Death Penalty Lawyers Left in Dark by Unexplained SCOTUS Orders

The Supreme Court’s unexplained orders siding with the outgoing Trump administration and letting Lisa Montgomery’s execution go forward Jan. 13 were “really disheartening,” her lawyer said.

Kelley Henry had represented the first woman federally executed since 1953 for years, but was sidelined when she and her co-counsel contracted Covid-19 after visiting Montgomery after plans for her execution were announced in October.

Montgomery’s legal team secured stays from multiple courts around the country, but around midnight Jan. 12, a divided Supreme Court granted the administration’s requests to vacate them. Montgomery was executed within hours.

“To have it feel like your ...