Oklahoma executes man who killed couple in 2003

McALESTER, Okla. — Oklahoma executed a man Thursday who was convicted of killing an aged couple and committing different crimes 20 years in the past earlier than authorities caught as much as him in Texas after a manhunt.

Scott James Eizember, 62, acquired a deadly injection on the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was pronounced useless at 10:15 a.m.

“I’m at peace,” Eizember stated, strapped to a gurney with an intravenous line in his left arm. “My conscience is clear, completely. I love my children.”

Once the deadly medication started to movement, Eizember, who had a close-cropped beard, could possibly be seen chatting along with his non secular adviser, the Rev. Jeffrey Hood, who was contained in the execution chamber with him. He lifted his head at one level and mouthed the phrases, “I love you,” towards his daughter and attorneys who have been amongst 17 folks seated in the witness room.

Eizember’s respiration turned labored and he was declared unconscious at 10:07 a.m. He appeared to cease respiration at 10:10 a.m. He was pronounced useless at 10:15 a.m.

Eizember’s attorneys didn’t deny he killed A.J. Cantrell, 76, and his spouse, Patsy Cantrell, 70, on Oct. 18, 2003. But they advised the state’s Pardon and Parole Board final month that the killings have been unplanned and spontaneous and his life nonetheless had worth.

The board voted 3-2 to reject a clemency suggestion.

“He has felt remorse every day of his imprisonment. There is no reason to kill him next month other than revenge,” lawyer Mark Henricksen advised the board.

After the execution, a number of members of the Cantrell spoke of the ache the household has endured and voiced concern on the size of time it took for Eizember to be executed.

“After living this nightmare, I must say that 20 years is too long for justice to be served,” Johnny Melton, the slain couple’s nephew, stated in a press release learn on behalf of the household. “We want to get it right and we absolutely want to ensure that everyone’s rights are protected, but the process is much too slow.”

Melton additionally harassed the significance of addressing home violence and enhancing psychological well being therapy, in the state of Oklahoma and throughout the nation.

“I know this is going to be a controversial statement, but I believe it to be a fact. It is the abuser who needs help. They need it when they are young,” Melton stated. “By the time the victim needs help, it’s too late.”

Prosecutors allege Eizember broke into the Cantrells’ residence in Depew, Oklahoma, after he noticed them depart so he might lie in watch for his ex-girlfriend, Kathryn Smith, who lived throughout the road. When the couple got here residence unexpectedly, prosecutors say Eizember shot and killed Patsy Cantrell with a shotgun he discovered inside the house after which bludgeoned A.J. Cantrell to demise with the weapon.

Eizember was convicted of first-degree homicide and sentenced to demise for killing A.J. Cantrell and convicted of second-degree homicide and sentenced to 150 years in jail for killing Patsy Cantrell. Eizember’s attorneys had argued that Patsy Cantrell was shot and killed whereas he and A.J. Cantrell struggled over the shotgun.

After killing the couple, Eizember walked throughout the road and entered Smith’s residence, shot her son in the again and attacked her mom, prosecutors say. Both survived and authorities say Eizember finally sped out of city in a stolen automobile.

Police imagine Eizember hid out in wooded areas across the cities of Depew and Bristow for greater than 30 days whereas regulation enforcement businesses launched a big manhunt to trace him down.

“He wasn’t afraid to kill again,” Assistant Attorney General Tessa Henry advised the pardon board.

Eizember ultimately made his strategy to Arkansas in a stolen automobile and kidnapped a doctor and his spouse at gunpoint, prosecutors stated. After driving with the couple to Texas, he lastly was captured close to the city of Lufkin after the doctor pulled out a pistol stashed in the couple’s van and shot Eizember 4 occasions, authorities stated.

A federal jury in Arkansas convicted Eizember in December 2005 on two counts of kidnapping and one rely every of carjacking and utilizing a firearm in a criminal offense of violence. He was sentenced to 25 years in federal jail in that case.

Eizember filed a last-minute lawsuit in search of to have his non secular adviser with him contained in the demise chamber throughout his execution after the Department of Corrections rejected the minister due to Hood’s historical past of anti-death penalty activism, together with arrests. The DOC reversed course on that call Wednesday, citing considerations from the Cantrell household that the choice might result in Thursday’s execution being known as off.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that states should accommodate the desires of demise row inmates who wish to have their pastors pray aloud and even contact them throughout their executions.

Oklahoma makes use of a three-drug deadly injection technique beginning with the sedative midazolam, rendering the particular person unconscious, adopted by a paralytic vecuronium bromide and at last potassium chloride, which stops the center.

Eizember’s execution was the eighth in Oklahoma for the reason that state resumed executions in 2021.