Federal judge issues stay of execution for Oklahoma death row inmate Jeffrey David Matthews

A federal judge has issued a stay of execution for Oklahoma death row inmate Jeffrey David Matthews, 38, of Purcell, who was scheduled for lethal injection Tuesday for killing his 77-year-old great-uncle in 1994.

The stay was issued after defense attorneys raised concerns about the sedative to be injected. It was the 3rd stay of execution for Jeffrey David Matthews, 38.

Matthews, of Purcell, was convicted of killing Otis Earl Short, 77, and assaulting Short's wife, Minnie Delores Short, whose throat was slashed, during a 1994 McClain County burglary.

The Shorts' granddaughter, Carol Cowan, said nine family members were driving to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester on Tuesday to witness the execution when they received a phone call regarding the latest stay.

"We were dreading it (the execution), yet we were hoping today to finally get some closure," Cowan said. "Every time there's a stay, it's like it's all been opened up again."

Cowan said Tuesday would have been the 71st wedding anniversary for Otis and Minnie Short.

Minnie Short told the family before she died about 7 years ago that "You kids need to see that it's carried through for me," Cowan said.

"Well, we're still here, and we're still going on with it," Cowan said.

3rd stay granted

Gov. Brad Henry has granted 2 stays of execution to give defense attorneys time to examine fingerprint evidence. Matthews was scheduled for execution on June 17 and again on July 20.

Federal Judge Stephen P. Friot in Oklahoma City issued the third stay Tuesday after Matthews joined in a lawsuit filed by another death row inmate and challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty.

Matthews' attorneys objected to the Corrections Department's substitution of one of the drugs used in Oklahoma's execution process.

The department wanted to substitute Brevital, a form of methohexital sodium, for sodium thiopental, which is normally used for sedation. During lethal injection, the sedative is administered first, followed by a drug that stops breathing and then a drug that stops the heart.

The Corrections Department was substituting the sedative because of worries about the purity of thiopental on hand, department spokesman Jerry Massie said.

In papers filed with the court, the Federal Public Defenders office argued the substitute has never been used in an execution, is experimental and there is no proof it is a humane alternative.

The state thinks the drug is in compliance with state statute that says the sedative must be "ultrashort-acting barbiturate,” said Charlie Price, spokesman for Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office.

In issuing the 60-day stay, Friot noted the Corrections Department learned in mid-July the dose of sodium thiopental intended for the execution had expired. Friot further noted that more thiopental could not be obtained and Matthews' attorneys only learned about the substitution on Monday.

Friot set a hearing for Oct. 15. If the execution is allowed to happen, a new date would likely be set for about 30 days, Price said.

Matthews intervened in a case filed in February by James Pavatt, who was convicted of killing Rob Andrew to get the proceeds of an insurance policy. At the time, Pavatt was having an affair with Andrew's wife, Brenda Andrew, who also was sentenced to death.

Source: The Oklahoman, August 18, 2010

60-day stay of execution for Jeffrey Matthews

Jeffrey Matthews received a 60-day stay of execution from a federal judge on 17 August, a few hours before he was due to be put to death. This was his third stay of execution in three months.

US District Judge Stephen Friot granted the stay of execution after lawyers for Jeffrey Matthews filed an emergency motion on 17 August relating to the lethal injection procedure to be used in the execution scheduled for 6pm that day. The lawyers had learned in a telephone call the previous day from a state Assistant Attorney General that the Department of Corrections had been unable to obtain the sodium thiopental, the anaesthetic used under the state’s lethal injection protocol. The lawyers were informed that for the execution of Jeffrey Matthews, the state intended to use another drug, Brevital, also known as methohexital. According to the motion, this drug has never been used by any state in any execution, and the lawyers characterized the state's intention to use it on their client as "nothing more than experimental." Their motion argued that the "last-minute variation from their protocols creates a risk that Mr Matthews will incur unnecessary conscious suffering and pain during his execution."

The motion also questioned why the state had left it until the eleventh hour to notify the lawyers of the intended change. The Department of Corrections had apparently learned in mid-July that the dose of sodium thiopental intended for the execution of Jeffrey Matthews had expired. In his order granting the stay, Judge Friot concluded that "the very weighty considerations which ordinarily compel denial of eleventh hour applications such as these are inapplicable here." The stay of execution is currently scheduled to expire on 16 October 2010. Judge Friot scheduled a hearing for the morning of 15 October.

Jeffrey Matthews was originally scheduled to be executed on 17 June 2010. On 26 May, the state Pardon and Parole Board voted by three votes to two to deny clemency to Jeffrey Matthews. In early August its Director announced that the Board would not hold a second clemency hearing to reconsider its decision.

In Oklahoma, the governor cannot commute a death sentence without the Board first recommending this course of action. The governor has the power to grant temporary reprieves, however. On 16 June 2010, Governor Brad Henry granted a stay until 20 July. On 15 July, Governor Henry extended the stay until 17 August. The stays were issued to allow the defense lawyers more time to examine fingerprint evidence in the case.

There is no physical evidence – hair, fibre, blood, DNA, fingerprints or gunshot residue – linking Jeffrey Matthews to the crime he was sentenced for in 1995. In 2007, one of the police officers involved in investigating the crime signed a sworn statement saying that he believed "there is a reasonable likelihood that Matthews is innocent."

There have been 36 executions in the USA this year, bringing to 1,224 the total number of men and women put to death there since it resumed judicial killing in 1977.

Source: Amnesty International, August 19, 2010

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