Oklahoma prepares to execute man for 2001 double slaying despite self-defense claim
By SEAN MURPHY and JAKE BLEIBERG
Associated Press
McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma is preparing to execute a man for a double slaying in 2001 despite his claims that he acted in self-defense. Phillip Hancock was scheduled to receive a three-drug lethal injection Thursday morning at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. The 59-year-old has long claimed he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Robert Jett, Jr. and James Lynch at Jett’s south Oklahoma City home. Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 to recommend Oklahoma’s governor spare Hancock’s life and commute his sentence to life in prison without parole. But Stitt had taken no action on the recommendation by the time the execution had been scheduled to start.
