SAVE LISA MONTGOMERY! ADD YOUR NAME

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

I am writing on behalf of Lisa Montgomery, who is currently incarcerated at FMC Carswell. The Trump Administration has set her execution date for December 8, 2020. Lisa is scheduled to be the first woman executed by the federal government in 70 years. The National Council is working with Lisa’s lawyers to save her. We need your support.

Lisa was seriously mentally ill when she committed her crime. She was born with permanent brain damage as a result of her mother’s alcohol intake during pregnancy. Sexually and physically abused by her stepfather as a young girl, Lisa was repeatedly raped in her home for years. Lisa’s mother began trafficking her to men for sex when Lisa was a young teenager. Lisa developed dissociative disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the repeated rapes she suffered.  Lisa’s horrific experiences were barely raised at trial. The prosecutor told the jury she was relying on the “abuse excuse” for an acquittal. Instead, she was found guilty of murder and condemned to die. 

As incarcerated women, you know the devastating toll that being locked up has on mental health, especially when the road to prison is filled with trauma. For those of you who experienced sexual abuse, you know the carceral system has compounded the harm you have suffered in multiple ways. You understand this, but the public, politicians, and judges do not.  

The National Council has been asked to write a letter for Lisa explaining how prison makes mental illness worse, especially for those who are survived and punished. Please write to us to tell us what we should say to the people who have Lisa’s life in their hands. What do they need to know about being in prison and surviving trauma to see that executing a victim of sexual abuse who is mentally ill is wrong. 

We do not have much time. Please send us your thoughts, insights, prayers, etc. by November 8, 2020.  We will assume that you would like to sign the finished letter unless you tell us not to add your name.

Peace and Love,

Grandma