OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oklahoma’s death penalty battle is at the center of a major shakeup today.
The head of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is out because he disagrees with Gov. Kevin Stitt.
This comes as the state’s death chamber remains open ahead of a looming legal battle.
Adam Luck had voted in favor of clemency for all five death row inmates that have come before the board.
In a resignation letter today, he implied that he doesn’t support the death penalty and Stitt has made clear that he does.
Luck wrote to the governor that when he began, there was a moratorium on executions. He wrote that he realizes he doesn’t share Stitt’s opinion on capital punishment and honored his request to be able to appoint someone else.
Stitt appointed Edward Konieczny, a former police officer who now is a minister. He was the bishop and president of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma for more than a decade.
Konieczny’s name appears on a letter signed by religious leaders opposing the death penalty.
Stitt’s office said his name was added to the letter automatically when he missed the opt-out window.
They also said he had assured Stitt that he would support capital punishment when appropriate.
The appointment came hours after a federal judge reaffirmed Oklahoma’s death penalty stance.
Earlier this week, two inmates – Donald Grant and Gilbert Postelle – who are next in line to be executed, asked a judge to delay the executions over concerns about Oklahoma’s lethal injection program.
Today, the judge denied that request. The inmates are appealing.
, Staff, January 15, 2022
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
