no redeemable quality I can find. Bobbie Jo was no one''s enemy. God bless her and may she rest in peace.

[eccentric506]

Unfortunately the laws concerning execution are quite limited in their scope, controlling cruel and unusual punishment--- how did this expectant mother die-- did she have the right or availability of litigation before her death, did the governor intervene or get an opportunity to intervene-- I know it sounds bizarre and cruel-- but a more poignant execution would be a wood chipper entered feet first

[michellem99-2009]

I have seem the light..I AM PISSED THAT SHE WILL LIVE OUT HER DAYS..They do the same here a man kill and he get life in a cagr...Gary Ridgeway...We are paying so he lives...The same with them child killers.. They live dearests..they live knowing full well they killed..Blood on their paws..Yer want them treated humanely when they did not..This standing up to the plate and going to bat for what is right..

[likeitis5050]

I''m not ashamed to ask you all for mercy," Duchardt told the jury. "I ask for it on behalf of Lisa and all the people who love her."

This is what bottom feeders do...ask for mercy for those who have none to give.

You can''t use the fingers on one hand to number the people who love her. She is a useless bag of entrails.

[ukclh33]

GOOD!! Too bad she can''t die the same heinous way poor Bobbie did. That could close the gap a little on justice

[michellem99-2009]

she wrote her ticket..now her peers gave her death..That should be carried out as now..

[mapas-2009]

She is mentally seek, she belongs to a mental institution and never allowed to live with society.

[cs4466]

What is so bad about the death penalty anyways? Sure, sure, nobody wants to die but if given the choice between death and the rest of your life in prison doing hard labor with no possibility of parole, which would you choose. Death is the easy way out - she should be made TO PAY FOR THAT CRIME. And don''t give me any of that religious *** about hell and heaven. Her crime was done on Earth. Let Earth be her punishment.

[gea_amicus]

Her callous and deranged crime deserves the most serious punishment society can bring upon her. Furthermore, we shouldn''t spend taxpayer dollars by locking her up in mental institution...what for?

This woman doesn''t ever deserve the company of society and should be executed. May God have mercy on her soul because I don''t.

[shern420-2009]

This is one of the most disturbing crimes I''ve read online in awhile. She deserves worse than the death penalty, she should spend the time before she gets the death penalty in extreme pain herself. I can''t even imagine the horror this mother went thru knowing she was dying and that this animal was taking her precious baby as her own. God bless the families that are suffering due to this horrible nightmare.

[fibonacci_]

"If you feel so much for her then you take her home with you and spend your money to keep her alive, don''t demand that I do it..."

-It costs much much more to kill someone in our country than it does to keep them alive. I also agree with the guy libsluvsuvs that the prison system is much to nice on the hardest core criminals like these. As far as the "I did not kill her she did it herself" I disagree. Of course you personally did not kill her but she did not either. Lock her up in some far away facility where she can''t speak or see anyone ever again.

I fully understand your arguments for the death penalty, I used to be for it. I can remember literally yelling out in joy when David Westerfield was sentenced to death. I think you supporters though are a little blood thirsty yourselves for people who commit horrible crimes - this makes you just a tiny bit more like the killers.

[Krazcarl]

fiboacci_...where do you get this idea that prison is a nice place you obviously have never seen one know anyone that has spent time there. It''s h*ll on earth yes maybe nicer than some other countries but wouldn''t use the word nice and prison in the sane sentence. Lousy food no women minimal health care no education your either working or locked up.