A woman who strangled a pregnant woman in Missouri in 2004 before cutting out and kidnapping the baby is to become the first female federal inmate to be executed in almost 70 years.
The United States Justice Department said Lisa Montgomery was to be given a lethal injection in Indiana on 8 December.
The BBC reported that the last woman to be executed by the US government was Bonnie Heady, who died in a gas chamber in Missouri in 1953, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Montgomery was found guilty by a jury in 2007, which unanimously recommended a death sentence.
The court found that in December 2004, Montgomery drove from Kansas to the home in Missouri of Bobbie Jo Stinnett – who was eight months pregnant – purportedly to buy a puppy.
A Justice Department statement described what followed: ‘Once inside the residence, Montgomery attacked and strangled Stinnett until the victim lost consciousness.
‘Using a kitchen knife, Montgomery then cut into Stinnett’s abdomen, causing her to regain consciousness. A struggle ensued, and Montgomery strangled Stinnett to death. Montgomery then removed the baby from Stinnett’s body, took the baby with her, and attempted to pass it off as her own.’
Montgomery’s lawyers say she experienced brain damage from beatings as a child and is mentally unwell, so she should not face the death penalty.