An Oklahoma man, Phillip Hancock, aged 59, was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. This execution marked the 24th and last one in the United States for 2023. Hancock was sentenced for the April 2001 murders of Robert Jett and James Lynch, biker gang members.
Despite claims of self-defense and a recommendation for clemency from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, Governor Kevin Stitt denied this request. The case stirred controversy, with Hancock’s attorney and even some Republican officials questioning the justice of the execution.
Hancock’s defense was based on his claim of self-defense, asserting he shot Jett and Lynch during a struggle after they attempted to force him into a cage at Jett’s residence in Oklahoma City. Shawn Nolan, Hancock’s attorney, criticized the governor’s decision to ignore the parole board’s recommendation to reduce Hancock’s sentence to life imprisonment, emphasizing the self-defense aspect of the case.
Additionally, the overall context of capital punishment in the U.S. is significant. The number of executions in 2023 stands at 24, with none further scheduled for the year. Public opinion on the death penalty is at its lowest since 1972, with only 53% of Americans in favor, as per a Gallup Poll.
Capital punishment is abolished in 23 states, with a moratorium observed in California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. Executions this year occurred in five states, with Alabama planning to use nitrogen gas for execution in the next year, marking a shift from the common method of lethal injection.
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