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Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Judge halts 1st US execution of female inmate in 67 years

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH | The Associated Press

MISSION, Kan.  — A judge has halted the U.S. government’s first execution of a female inmate in nearly seven decades, saying a court must first determine whether the Kansas woman who killed an expectant mother, cut the baby from her womb and then tried to pass off the newborn as her own is mentally competent.

The order, handed down less than 24 hours before Lisa Montgomery was set to be executed Tuesday at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, temporarily blocks the federal Bureau of Prisons from moving forward with her execution. The Justice Department didn’t immediately comment.

Montgomery’s lawyers have said their client suffers from hallucinations — including hearing her abusive mother’s voice — as well as a disoriented sense of reality and gaps in her consciousness. They have long argued that she is not mentally fit to be executed because she suffers from serious mental illness and faced years of emotional and sexual trauma as a child.

U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon found that the court must first hold a hearing to determine whether Montgomery meets the legal criteria for competency before the execution can move forward, finding she “would be irreparably injured if the government executes her when she is not competent to be executed.”

Kelley Henry, one of Montgomery’s attorneys, praised the ruling and said her client is “mentally deteriorating.”

“Mrs. Montgomery has brain damage and severe mental illness that was exacerbated by the lifetime of sexual torture she suffered at the hands of caretakers,” Henry said.

Separately, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued another stay in Montgomery’s case for an appeal related to the Justice Department’s execution protocols and said briefs must be fully filed in that case by Jan. 29, raising the prospect her execution could be delayed until after President-elect Joe Biden takes office. Biden has said he opposes the death penalty and a spokesman told the AP he would work to end its use in office, but Biden’s team has not said whether he would halt executions after his inauguration on Jan. 20.

Montgomery drove about 170 miles (274 kilometers) from her Melvern, Kansas, farmhouse to the northwest Missouri town of Skidmore under the guise of adopting a rat terrier puppy from Bobbie Jo Stinnett, a 23-year-old dog breeder. She strangled Stinnett with a rope before performing a crude cesarean and fleeing with the baby.

She was arrested the next day after showing off the premature infant, Victoria Jo, who is now 16 years old and hasn’t spoken publicly about the tragedy.

“As we walked across the threshold our Amber Alert was scrolling across the TV at that very moment,” recalled Randy Strong, who was part of the northwest Missouri major case squad at the time.

He looked to his right and saw Montgomery holding the newborn and was awash in relief when she handed her over to law enforcement. The preceding hours had been a blur in which he photographed Stinnett’s body and spent a sleepless night looking for clues — unsure of whether the baby was dead or alive and no idea what she looked like.

But then tips began arriving about Montgomery, who had a history of faking pregnancies and suddenly had a baby. Strong, now the sheriff of Nodaway County, where the killing happened, hopped in an unmarked car with another officer. He learned while en route that the email address fischer4kids@hotmail.com that was used to set up the deadly meeting with Stinnett had been sent from a dial-up connection at Montgomery’s home.

“I absolutely knew I was walking into the killer’s home,” recalled Strong, saying rat terriers ran around his feet as he approached her house. Like Stinnett, Montgomery also raised rat terriers.

Bobbie Jo Stinnett’s mother, Becky Harper, sobbed as she told a Missouri dispatcher about stumbling across her daughter in a pool of blood, her womb slashed open and the child she had been carrying missing.

“It’s like she exploded or something,” Harper told the dispatcher on Dec. 16, 2004, during the desperate yet futile attempt to get help for her daughter.

Prosecutors said her motive was that Montgomery’s ex-husband knew she had undergone a tubal ligation that made her sterile and planned to reveal she was lying about being pregnant in an effort to get custody of two of their four children. Needing a baby before a fast-approaching court date, Montgomery turned her focus on Stinnett, whom she had met at dog shows.

Montgomery’s lawyers, though, have argued that sexual abuse during Montgomery’s childhood led to mental illness.

Her stepfather denied the sexual abuse in videotaped testimony and said he didn’t have a good memory when confronted with a transcript of a divorce proceeding in which he admitted some physical abuse. Her mother testified that she never filed a police complaint because he had threatened her and her children.

But the jurors who heard the case, some crying through the gruesome testimony, disregarded the defense in convicting her of kidnapping resulting in death.

Prosecutors argued that Stinnett regained consciousness and tried to defend herself as Montgomery used a kitchen knife to cut the baby girl from her womb. Later that day, Montgomery called her husband to pick her up in the parking lot of a Long John Silver’s in Topeka, Kansas, telling him she had delivered the baby earlier in the day at a nearby birthing center.

She eventually confessed, and the rope and bloody knife used to kill Stinnett were found in her car. A search of her computer showed she used it to research caesareans and order a birthing kit.

Montgomery originally was scheduled to be put to death on Dec. 8. But the execution was temporarily blocked after her attorneys contracted the coronavirus visiting her in prison.

The resumption of federal executions after a 17-year pause started on July 14. Anti-death penalty groups said President Donald Trump was pushing for executions prior to the November election in a cynical bid to burnish a reputation as a law-and-order leader.

U.S. officials have portrayed the executions as bringing long-delayed justice for victims and their families.

___

Associated Press writer Mike Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.

 

Avian Flu Diary: Another Convalescent Plasma Study Fails To Find Benefit For Severe COVID-19

“Although it is disappointing that all critically ill patients don’t appear to gain any benefit, this is still vitally important to know. Convalescent plasma is a precious resource, and we can now continue to focus on identifying exactly which patients might benefit the most from treatment – maybe people earlier in their illness or those with weak immune systems.” Source: Avian Flu Diary: Another Convalescent Plasma Study Fails To Find Benefit For Severe COVID-19

Trump disavows any responsibility for his supporters’ Jan. 6 attack

Not enough soap or hand sanitizer on the globe to wash the blood off his tiny hands!

President Donald , facing impeachment on a charge of “incitement of #insurrection” on Tuesday disavowed responsibility for his supporters’ violent invasion of the US #Capitol last week and said his remarks before the siege were appropriate. FRANCE 24’s Kethevane Gorjestani tells us more.

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Ask the Forest Service Chief to Protect Oak Flat | Arizona Mining Reform Coalition

It is clear that the US Forest Service is bowing to political pressure to expedite the publishing of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on Resolution Coppers proposal to destroy Oak Flat and thousands of additional acres of precious land to build a huge underground copper mine.  The motivation for this pressure is clear – Resolution Copper and its supporters would like the land privatized while the current presidential administration is in power.
The publishing of a FEIS is critical because it would trigger a 60-day deadline to turn over Oak Flat to Resolution Copper.  If the Forest Service continues its push to prematurely release the FEIS, Oak Flat could become the private property of the worlds 2 largest foreign mining companies within weeks.
Please send an email to the Chief of the Forest Service today asking her to write a new draft or supplemental Environmental Impact Statement first, instead of rushing to release an incomplete FEIS.

Source: Ask the Forest Service Chief to Protect Oak Flat | Arizona Mining Reform Coalition

Malaysia declares emergency to curb virus, shoring up government | Reuters (Pandemic – inside Coup?)

Some lawmakers in the ruling coalition have pulled support for the premier and have called for early elections, while opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said last year that he had a majority to form a new government.

In a statement, Anwar’s coalition Pakatan Harapan accused Muhyiddin of using the pandemic to avoid a collapse of his administration and questioned the need for an emergency, saying existing laws were sufficient to tackle the virus’ spread.

“We also see the move to suspend parliament and state legislatures… as affecting checks and balance, inhibiting the nation’s democracy and denying the people’s voices,” they said.

The emergency declaration, which allows the Muhyiddin government to introduce laws without parliamentary approval, comes a day after the premier announced a nationwide travel ban and a 14-day lockdown in the capital Kuala Lumpur and five states.

Source: Malaysia declares emergency to curb virus, shoring up government | Reuters

Ex-El Paso congressional candidate says he was inside Capitol, now planning caravan for inauguration | KTSM 9 News (Anthony Aguero-El Paso, TX should be arrested)

In a YouTube video published shortly after the violence unfolded Wednesday, Anthony Aguero said he was among the mob to enter the Capitol, even making it into one of the congressional chambers.

According to a Facebook post, Aguero is now organizing a ‘Latinos for Trump Caravan to D.C.’ for next week’s inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden, though the event page states it will instead be an “inauguration for President Trump.”

Source: Ex-El Paso congressional candidate says he was inside Capitol, now planning caravan for inauguration | KTSM 9 News

India to first help neighbours with emergency Covid vaccine; commercial supplies later | Hindustan Times

Bangladesh has tied up with Serum India for commercial supply of 30 million vials. Nepal is looking to procure 12 million vials from India apart from other neighbours such as Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka who have requested New Delhi for the Indian vaccines. Source: India to first help neighbours with emergency Covid vaccine; commercial supplies later | Hindustan Times

MASALA BHINDI FRY | BHINDI FRY RECIPE | LETSCOOKWITHTINA

Letscookwithtina

Bhindi Fry is a stir fried Bhindi Recipe , where chopped Bhindis are cooked with onion slices and spices. This is mildly spiced fry recipe that tastes fabulous with rice – dal. This is an easy to cook Recipe that is ideal for our everyday meal.

BHINDI FRY – A popular simple fry recipe , cooked with Bhindis. Often veggies like onion and garlic cloves are added in this recipe. Sometimes Bhindis are only stir fried with spices.

I am a huge fan of Bhindis. My entire summer cookbook is full of Bhindi recipes. Out of all Bhindi recipes, this easy to cook Bhindi fry is my favourite. Cooked in just 10 minutes, this recipe forms a hearty meal with rice- dal.

HOW TO COOK MASALA BHINDI FRY

INGREDIENTS

  • 250 GM Bhindi /Okra
  • 1 Medium Size Onion
  • 4 Garlic Cloves
  • 4 Tablespoon Tomato Puree
  • 1 Tsp Black Pepper Powder

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IT’S BETTER TO TAKE MANY SMALL STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION THAN TO MAKE A GREAT LEAP FORWARD ONLY TO STUMBLE BACKWARD

IT’S BETTER TO TAKE MANY SMALL STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION THAN TO MAKE A GREAT LEAP FORWARD ONLY TO STUMBLE BACKWARD” Old Chinese Proverb

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