'Womb raider' Lisa Montgomery who cut baby from pregnant victim fights to block transfer to male prison for execution

LISA Montgomery the "womb raider" who cut a baby from a pregnant victim's womb fights to block her transfer to a male prison for execution.

Montgomery, 52, is currently imprisoned at the all-female Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, where her lawyers say she would rather be executed.

The 52-year-old's execution date was originally set for December 8, however it was moved to January 12, after her attorneys contracted coronavirus while working on her case.

The delay gives Montgomery's attorney's time to prepare a clemency application, USA Today reported.

Montgomery was scheduled to move to the Terre Haute prison, which is mostly staffed by men.

Her lawyers argue that the moving her would trigger a "catastrophic psychiatric breakdown".

The defendants lawyers have previously argued their client "suffered repeated sexual and physical abuse since childhood".

Montgomery is set to become the first female executed by the federal government in 67 years for the 2004 murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant at the time.

Montgomery met dog breeder Stinnett online – she pretended to be pregnant to bond with Stinnett and said she was interested in buying a rat terrier.

On December 16, 2004, Montgomery arrived at Stinnett's Skidmore, Missouri home pretending to be 'Darlene Fischer'.

Montgomery, who was 36 at the time, strangled Stinnett, 23, with a cable then used a knife to cut the unborn baby from her victim's womb.

The killer had researched home births and how to perform cesarean sections online before the attack – which left a horrific scene discovered by Stinnett's mom, Becky Harper, an hour later.

"There was blood everywhere. She was laying on the floor," Harper tearfully said at Montgomery's trial, "It looked like she exploded all over the place."

Husband Zeb, who was at work at the time of the killing – later said he "broke down" when he was told his wife had been murdered and his daughter kidnapped.

Miraculously, Stinnett's baby survived and was rescued by cops – Victoria was returned to her dad, Zeb, and she'll turn 16 on December 16.

Coupled with emails found on Stinnett's computer, cops quickly named Montgomery as a suspect in the killing.

When investigators arrived at Montgomery's farmhouse 200km away in Melvern, Kansas, they found her sitting in the living room with a newborn in her arms.

DNA testing confirmed the baby's identity and cops charged Montgomery with the kidnap and murder.

On October 22, 2007, the jury found Montgomery guilty and, a few days later, she was sentenced to death.

Montgomery will only be moved to Terre Haute one or two days before her execution.

She will be housed alone in a separate building where executions are performed, according to federal lawyers Johnny Walker and Alan Simpson.

The Justice Department resumed federal executions this year after a 17-year hiatus. Eight people have been executed since July, more than during the previous half-century.

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