Federal Execution Restart: 13 Executions in 6 Months — Including First Woman in 67 Years

Overview

After 17 years in which the federal government had carried out no executions, the Trump administration executed 13 people in seven months — more than any administration in the modern era.

The pace was deliberate. The timing was deliberate. Three of the 13 executions occurred during the presidential transition, after Biden had been elected and had publicly stated his opposition to the death penalty. The outgoing administration rushed to carry out as many executions as possible before losing power.

Lisa Montgomery

The Montgomery execution was the most contested. Her attorneys had filed extensive documentation: a childhood of extreme physical and sexual abuse — she was sold to men for sex by her own mother from a very young age — that had left her with severe mental illness including a delusional disorder. Multiple justices on the Supreme Court had separately noted concerns about her mental state and competency.

The execution proceeded.

She was the first woman executed by the federal government since 1953. There had been a 67-year gap for good reason: the application of the death penalty to women in the United States had been rare and was subject to heightened scrutiny. That scrutiny was set aside.

The Pattern

The 13 executions were not the result of a careful case-by-case process. They were a bulk action — a decision to restart executions after a 17-year pause and proceed at maximum speed, over legal objections, over active court-ordered stays, over the objections of incoming President Biden.

Barr directed the restart. Trump authorized it. The executions were carried out.