Senate passes Hamilton bill to allow death penalty option for child rapists

Senator Hamilton Secures Passage of Legislation to Ensure Death Penalty Option for Child Rapists

Sen. Hamilton: Child sex offenders are monsters among us

OKLAHOMA CITY(March 27th)  - Senator Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, today successfully passed legislation off the Senate Floor (SB 599) to ensure the death penalty is a prosecutorial option for criminals convicted of child sex abuse after a first offense. 

“There should be no second chances for an individual so depraved to rape a child,” Senator Hamilton said. “The state of Oklahoma has collectively made the decision through ballot initiatives or legislation to make it easier for individuals to get second chances, and I agree in part that some people deserve a second chance for making a mistake. But we should all draw a hard line when it comes to raping a child. For individuals who commit these types of horrific acts - there is no form of effective rehabilitation, and there is no amount of therapy or programming to make them better or make up for this crime. That is why the death penalty and life without parole are the only punishments allowed by law that are appropriate for these predators. 

“When we tuck our children into bed at night, we try to convince them monsters don’t exist. We try our best to shield them from the evils, and horrors of the world. But unfortunately, monsters do exist. Child rapists are those monsters, and they should be dealt with accordingly. 

AG O’Connor rebukes lawmaker’s call for Glossip evidentiary hearing

We've once again reached a criminal case with celebrity/entertainment influence inducing weak legislators to undermine the conviction process and seek to curry political favor by advocating for something less than justice for the victims' families. In this press release, Attorney General John O'Connor strongly responds to State Rep. Kevin McDugle, who has spearheaded the effort to get legislators on board against the Glossip death pentalty sentance.

Attorney General O’Connor Responds to Lawmaker’s Call for Glossip Evidentiary Hearing

OKLAHOMA CITY - Attorney General John O’Connor released the following statement, “Barry Van Treese was murdered with a baseball bat in the middle of the night in a room of the hotel he owned. Richard Glossip managed that hotel and received an apartment in the hotel as part of his compensation. After meeting with Mr. Van Treese about mostly financial issues, Glossip had reason to fear that he would be fired the next day. 

“Justin Sneed was an 18-year-old maintenance man at the hotel. He also received a room at the hotel as part of his compensation. The evidence at trial showed that Glossip had significant influence over Sneed.

“Sneed testified that Glossip offered him money to kill Mr. Van Treese at Glossip’s first jury trial in 1998. The jury unanimously convicted Glossip of murder for hire and recommended the death penalty. The judge imposed the death penalty.

“The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals sent that conviction back for a second jury trial, because the court did not believe Glossip’s attorney adequately represented him.

“Before the second jury trial, Glossip’s new attorney met with Sneed in an apparent attempt to get Sneed to not testify against Glossip at his second trial. Glossip’s attorney admitted that he met face-to-face with Sneed. It’s on the record before Glossip’s second trial that Glossip’s attorney gave Sneed a copy of a court decision that would allow Sneed to keep his sentence even if he refused to testify against Glossip in the second trial.

“Despite these efforts by Glossip’s attorney to influence him, Sneed again testified in the second jury trial in 2004 that Glossip offered Sneed money to kill Mr. Van Treese. The second jury unanimously convicted Glossip of murder for hire in 2004 and recommended the death penalty. Again, the judge imposed the death penalty. The State did not make any kind of additional deal with Sneed in respect to his testimony in the 2004 trial.

State Rep files bill for statewide vote on abolishing the death penalty

Turner Files Bill to Give Power to People on Death Penalty

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Mauree Turner, D-OKC, has filed legislation for the 2022 Legislative Session that would create a state question on whether the death penalty should exist in Oklahoma.

While Oklahomans have previously supported the death penalty in ballot initiatives, the inhumane conditions of death row, botched executions, and exposure of the racism and error rate in guilty verdicts have given many reasons to grapple with what it means for a small number of state actors to have the power to decide who lives and who dies an often torturous death, especially in the face of exclusionary evidence. 

“What I am hearing from my district, and people around the state, is an urgent need to end state-enacted murder in the name of a criminal legal system that seeks to kill people with impunity,” Turner said. “We have seen a growing movement, in the last year especially, of people calling for Oklahoma to abolish the death penalty. And I want to give people a chance to express that on the ballot.”

A national poll of police chiefs by the Death Penalty Information Center showed that the nation’s police chiefs rank the death penalty last for effective crime reduction. 

“The officers do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder, and they rate it as one of most inefficient uses of taxpayer dollars in fighting crime,” the Death Penalty Information Center report read. “Criminologists concur that the death penalty does not effectively reduce the number of murders.”

FBI statistics, which show states with the death penalty have a higher murder rate than those without capital punishment, support these expert opinions. Oklahoma’s murder rate is the 11th highest in the nation, according to the most recent CDC data. 

Turner opposes capital punishment and knows that Oklahomans have a broad range of views and experiences, which is why [she]* want[s] to give the people another opportunity to use their voice. 

Gov. Stitt commutes Julius Jones' sentence to life without parole

 

GOVERNOR STITT COMMUTES JULIUS JONES’ SENTENCE TO LIFE WITHOUT POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE

OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 18, 2021) – Pursuant to Article 6, Section 10 of the Oklahoma Constitution, Governor Kevin Stitt today issued Executive Order 2021-25 to commute the death sentence of Julius Jones, who was tried and convicted for the first-degree murder of Paul Howell, to life imprisonment without the possibility for parole, on the condition that he shall never again be eligible to apply for, be considered for, or receive any additional commutation, pardon, or parole.

Governor Stitt released the following statement regarding his decision:

“After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones’ sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.”

State to resume execution by lethal injection after obtaining new, reliable supply

State Officials Announce Plans to Resume Execution by Lethal Injection

Updated protocol includes recommendations by 2016 multicounty grand jury

OKLAHOMA CITY – State officials including Gov. Kevin Stitt, Attorney General Mike Hunter and Department of Corrections (DOC) Director Scott Crow announced today that the state has found a reliable supply of drugs to resume executions by lethal injection.

The state will use an updated version of the previous protocol that includes recommendations by the 2016 multicounty grand jury. The three drugs that will continue to be used are: midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride.

Additionally, officials with the Attorney General’s Office have complied with the notice provisions of the joint stipulations, thus enabling the state to request execution dates for inmates who have exhausted their appeals after 150 days.

“It is important that the state is implementing our death penalty law with a procedure that is humane and swift for those convicted of the most heinous of crimes,” Gov. Stitt said. “Director Crow and Attorney General Mike Hunter have worked diligently and thoroughly to create a path forward to resume the death penalty in Oklahoma, and the time has come to deliver accountability and justice to the victims who have suffered unthinkable loss and pain.”

Although the state previously announced the move to nitrogen hypoxia as the preferred method of execution, the 2015 law allowing the state to develop a method for nitrogen hypoxia specifically states death sentences shall be carried out by nitrogen hypoxia only if the drugs for lethal injections are unavailable.

“My commitment to Oklahomans who remain tormented by the loss of their loved ones has been that we would go any route necessary to resume executions as expeditiously as possible within the rule of law,” Attorney General Hunter said. “They have endured enough through the decades of waiting on the lengthy appeals process and the state’s attempts to get the protocol right. I appreciate Director Crow and his team for their tireless search to acquire the drugs from a reliable source. Because of these efforts, we can finally tell the victims their wait for justice is nearly over.” 

The updated protocol includes several of the recommendations by the 2016 multicounty grand jury, including a verification of execution drugs at every step in the process, more training for the execution teams, among others.

Also, consistent with the multicounty grand jury recommendations, the DOC continues to work on a protocol that will allow the state to proceed by execution through nitrogen hypoxia when appropriate.

“Under this enhanced protocol, Oklahoma Department of Corrections stands ready to resume executions recommended by a jury of peers, sentenced by an impartial judge, and mandated by law,” Director Crow said. “I thank Governor Stitt and Attorney General Hunter for their leadership, which helped create this improved process. Additionally, I am deeply grateful for the patience of victims’ families and loved ones as we worked to ensure Oklahoma’s executions resume and are carried out in a meticulous manner.”

To read the updated protocol, click here. 

Democrat State Rep files bill to end Oklahoma's death penalty

Dunnington Legislation Looks to End Oklahoma’s Death Penalty

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Jason Dunnington (D-Oklahoma City) on Tuesday filed House Bill 2876 for consideration during the 2020 legislative session. If passed and signed into law, the measure will remove the death penalty from among the options in Oklahoma for sentencing in capital cases.

“I’m proud to be a part of the important progress we’ve made toward criminal justice reform,” Dunnington said. “Oklahomans are becoming more aware of the wasted costs of capital punishment, a system that provides no deterrent to crime while flushing millions down the drain that could be better spent on responses to violence that actually work.”

Dunnington’s legislation found support from The Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, Archbishop of Oklahoma City.

“This is a bold proposal that addresses the disturbing realities and inequity of capital punishment,” Coakley said. “We don't end the cycle of violence by committing more violence. In all of these crimes, we lost a life, and the death penalty only serves to further devalue human dignity. When available, we should choose non-lethal ways to ensure justice and protect society.”

“This is neither a partisan nor an ideological proposal,” Dunnington said. “The profound problems with the death penalty are a concern for all Oklahomans, indeed for all Americans. That is why Republicans and Democrats from Alabama to Oregon are increasingly embracing the call for a repeal of the death penalty.”

Dunnington detailed the primary objections to continued use of the death penalty:

• For every 10 inmates executed on death row in the US since 1976, one inmate has been exonerated;
• The taxpayer cost of incarceration for death row inmates is more than twice that of inmates with life sentences;
•  There is no evidence to support that use of the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent;
•  Families of victims routinely testify that executing the convicted offers little consolation for their pain and loss.

The measure will be assigned for a committee hearing in February.