Woman Who Stole Unborn Child Sentenced To Death

Defense unsuccessful in proving insanity
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 26, 2007 3:33 PM CDT
Woman Who Stole Unborn Child Sentenced To Death
In this family photo released by family spokesman Daniel Madden, Zeb Stinnett holds his infant daughter, Victoria Jo Stinnett, during Easter 2005. Lisa Montgomery, 39, is on trial in Kansas City, about 100 miles to the south, accused of walking into Bobbie Joe Stinnett's house in December 2004, strangling...   (Associated Press)

A jury today ordered Lisa Montgomery executed for killing a woman and stealing the unborn daughter from her womb. The jury had convicted Montgomery this week of kidnapping resulting in the death of Bobbie Jo Stinnett. Montgomery would have faced life imprisonment if the jury hadn't voted for the death penalty, the Kansas City Star reports.

Defense counsel had attempted to prove that Montgomery's actions, which left the 8-month infant alive, was the result of pseudocyesis, the delusional belief that one is pregnant. While the prosecution concurred that Montgomery suffered from mental disorders, it argued the crime was a desperate act to substantiate false pregnancy claims she had made to family and friends. (More Lisa Montgomery stories.)

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