Today, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the federal government’s motion to vacate the district court’s December 24, 2020, ruling that the government had acted illegally in scheduling Lisa Montgomery’s execution for January 12.
The court of appeals’ order has the effect of reinstating the January 12 execution date for Mrs. Montgomery.
Mrs. Montgomery was first scheduled to be killed on December 8, 2020, but the federal district court stayed the execution after Mrs. Montgomery's attorneys contracted coronavirus and requested more time to file a clemency petition. BOP then scheduled the execution for January 12, 2021. The district court later vacated the order to schedule the execution for January 12, and prohibited the Bureau of Prisons from carrying out the sentence before the end of the year. Previous coverage available here.
Mrs. Montgomery’s attorney said she would ask the full appellate court to overturn the panel’s decision. “We will ask the en banc court to reconsider this ruling” “The federal government must be required to follow the law in setting any execution date, as the district court correctly held. Lisa Montgomery should not be executed on Jan. 12.”