Wednesday, April 26th 2017, 10:40 pm
Wednesday, Oklahoma’s attorney general said despite a committee recommendation, capital punishments will resume.
One woman, whose parents were murdered in 2003, said she hopes this will ensure justice is served.
4/26/2017 Related Story: Oklahoma AG: State Moving Forward With Execution Plans
Debra Wyatt’s parents meant the world to her.
“Everything. I’m the oldest of three girls, and they were just – we were closer than any family could be,” she said.
Wyatt's parents, A.J. and Patsy Cantrell, were murdered in 2003; during that time, a jury found the murderer, Scott Eizember, guilty and sentenced him to death.
"Shot my mom in the back and beat my dad with the butt of the gun till his skull collapsed. Then someone knocked on the door and so he dragged them into the bathroom, their bodies, and he said he put Patsy - he referred to my mom as her first name and I don't know why - but he said, “I put Patsy on top of him because I could still here the old man breathing,’" she said.
Police looked for Eizember for more than 30 days.
A jury sentenced him to death for the murder of Wyatt's dad, but Eizember’s execution was put on hold when the state put a moratorium on capital punishment.
Wyatt said she believes justice will not be served until Eizember is executed; she said anytime there's talk about stopping executions she gets sick.
"I've been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and any kind of anxiety causes me to relapse, and this has strung me into some major anxiety this week," she said.
Wyatt said when she heard about Attorney General Mike Hunter's decision to move forward with executing death row inmates, she was thankful; she said she does not want to be cruel, she only wants justice.
"To victims, a victim’s family, you just want it to be fair, and we've been waiting all these years and you don't feel like it's fair. I mean my sisters had four grandchildren, and I’ve had two, and my parents weren’t alive to see them," she said.
Hunter said he hopes to release now protocols for executing death row inmates soon.
September 29th, 2024
September 17th, 2024
November 24th, 2024
November 24th, 2024
November 24th, 2024
November 24th, 2024