Court clears way for first federal execution of female inmate in 67 years

Montgomery was convicted of killing 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett in the northwest Missouri town of Skidmore in 2004

Montgomery’s lawyers have long argued she is mentally ill and cannot comprehend she would be put to death. File picture: iStock

The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Justice Department to carry out the first execution of a female death-row inmate in almost seven decades following a flurry of legal rulings.

The court handed down its decision just after midnight on Wednesday, allowing the federal Bureau of Prisons to proceed with the execution of Lisa Montgomery.