Double murderer executed in Oklahoma
A 59-year-old man was executed Thursday in the US state of Oklahoma for a double homicide he claimed was dedicated in self-defense.
Phillip Hancock was executed by deadly injection on the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections stated.
The Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Parole advisable that Hancock be pardoned, however this was rejected by Governor Kevin Stitt.
Hancock was sentenced to loss of life in April 2001 for the murders of biker gang members Robert Jett and James Lynch.
Hancock claimed he shot Jett and Lynch throughout a scuffle after they tried to drive him right into a cage at Jett’s Oklahoma City mansion.
One of Hancock’s legal professionals, Sean Nolan, accused the governor of ignoring the parole board’s suggestion to commute the sentence to life in jail.
“I am extremely disappointed that the state of Oklahoma executed Phil for defending himself against a violent attack,” Nolan stated in a press release.
“This was clear self-defense, and the governor and the state ignored abundant evidence that Phil was fighting for his life,” he stated. “He fought to stay in the cage to save his life, but ended up being caged and tragically killed by the state.”
This yr, 24 individuals had been executed in the United States. No additional executions are scheduled for the rest of this yr.
A latest Gallup ballot discovered that 53 % of Americans assist the loss of life penalty for these convicted of homicide, the bottom degree since 1972.
Twenty-three US states have abolished the loss of life penalty, whereas three others (California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania) have granted moratoriums on executions.
This yr, executions had been carried out in 5 states: Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
In latest years, the loss of life penalty has primarily been carried out by deadly injection, however Alabama plans to make use of nitrogen fuel to execute inmates subsequent yr.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has set a January 25 execution date for Kenneth Smith, 58, who was sentenced to loss of life for a 1988 homicide.
Source: guardian.ng