Stemple's Family Appeals To Oklahoma Governor To Delay His Execution

Shaun Stemple's loved ones want more time to present new evidence before he's put to death one week from Thursday.

Stemple has been on death row for 16 years for the murder of his wife. He confessed to and was convicted of beating her with a baseball bat, then running over her on the side of highway 75, near Jenks.

Shaun and Trisha Stemple had been married 12 years and had two children, when she was killed. In Shaun Stemple's confession he wrote:

Terry Hunt and I beat her with a baseball bat and threw her in front of the truck. I ran over her repeatedly. Then Terry took me home and I called 911. Terry Hunt, who I was to pay $25,000 for the job, was to take the truck out of state but he punked out and kept the vehicle in Tulsa until he was caught.

Terry Hunt, who was 16 at the time, was the cousin of Stemple's mistress and got life in prison with parole in exchange for his testimony. Prosecutors say Stemple killed his wife for the $950,000 insurance policy.

"We're here because we believe my brother, Timothy Shaun Stemple to be innocent of the crimes he's convicted of," said Janae Smucker, Stemple's sister.

Stemple says he was home the night Trisha was killed. His family says his confession was coerced. They say Terry Hunt lied during his testimony, and they have experts who say the evidence doesn't match the prosecutor's theory of the case.

"The whole crime scene as well as the forensic report does not support the baseball bat beating story at all. All the experts, the medical examiner's report show it didn't ever happen," Janae said.

Free Shaun Website

Since all his appeals and his clemency were denied, the family hopes the governor will grant a reprieve so their evidence can be presented.

"His final thought was, if I don't have a reprieve, I'll be with Trisha and Shane," said Lia Stemple, Shaun's mother.

Shane is the couple's son, who has since passed away. Their daughter Lauren is now 21 and believes in her father's innocence.

Trisha's family has a much different view of him and the case.

In their letters to the clemency board, they talked about a wonderful, hard working and giving person she was and used words like "diabolical," "psychopath," "charmer" and "deceiver" when describing Stemple.

Read documents presented on behalf of the victim

The homicide sergeant called Stemple one of the most evil men he's come in contact with. The DA said there was overwhelming evidence in this cruel and gruesome murder, and Stemple has been unrepentant.

2/24/2012 Related Story: Oklahoma Board Rejects Death Row Inmate's Clemency Plea