Capital punishment in Oklahoma

Capital punishment continues to be performed in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The state has executed the second largest number of convicts in the United States (after Texas) since re-legalization following Gregg v. Georgia in 1976. Oklahoma also has the highest number of executions per capita in the United States.

Oklahoma was the first jurisdiction in the world to adopt lethal injection as method of executions. On December 16, 2010, Oklahoma became the first American state to use pentobarbital, in the execution of John David Duty.

In 2014, Oklahoma placed scheduled executions on hold until the state's Department of Corrections implemented eleven proposed improvements in protocols governing capital punishment. The review of the lethal injection administration process resulted from the protracted 33 minute execution of Clayton Darrell Lockett in which a doctor and a paramedic failed nearly a dozen times to administer an IV with lethal drugs. Executions resumed on January 15, 2015 with the execution of Charles Frederick Warner by lethal injection.

At least two death row inmates in Oklahoma were later found to be innocent and were released: Gregory R. Wilhoit (convicted 1987, exonerated 1993) and Ron Williamson (convicted 1988, exonerated 1999).

Capital offenses

In Oklahoma, first-degree murder is punishable by death in the following circumstances:

• A person commits murder in the first degree when that person unlawfully and with malice aforethought causes the death of another human being. Malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a human being, which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof.
• A person also commits the crime of murder in the first degree, regardless of malice, when that person or any other person takes the life of a human being during, or if the death of a human being results from, the commission or attempted commission of murder of another person, shooting or discharge of a firearm or crossbow with intent to kill, intentional discharge of a firearm or other deadly weapon into any dwelling or building as provided in Section 1289.17A of this title, forcible rape, robbery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, escape from lawful custody, first degree burglary, first degree arson, unlawful distributing or dispensing of controlled dangerous substances, or trafficking in illegal drugs.
• A person commits murder in the first degree when the death of a child results from the willful or malicious injuring, torturing, maiming or using of unreasonable force by said person or who shall willfully cause, procure or permit any of said acts to be done upon the child pursuant to Section 7115 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes. It is sufficient for the crime of murder in the first degree that the person either willfully tortured or used unreasonable force upon the child maliciously injured or maimed the child.
• A person commits murder in the first degree when that person unlawfully and with malice aforethought solicits another person or persons to cause the death of a human being in furtherance of unlawfully manufacturing, distributing or dispensing controlled dangerous substances, as defined in the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, unlawfully possessing with intent to distribute or dispense controlled dangerous substances, or trafficking in illegal drugs.
• A person commits murder in the first degree when that person intentionally causes the death of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer while the officer is in the performance of official duties.

The 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana invalidated the following Oklahoma capital statutes:

• First-degree rape
• Extortionate kidnapping
• Rape or forcible sodomy of a victim under 14 where the defendant had a prior conviction of sexual abuse of a person under 14

Process

• For a sentence of death to be imposed for first-degree murder, at least one or more aggravating circumstances must be found present or the aggravating factors must outweigh the mitigating circumstances:
  • The defendant was previously convicted of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person.
  • The defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person.
  • The person committed the murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration or employed another to commit the murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration.
  • The murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.
  • The murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or prosecution.
  • The murder was committed by a person while serving a sentence of imprisonment on conviction of a felony.
  • The existence of a probability that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society.

Otherwise, life imprisonment without parole or life imprisonment are the only sentences allowed.

As in any other state, per federal case law, people who are under 18 at the time of commission of the capital crime or mentally retarded are constitutionally precluded from being executed.

As in all jurisdictions, a sentence of death results in an automatic appeal. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reviews the record to determine:

• The legal and factual validity of the verdict.
• Whether the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor.
• Whether the evidence supports the jury's or judge's finding of a statutory aggravating circumstance as enumerated in Section 701.12 of this title.
• In addition to its authority regarding correction of errors, the court, with regard to review of death sentences, shall be authorized to:
  • Affirm the sentence of death; or
  • Set the sentence aside and remand the case for resentencing by the trial court.

The sentence review shall be in addition to direct appeal, if taken, and the review and appeal shall be consolidated for consideration. The court shall render its decision on legal errors enumerated, the factual substantiation of the verdict, and the validity of the sentence.

Clemency

Under current statute the Governor may grant a commutation of the death sentence, but must have the Recommendation of Clemency From a Board or Advisory Group. The only post-Furman pardon was granted by former Gov. Brad Henry on May 13, 2004 to Osvaldo Torres.

Henry explained that it was important to remember that the actual shooter in these horrific murders was also sentenced to death and faces execution and that he concluded that there is a possibility a significant miscarriage of justice occurred... specifically that the violation of his Vienna Convention Rights contributed to trial counsel's ineffectiveness, that the jury did not hear significant evidence, and that the result of the trial is unreliable.

In earlier years Governor Lee Cruce commuted every death sentence imposed during his administration (1911–1915).

Method

Since executions resumed in 1990, lethal injection has been the standard method for execution. However if lethal injection is ever outlawed, the state has two optional methods outlined in its state constitution. The first is electrocution by electric chair, which was used before the national moratorium began in 1967, with shooting by firing squad as the second option should both lethal injection and electrocution be outlawed.

In September 2014, State Representative Mike Christian proposed an alternative method - nitrogen gas. Gas would induce "nitrogen hypoxia" that is according to Christian both painless and less costly than lethal injection. American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma opposed the proposal. In April 2015 the alternative method was signed into law.

Death row

Oklahoma's "death row" (prison block for inmates scheduled for execution) for male inmates is located at "H" unit at Oklahoma State Penitentiary (OSP). For female prisoners, the location is Mabel Bassett Correctional Center. Oklahoma's current policy is to transfer female inmates to OSP for their actual execution. Oklahoma currently has 48 male inmates and one female inmate on death row.

List of exonerated death row inmates

• Gregory R. Wilhoit, convicted in 1987, found innocent and released in 1993.
• Ron Williamson, convicted in 1988, found innocent and released in 1999.

List of individuals executed since 1976

A total of 112 individuals convicted of murder have been executed by the State of Oklahoma since 1976. All were executed by lethal injection.

#	Executed person	Date of execution	Victim(s)	Note(s)
Under the Governorship of Henry Bellmon – 1 execution
1	Charles Troy Coleman	10 September 1990	John Seward
Under the Governorship of David Walters – 2 executions
2	Robyn Leroy Parks	10 March 1992	Abdullah Ibrahim
3	Olan Randle Robinson	13 March 1992	Shiela Lovejoy, Robert Swinford
Under the Governorship of Frank Keating – 52 executions
4	Thomas J. Grasso	20 March 1995	Hilda Johnson
5	Roger Dale Stafford	1 July 1995	Melvin Lorenz, Linda Lorenz, Richard Lorenz, Isaac Freeman, Louis Zacarias, Terri Horst, David Salsman, Anthony Tew, David Lindsey
6	Robert Allen Brecheen	11 August 1995	Marie Stubbs
7	Benjamin Brewer	26 April 1996	Karen Joyce Stapleton
8	Steven Keith Hatch	9 August 1996	Richard Douglas, Marilyn Douglas
9	Scott Dawn Carpenter	7 May 1997	A.J. Kelley
10	Michael Edward Long	20 February 1998	Sheryl Graber, Andrew Graber
11	Stephen Edward Wood	5 August 1998	Robert B. Brigden
12	Tuan Anh Nguyen	10 December 1998	Amanda White, Joseph White
13	John Wayne Duvall	17 December 1998	Karla Duvall
14	John Walter Castro	7 January 1999	Beulah Grace, Sissons Cox, Rhonda Pappan
15	Sean Richard Sellers	4 February 1999	Paul Bellofatto, Vonda Bellofatto, Robert Bower
16	Scotty Lee Moore	3 June 1999	Alex Fernandez
17	Norman Lee Newsted	8 July 1999	Larry Buckley
18	Cornel Cooks	2 December 1999	Jennie Elva Ridling
19	Bobby Lynn Ross	9 December 1999	Steven Mahan, Elk City Police Departement
20	Malcolm Rent Johnson	6 January 2000	Ura Alma Thompson
21	Gary Alan Walker	13 January 2000	Eddie O. Cash, Valerie Shaw-Hartzell, Jane Hilburn, Janet Jewell, Margaret Bell Lydick, DeRonda Gay Roy
22	Michael Donald Roberts	10 February 2000	Lula Mae Brooks
23	Kelly Lamont Rogers	23 March 2000	Karen Marie Lauffenburger
24	Ronald Keith Boyd	27 April 2000	Officer Richard Oldham Riggs, Oklahoma City Police Department
25	Charles Adrian Foster	25 May 2000	Claude Wiley
26	James Glenn Rodebeaux	1 June 2000	Nancy Rose Lee McKinney
27	Roger James Berget	8 June 2000	Rick Lee Patterson
28	William Clifford Bryson	15 June 2000	James Earl Plantz
29	Gregg Francis Braun	10 August 2000	Gwendolyn Sue Miller, Barbara Kchendorfer, Mary Rains, Pete Spurrier, Geraldine Valdez
30	George Kent Wallace	10 August 2000	William Von Eric Domer, Mark Anthony McLaughlin
31	Eddie Leroy Trice	9 January 2001	Ernestine Jones
32	Wanda Jean Allen	11 January 2001	Gloria Jean Leathers
33	Floyd Allen Medlock	16 January 2001	Katherine Ann Busch
34	Dion Athansius Smallwood	18 January 2001	Lois Frederick
35	Mark Andrew Fowler	23 January 2001	John Barrier, Rick Cast, Chumpon Chaowasin
36	Billy Ray Fox	25 January 2001
37	Loyd Winford Lafevers	30 January 2001	Addie Mae Hawley
38	Dorsie Leslie Jones, Jr.	1 February 2001	Stanley Eugene Buck, Sr.
39	Robert William Clayton	1 March 2001	Rhonda Kay Timmons
40	Ronald Dunaway Fluke	27 March 2001	Ginger Lou Fluke, Kathryn Lee Fluke, Suzanna Michelle Fluke
41	Marilyn Kay Plantz	1 May 2001	James Earl Plantz
42	Terrance Anthony James	22 May 2001	Mark Allen Berry
43	Vincent Allen Johnson	29 May 2001	Shirley Mooneyham
44	Jerald Wayne Harjo	17 July 2001	Ruther Porter
45	Jack Dale Walker	28 August 2001	Shely Deann Ellison, Donald Gary Epperson
46	Alvie James Hale, Jr.	18 October 2001	William Jeffery Perry
47	Lois Nadean Smith	4 December 2001	Cindy Baillee
48	Sahib Lateef Al-Mosawi	6 December 2001	Inaam Al-Nashi, Mohamed Al-Nashi
49	David Wayne Woodruff	21 January 2002	Roger Joel Sarfaty, Lloyd Thompson
50	John Joseph Romano	29 January 2002
51	Randall Eugene Cannon	23 July 2002	Addie Mae Hawley
52	Earl Alexander Frederick, Sr.	30 July 2002	Bradford Lee Beck
53	Jerry Lynn McCracken	10 December 2002	Tyrrell Lee Boyd, Steve Allen Smith, Timothy Edward Sheets, Carol Ann McDaniels
54	Jay Wesley Neill	12 December 2002	Kay Bruno, Jerri Bowles, Joyce Mullenix, Ralph Zeller
55	Ernest Marvin Carter, Jr.	17 December 2002	Eugene Mankowski
Under the Governorship of Brad Henry – 40 executions
56	Daniel Juan Revilla	16 January 2003	Mark Gomez
57	Bobby Joe Fields	13 February 2003	Louise J. Schem
58	Walanzo Deon Robinson	18 March 2003	Dennis Eugene Hill
59	John Michael Hooker	25 March 2003	Sylvia Stokes, Durcilla Morgan
60	Scott Hain	3 April 2003	Michael William Houghton, Laura Lee Sanders
61	Don Wilson Hawkins, Jr.	8 April 2003	Linda Ann Thompson
62	Larry Kenneth Jackson	17 April 2003	Wendy Cade
63	Robert Wesley Knighton	27 May 2003	Richard Denney, Virginia Denney
64	Kenneth Chad Charm	5 June 2003	Brandy Crystian Hill
65	Lewis Eugene Gilbert II	1 July 2003	Roxanne Lynn Ruddell
66	Robert Don Duckett	8 July 2003	John E. Howard
67	Bryan Anthony Toles	22 July 2003	Juan Franceschi, Lonnie Franceschi
68	Jackie Lee Willingham	24 July 2003	Jayne Ellen Van Wey
69	Harold Loyd McElmurry III	29 July 2003	Rosa Vivien Pendley, Robert Pendley
70	Tyrone Peter Darks	13 January 2004	Sherry Goodlow
71	Norman Richard Cleary	17 February 2004	Wanda Neafus
72	David Jay Brown	9 March 2004	Eldon Lee McGuire
73	Hung Thanh Le	23 March 2004	Hai Hong Nguyen
74	Robert Leroy Bryan	8 June 2004	Mildred Inabell Bryan
75	Windel Ray Workman	26 August 2004	Amanda Hollman
76	Jimmie Ray Slaughter	15 March 2005	Melody Sue Wuertz, Jessica Rae Wuertz
77	George James Miller, Jr.	12 May 2005	Gary Kent Dodd
78	Michael Lannier Pennington	19 July 2005	Bradley Thomas Grooms
79	Kenneth Eugene Turrentine	11 August 2005	Avon Stevenson, Anita Richardson, Tina Pennington, Martise Richardson
80	Richard Alford Thornburg, Jr.	18 April 2006	Jim Poteet, Terry Shepard, Kevin Smith
81	John Albert Boltz	1 June 2006	Doug Kirby
82	Eric Allen Patton	29 August 2006	Charlene Kauer
83	James Patrick Malicoat	31 August 2006	Tessa Leadford
84	Corey Duane Hamilton	9 January 2007	Joseph Gooch, Theodore Kindley, Senaida Lara, Steven Williams
85	Jimmy Dale Bland	26 June 2007	Doyle Windle Rains
86	Frank Duane Welch	21 August 2007	Jo Talley Cooper, Debra Anne Stevens
87	Terry Lyn Short	17 June 2008	Ken Yamamoto
88	Jessie James Cummings, Jr.	25 September 2008	Melissa Moody
89	Darwin Demond Brown	22 January 2009	Richard Yost
90	Donald Lee Gilson	14 May 2009	Shane Coffman
91	Michael Paul DeLozier	9 July 2009	Orville Lewis Bullard, Paul Steven Morgan
92	Julius Ricardo Young	14 January 2010	Joyland Morgan, Kewan Morgan
93	Donald Ray Wackerly II	14 October 2010	Pan Sayakhoummane
94	John David Duty	16 December 2010	Curtis Wise
95	Billy Don Alverson	6 January 2011	Richard Kevin Yost
Under the Governorship of Mary Fallin – 17 executions
96	Jeffrey David Matthews	11 January 2011	Otis Earl Short
97	Gary Roland Welch	5 January 2012	Robert Dean Hardcastle
98	Timothy Shaun Stemple	15 March 2012	Trisha Stemple
99	Michael Bascum Selsor	1 May 2012	Clayton Chandler
100	Michael Edward Hooper	14 August 2012	Cynthia Jarman, Tonya Jarman, and Timmy Jarman
101	Garry Thomas Allen	6 November 2012	Gail Titsworth
102	George Ochoa	4 December 2012	Francisco Morales, Maria Yanez
103	Steven Ray Thacker	12 March 2013	Laci Dawn Hill, Forrest Reed Boyd, Ray Patterson
104	James Lewis DeRosa	18 June 2013	Curtis Plummer, Gloria Plummer
105	Brian Darrell Davis	25 June 2013	Josephine Sanford
106	Anthony Rozelle Banks	10 September 2013	Sun "Kim" Travis
107	Ronald Clinton Lott	10 December 2013	Anna Laura Fowler, Zelma Cutler
108	Johnny Dale Black	17 December 2013	Bill Pogue
109	Michael Lee Wilson	9 January 2014	Richard Yost
110	Kenneth Eugene Hogan	23 January 2014	Lisa Stanley
111	Clayton Darrell Lockett	29 April 2014	Stephanie Neiman	Lockett's execution was halted 33 minutes after it started following the discovery that the vein being used to inject the three drug cocktail had collapsed and thus the drugs were not administered as planned. However, Lockett soon died of what was first described as a heart attack. Following an autopsy, it was discovered that Lockett had in fact died from the three drug cocktail.
112	Charles Frederick Warner	15 January 2015	Adrianna Waller	Executed while awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court decision in Warner v. Gross on whether capital punishment was still not considered "cruel and unusual punishment". The plaintiff in the case was changed to Warner's fellow death row inmate Richard Glossip after Warner's execution.

Earlier executions

From 1841 to 1966, 132 convicted persons were executed in Oklahoma; 42 prior to statehood and 90 afterward. Hanging was the usual method of execution until 1911. From 1915 to 1966, the electric chair became the sole method of execution, although Arthur Gooch was hanged by the federal government for kidnapping in 1936. Only one woman was executed in Oklahoma in the pre-Furman period: Dora Wright, a black domestic servant, was hanged on July 17, 1903, prior to statehood in 1907. Oklahoma performed its last pre-Furman electrocution on James French in 1966.

See also

• List of exonerated death row inmates
• List of women executed in the United States since 1976
• List of wrongful convictions in the United States
• List of death row inmates in the United States
• Oklahoma State Penitentiary, site of Oklahoma's execution chamber and "death row" for male prisoners

External links

• Death Row – Oklahoma Department of Corrections
• U.S. Executions Since 1976 – The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney