Almost **16 years** after one of the most disturbing crimes in modern U.S. history, **Lisa Montgomery** was executed by **lethal injection** on **January 13, 2021**, her haunting final word — a quiet *“No”* — echoing through the execution chamber.
In **December 2004**, Montgomery traveled from **Kansas** to **Skidmore, Missouri**, under the guise of buying a puppy from **Bobbie Jo Stinnett**, a **23-year-old** pregnant dog breeder. Once inside Stinnett’s home, Montgomery strangled her until she lost consciousness and then **cut the baby from her womb** with a kitchen knife. Stinnett died from her injuries, but miraculously, the baby survived and was later reunited with her father.
The gruesome crime shocked the nation and led to an intense legal battle. Montgomery’s defense argued she suffered from **severe mental illness**, rooted in years of **sexual and physical abuse**, with experts diagnosing her with **psychosis** and **hallucinations**. Her sister, **Diane Mattingly**, described her life as one of “torture,” marked by trauma and neglect.
Despite pleas from mental health advocates and legal experts, prosecutors insisted her actions were deliberate and calculated. In **2007**, a jury sentenced her to **death**, rejecting claims of diminished responsibility.
Under the **Trump administration**, federal executions resumed after a 17-year hiatus, and Montgomery became the **first woman executed by the U.S. government in nearly 70 years**. Her execution faced multiple delays due to **COVID-19** and last-minute legal appeals, but a **Supreme Court ruling** ultimately cleared the way.
Witnesses described the moment with chilling detail: as a female executioner asked for her final words, Montgomery simply whispered, *“No.”*
Her death reignited fierce debate over **mental health and the death penalty**, leaving many to question whether justice was truly served — or whether a deeply broken woman became another casualty of a system that failed her long before her crime.
