Thread by @helenprejean

I know many people are concerned about the damage Pres. Trump might do during his last two months in office. I’m focused on trying to save the lives of Orlando Hall, Lisa Montgomery, and Brandon Bernard. All three of them have federal execution dates in the coming weeks.

These three human beings are facing execution when, in just two months time, the new president would be sure to stop these federal killings. Just take Lisa Montgomery as an example.

Lisa Montgomery was dealt a losing hand from before her birth and now Trump is trying to trump that terrible hand with an execution in these last days of his presidency.

Lisa committed a terrible crime while in the grip of a severe psychotic episode. She takes full responsibility for her actions and is now receiving adequate psychiatric care for her mental illnesses and disorders.

Lisa's mother drank alcohol all throughout her pregnancy, causing Lisa to be born with organic brain damage. Lisa's father (who also is severely mentally ill) abandoned the family when Lisa was very young.

Lisa's mother was violent and neglectful. She punished her children by putting them in cold showers, whipping them with belts and electrical cords, and even by taping their mouths shut with duct tape.

On one occasion, Lisa's mother beat the family dog to death with a shovel in front of the children as a punishment. Lisa's mother also forced Lisa's older sister to strip naked and stand outside the house as a punishment.

When Lisa was four years old, one of her mother's male friends began raping Lisa's older sister repeatedly while Lisa was forced to lay in a bed just feet away. Lisa's step-father punched, kicked, and choked all the children in the house.

When Lisa was 11 years old, her step-father raped her. The rapes went on for years with the full knowledge of Lisa's mother. When Lisa was 15 years old, her mother began inviting men over to rape Lisa in exchange for money or services.

Teachers, school administrators, police officers, and even judges knew about what was happening to Lisa but did nothing to intervene or stop the abuse.

Lisa has been diagnosed with a wide array of mental illnesses and disorders. She is suffering with bipolar disorder, temporal lobe epilepsy, dissociative disorder, complex PTSD, and compromised neurological functioning.

At her mother's insistence, Lisa became engaged to her step-brother when she was 17 years old. He continued the cycle of torture by beating and raping her all while filming the abuse.

In the days before Lisa committed the terrible crime that led to her death sentence, she was living in a structure with missing walls and floors, no running water, no furniture, loose electrical wires, and children sleeping all over the floor.

Lisa was involuntarily sterilized. Her ex-husband filed for custody of their children and threatened to expose Lisa's inability to have more children to her new husband.

All of this caused a severe psychotic break. Lisa killed a pregnant woman, Bobbie Jo Stinnett, cut the baby out of her abdomen, and took the baby home to care for as though she was her own. This was an unspeakable crime and Lisa takes full responsibility for her actions.

No person in their right mind would commit a crime like the murder committed by Lisa Montgomery. And that's the point -- Lisa was NOT in her right mind. She was suffering with decades-worth of undiagnosed, untreated, unmanaged mental illness and the effects of sustained torture.

Lisa's defense team did not do a good job of explaining all this to the jury that decided her fate. Instead of presenting expert testimony about mental illness or trauma, one of Lisa's male defense attorneys read a poem about rape as a closing statement.

Since her conviction in 2007, Lisa has received proper treatment for her mental illnesses and disorders. She has built a connection with her children and grandchildren. She is deeply remorseful for her actions.

The system failed Lisa Montgomery. The ultimate failure would be to execute this woman who is severely mentally ill and suffered through decades of torture at the hands of those who were supposed to love and protect her.

It's not just Lisa Montgomery, either. There are significant issues in the cases of Orlando Hall and Brandon Bernard as well. These human beings should not be killed by our government, especially not by a lame-duck administration with just two months left.