In a weird twist, getting sick with Covid-19 may save lives on federal death row.
Trump is racing to execute federal inmates before leaving office (read story here), and at the same time pardoning war criminals who slaughtered foreign civilians. So far, three have been executed since the election — all of them black — and his administration is trying to execute three more — two black males and a white female — before he leaves office.
President-Elect Biden publicly opposes the death penalty, so there’s at least a chance those making it to January 20 will survive. One is Lisa Montgomery (photo), who committed a depraved crime — strangling a pregnant woman to steal the baby from her womb — but her lawyers argue she was severely mentally ill.
Trump and Barr want to kill her, but a federal judge stayed her scheduled December 8 execution after she contracted Covid-19 in prison and gave it to her attorneys. The Justice Department then rescheduled her execution for January 12, but now a federal judge has ruled that violates the stay (read story here).
This likely will push her execution date past Jan. 20, but it remains to be seen what Biden and his yet-to-be-chosen attorney general will do with her case. The other two federal inmates with January execution dates have tested positive for Covid-19, and their attorneys are seeking delays.
The federal government has executed only 3 women: Mary Surratt in 1865 (alleged Lincoln assassination conspirator), and Ethel Rosenberg (convicted atomic spy) and Bonnie Heady (kidnap-murder) in 1953.
Trump, who is brazenly racist, and is referring to black votes when he rants about “election fraud” (read here), infamously ran a newspaper ad demanding executions of the so-called Central Park Five — five innocent young black men framed by police — and insisted they were guilty even after DNA evidence exonerated them (read here). All five are black. He’s also defended white cops who murder black people, and has called Black Lives Matter protesters demanding an end to police killings of black people “terrorists” (read here).