Oklahoma board cites execution flaws, recommends clemency

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted Wednesday to recommend clemency for a death row inmate after questioning the state’s execution methods.

The board, by a 3-2 vote, recommended that Gov. Kevin Stitt commute the sentence of Bigler Jobe Stouffer, 79, to life without parole, despite several saying they were convinced of Stouffer's guilt.

Spokespersons for Stitt, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The board noted that a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s three-drug lethal injection protocol is to begin in February and the Oct. 28 execution of John Marion Grant, in which Grant vomited and convulsed after the sedative midazolam was administered.

“The last four (executions) if you go back six or seven years now, well that process is obviously flawed. We've had individuals on the table suffering for 20 and 30 minutes," said board member Larry Morris, who voted for the clemency recommendation.

“I don't think that any humane society ought to be executing people that way, until we figure out how to do it right,” Morris said.

Board members said they are convinced of the guilt of Stouffer, who is not part of the federal lawsuit and maintained his innocence during a video appearance before the board.

Stouffer was convicted and sentenced to die for the shooting death of Linda Reaves and, the girlfriend of the estranged husband of Bigler’s girlfriend. He was also convicted of shooting and wounding the estranged husband, Doug Ivens.

Stouffer borrowed a gun from Ivens, then fatally shot Reaves and wounded Ivens in an attempt to gain access to Ivens' $2 million life insurance policy, according to prosecutors.