Oklahoma executes man for 1985 slaying of schoolteacher

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Oklahoma executed a antheral Thursday for the 1985 shooting decease of an Oklahoma City-area schoolteacher aft courts rejected his assertion that the state’s lethal injection method would effect successful unconstitutional symptom and suffering.

Bigler Stouffer II, 79, received a three-drug lethal injection astatine the Oklahoma State Penitentiary successful McAlester.

Stouffer was the archetypal idiosyncratic executed successful Oklahoma since John Grant convulsed connected the gurney and vomited during his lethal injection successful October arsenic the authorities ended a six-year execution moratorium brought connected by concerns implicit its protocols.

Thursday's execution process that began astatine 10 a.m. appeared to spell much smoothly. After receiving lethal drugs, Stouffer was declared unconscious astatine 10:07 a.m., and his breaths became shallower astatine 10:09 a.m. He was declared dormant astatine 10:16 a.m.

Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor said successful connection that the exectuion “was carried retired with zero complications.” The Rev. Howard Potts, who was successful the decease enclosure with Stouffer, said Stouffer "was wholly astatine peace.”

Stouffer's past words were: “My petition is that my begetter forgive them. Thank you.”

Stouffer has maintained his innocence successful the onslaught that near Linda Reaves dormant and her boyfriend, Doug Ivens, earnestly injured. He and his attorneys argued successful tribunal filings that the state’s three-drug execution method poses a hazard of unconstitutional symptom and suffering and that Stouffer should beryllium included among different decease enactment plaintiffs successful a national suit challenging the protocols. But his petition for a enactment of execution was denied by a national territory justice and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. A last entreaty with the U.S. Supreme Court was denied Thursday morning, little than 2 hours earlier the scheduled execution

Stouffer was convicted and sentenced to decease successful 2003 aft his archetypal condemnation and decease condemnation were overturned. At a parole committee proceeding past month, helium said Ivens was changeable arsenic the 2 men fought implicit a weapon astatine Ivens' home, and that Reaves was dormant erstwhile helium arrived.

“I americium wholly guiltless of the execution of Linda Reaves and my bosom goes retired to the household of Linda Reaves that person suffered arsenic a effect of her murder," Stouffer told the committee during a video quality from prison.

Prosecutors said Stouffer went to the location to get the weapon from Ivens, past fatally changeable Reaves and wounded Ivens to summation entree to Ivens’ $2 cardinal beingness security policy. At the time, Stouffer was dating Ivens’ ex-wife.

Despite being changeable 3 times with a .38-caliber pistol, including erstwhile successful the face, Ivens survived and testified against Stouffer. Ivens has since died.

“Stouffer's heinous actions against Doug and Linda, his lies and manipulations successful the years to follow, and his implicit deficiency of sorrow and remorse for the wounded helium caused should dictate 1 decision — the jury's decease condemnation indispensable beryllium carried out," attorneys for the authorities wrote successful asking the Pardon and Parole Board to cull Stouffer's petition for clemency.

Several members of the committee voiced concerns astir the state's quality to humanely execute people. But Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt ultimately rejected the board’s recommendation that Stitt commute Stouffer’s condemnation to beingness successful situation without parole.

Reaves cousin, Rodney Thomson, spoke to reporters aft Stouffer's execution, saying the sidesplitting had consumed his household members. He thanked the lawyer wide and unit and different prosecutors and investigators who worked connected the case.

“Today we witnessed the instrumentality of the onshore carried retired connected behalf of my cousin,” Thomson work from a statement. “Although agelong successful coming, justness has prevailed.”

Stitt did grant clemency to different antheral connected decease row, Julius Jones, past period conscionable hours earlier his scheduled execution, commuting his condemnation to beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole. That lawsuit had drawn outcry and protests implicit doubts astir his guilt successful the slaying of a businessman much than 20 years ago.

Executions successful Oklahoma person typically been held successful the evenings, but situation officials moved Stouffer's execution to 10 a.m. to marque it easier for the situation to instrumentality to mean operations, said Department of Corrections spokesperson Josh Ward.

Oklahoma had 1 of the nation’s busiest decease chambers until problems successful 2014 and 2015 led to a de facto moratorium. Richard Glossip was conscionable hours distant from being executed successful September 2015 erstwhile situation officials realized they received the incorrect lethal drug. It was aboriginal learned the aforesaid incorrect cause had been utilized to execute different antheral successful January 2015.

The cause mix-ups followed a botched execution successful April 2014 successful which inmate Clayton Lockett struggled connected a gurney earlier dying 43 minutes into his lethal injection — and aft the state’s prisons main ordered executioners to stop.

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