Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board Votes 3-2 Against Clemency for James Pavatt; Nov. 12 Execution Stands
Oklahoma death row inmate James Dwight Pavatt was denied clemency on October 14 after the state Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 against recommending that Governor Kevin Stitt change his death sentence to life in prison without parole, according to The Oklahoman. Under state law, the vote means the governor cannot intervene to spare his life. Pavatt, 72, is set to be executed by lethal injection on November 12 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.
Pavatt told the board he did not shoot anyone. He was convicted of the 2001 murder of Oklahoma City advertising executive Rob Andrew. His girlfriend at the time, Brenda Andrew, is the only woman on Oklahoma's death row and is challenging her conviction at the U.S. Supreme Court and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. The two were convicted at separate trials in Oklahoma County District Court after fleeing to Mexico with her two children for more than three months.
The vote comes amid increased national attention on the death penalty following a botched execution in Tennessee on September 30 and a proposal to livestream a military firing-squad execution at Fort Hood, Texas, on December 3.
(Source: Reporting by The Oklahoman)
Source: Reporting by The Oklahoman
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 俄克拉荷马州议会大厦（俄克拉荷马城），w_lemay 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0（Wikimedia Commons）
