No Winners Here

It’s pretty bad if you think there’s a winner here. Those were the words of Kevin Montgomery as he responded to the news that his wife, Lisa Montgomery had just been sentenced to death for the murder of a young woman named Bobby Jo Stinnett. Fred Duchardt, Montgomery’s lead attorney said it’s a sad, sad day. Lisa is a fragile, wonderful person and is just heartsick over what happened to Bobby Jo, and her family. She’s heartsick over what “happened” to Bobby Jo?
Bobby Jo has been described as a sweet and loving wife, daughter, sister, and would have made a wonderful mother. She and her husband were expecting their first child. They were about a month away from what should have the best time of their lives. But they weren’t given that chance, were they Mr. Duchardt? Your fragile client saw to that, didn’t she?
You say she suffered from delusions that she was pregnant. No she didn’t and you know it. The fact that she altered images of a sonogram she got off the internet to included her name, kind of proves she knew she wasn’t, doesn’t it? But let’s just say she really did believe she was pregnant. How does that justify what she did?
You claim she was insane and didn’t understand that what she was doing was wrong. Whatever. She knew exactly what she was doing, and you know that too. This unbelievably, savage murder didn’t just happen, did it Mr. Duchardt? Your fragile client had been planning it for months. She had gotten to know Bobby Jo through dog shows. Once she found out Bobby Jo was pregnant, she went to great lengths to gain her trust. She found out when she was due. She found out where she lived. She found out what time of the day she would be home alone. She went to the internet to learn how a Caesarean section is done. She had her alibi all laid out. She would claim to be shopping in Topeka and went into labor. She set up a time to meet Bobby Jo at her home in Skidmore Missouri to buy a dog. The trap had been set.
The fact that Lisa Montgomery had been repeatedly raped by her step-father when she was a young girl is a tragic story. I think it makes a good case that the death penalty should be extended to child rapists. But still, it doesn’t give her the right to kill. If society accepts a horrible childhood as an excuse to kill someone, we’re in big trouble.
Here’s the deal, I’m not a big death penalty guy for two reasons. First, there have been innocent people put to death. How do you make that right? And second, there’s really no such thing as a life sentence. People who have been sentenced to life in prison for murder are paroled all the time. Why do they have the right to pursue their lives again when their victims are still dead.
Lisa Montgomery was given the benefit of a trial. She had the right to have someone plead her case to a jury, someone who would do everything in their power to save her life. Bobby Jo wasn’t given that chance. She was the victim of a calculated, cold-blooded murder because Lisa Montgomery wanted to literally cut her baby out of her body. Because of this, the jury reached the right decision.
The appeal process will drag on for years. After a while people will forget about what happened to Bobby Jo and her family. And Lisa Montgomery will be thought of as the victim.
No, Lisa Montgomery, isn’t insane. She’s evil. And the only way to beat evil is to destroy it. I still think Kevin Montgomery said it best though. It’s pretty bad if you think there’s a winner here.
Kevin McGinty can be reached at: kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net