Lisa Marie Montgomery (February 27, 1968 – January 13, 2021) was a convicted murderer. In 2004, she attacked and killed a 23-year old pregnant woman. She then cut the unborn child from the womb of the woman. The woman had been pregnant for eight months, The child survived and was given to its father. In 2007, Montgomery confessed to the crime. She was sentenced to death. She was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. During her childhood, she had been sexually abused for years. She also had other conditions. These included post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis, dissociative identity disorder and amnesia. Based on these conditions, her lawyers argued that she was severely handicapped. They said that she should not have been tried in a regular court. On January 13, 2021, she was executed by lethal injection.
Experts have looked at the case after she had been convicted. They found that at the time of the crime, she had suffered from psychosis.
A history of abuse
Montgomery had a bad childhood. Her stepfather raped her for years. At a young age, she started drinking alcohol. When Montgomery was 14, her mother discovered the alcohol abuse. Instead of helping her, her mother threatened her with a gun. From her early teen years, her mother forced her to prostitute herself. Montgomery told people about her situation but no one seemed to help. Montgomery tried to escape the situation. She married twice. Her first marriage happened when she was 18. Each of her marriages led to more abuse. As a result of a lifetime of abuse, Montgomery mistrusted men in general. Both of her husbands said that she falsely claimed to be pregnant several times. Montgomery had four children.