ACS President Condemns Execution of Lisa Montgomery, First Woman Executed by U.S. in 67 Years

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy Rodriguez, media@acslaw.org

Washington, D.C.– American Constitution Society President Russ Feingold released the following statement in response to the federal government’s execution of Lisa Montgomery this morning.

“This morning, the Trump administration executed Lisa Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row and the eleventh person President Trump has sent to the death chamber in the past six months. Even in the waning days of a presidency that is ending in isolation and disgrace, this president and his administration were intent on killing a woman whose history of brain damage, mental illness, and unspeakable, prolonged sexual, physical, and mental abuse clearly justify mercy.

Among the many ignominies our nation has suffered because of President Trump’s appalling behavior in office is the bloodlust he has succumbed to—executing in just six months more than fifteen percent of the people on federal row and far more civilian executions than any president in modern history. And if the president has his way, nearly half of the executions on his watch will have happened after he decisively lost re-election to an opponent whose platform calls for an end to the federal death penalty.

It is unconscionable, disturbing, and grotesque.

We continue to call on President Trump to demonstrate some modicum of decency and halt all further executions. Regardless of what happens in the remaining days of this administration, the brutality we have witnessed this past six months brings into stark relief the need to shutter the federal death row and bring a swift end to the machinery of death.”

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AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY
ACS believes that the Constitution is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” We interpret the Constitution based on its text and against the backdrop of history and lived experience. Through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, and many others, we work to uphold the Constitution in the 21st Century by ensuring that law is a force for protecting our democracy and the public interest and for improving people’s lives. For more information, visit us at www.acslaw.org or on Twitter @acslaw