The latest of a string of Oklahoma death row inmates to appeal to the United States Supreme Court have lost their final appeals when SCOTUS declined to review their cases.
The three inmates will now join eight others in becoming eligible for execution dates when or if the state resumes lethal injections following a series of mishaps that have prompted the state to call a temporary moratorium on capital punishment.
The inmates seeking relief from the Supreme Court include the following:
- Anthony Castillo Sanchez, 37, who was convicted of the 1996 murder of Jewell "Juli" Buskin, a University of Oklahoma dance student. Sanchez has been on death row since 2006, after a DNA profile taken from Sanchez on a burglary conviction matched DNA evidence from the Buskin murder. After the jury reached a guilty verdict 10 years after Buskin's death, Sanchez stood up, pointed at the victim's parents, and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Busken, I didn't kill your daughter. I swear to God, I didn't kill your daughter."
- Julius Darius Jones, 36, who was convicted of the 1999 murder of Edmond insurance executive Paul Howell, 45. Jones has been on death row since 2002, when he was convicted of first degree murder for shooting Howell in the head in the driveway of his parent's home before stealing the man's 1997 GMC Suburban. Jones was a former John Marshall High School honor student and a freshman at the University of Oklahoma at the time of Howell's murder. After Jones's arrest, his father said,"He doesn't know why he is in jail. All we know is the police came... and all hell broke loose. My son is innocent."
- Phillip Dean Hancock, 52, who was convicted of the 2001 murders of two Oklahoma City men. Hancock, of Guthrie, admitted to shooting and killing Robert L. Jett Jr., 37, and James V. Lynch, 58, but said that he did so in self-defense. The deaths reportedly occurred during a fight. According to prosecutors, one of the victims was shot while trying to run away, and the defendant taunted the other between gunshots. Defense attorneys Hancock shot the men in self defense during the fight and were stunned by the verdict. After his 2004 conviction, Hancock's lawyer said, "I feel pretty certain that it will be reversed on appeal. I've been doing this for over 30 years and I'm probably more shocked at this verdict than any that I have ever seen."
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said he will not seek any execution dates until the state has completed a review of the lethal injection process following the botched execution of Clayton Lockett, the use of the wrong drug in the execution of Charles Warner, and the last-minute discovery of the wrong lethal injection drug, prompting the postponement of the execution of Richard Glossip.
- Image credit: Matt Wade