The team of 10 rights specialists, have written to the Government calling for clemency, amidst worries that she received insufficient legal aid in the time of her trial in 2007, which preceding injury and emotional health issues weren’t satisfactorily placed before the jury.
She had been convicted of murder, under a national threat of”kidnapping leading to death”, based on news reports, along with her death sentence was upheld by a judge in April 2008.
“Ms. Montgomery was the victim of an intense degree of sexual and physical abuse during her life where the State never provided protection and for that it failed to provide treatments”, they elaborated. “She suffered from many mental health conditions that the State didn’t take care of”.
They continued to state that if it came into the capital event,”that the State betrayed her again, failing to look at these essential and discovering details as mitigating circumstances”.
A barbarous existence
When she afterwards married, the today 49-year-old girl was subjected to additional abuse, a few of that was recorded on video. She had four kids before being forced into sterilization operation.
From age 34 she’d transferred 61 times. And, due to the traumas she undergone, developed many acute mental health issues for which she had no access to therapy.
“The failure to consider Ms. Montgomery’s individual background and traumatic experiences is particularly egregious, since the police had missed several chances to intervene and finish her misuse”, the specialists said.
Throughout her youth, a police officer, a judge and a college secretary were either advised of suspected she was being sexually abused, however no action has been taken to assist Ms. Montgomery.
Questionable therapy
Ms. Montgomery had told her new spouse she had been pregnant.
In her trial, as stated by the OHCHR launch, the inmate’s lawyer read a post about rape instead of producing expert testimony over the years of physical and sexual abuse she had suffered, her psychological disorders as well as their connection to her injury and crime.
Furthermore, prosecutors used discriminatory stereotypes and language in their final arguments.
“Shamefully, Ms. Montgomery’s years of sexual abuse and Condition’s fail were justified by the sex discrimination she confronted pervasive at all phases of this funding proceedings against her”, the independent specialists maintained.
They also pointed out that the Spartan grandma has taken responsibility for her offense, expressed deep guilt, and preserved a relationship with her kids.
Rescheduled implementation
Last October, Ms. Montgomery was scheduled to be implemented on 8 December but since her attorneys contracted COVID-19, they had been not able to declare clemency over the time limitation.
She was, therefore, given a stay of execution until 31 December, providing the lawyers additional time to submit a clemency request.
“International standards are apparent — that the death penalty is obviously arbitrary and unlawful once the court dismisses or discounts crucial facts which might have significantly influenced a capital defendant’s motives, situation and behavior.
Click on here for the titles of UN specialists.
Independent specialists are appointed from the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to test and report back to a particular human rights motif or a nation situation. The specialists are not UN employees, nor are they compensated for their job.
