Avast, ye landlubbers! Oklahoma scallywag, found guilty o' two murders be facin' Davy Jones' locker soon!
2023-11-30
Arr, me hearties! Oklahoma be fixin' to send Phillip Hancock, 59, to Davy Jones' locker for a double murder in the year 2001. But that scallywag claims he be defendin' his own hide when he sent Robert Jett Jr. and James Lynch to Davy Jones' locker first!
Oklahoma is set to execute Phillip Hancock, a man convicted of a 2001 double slaying, despite his claims of self-defense. The execution is scheduled for Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. The state's Pardon and Parole Board recommended sparing Hancock's life, but Governor Kevin Stitt had not taken any action on the recommendation by Thursday morning. This is not the first time Governor Stitt has been faced with a death penalty case. He previously commuted the sentence of Julius Jones but rejected clemency for two other death row inmates who were later executed.Hancock has consistently maintained that he shot and killed Robert Jett Jr. and James Lynch in self-defense after they attacked him inside Jett's home. His attorneys argue that Jett and Lynch were members of outlaw motorcycle gangs and that Jett lured Hancock to his home before attacking him. Hancock's defense also claimed that his trial attorneys were struggling with substance abuse and failed to present important evidence.
However, the state's attorneys argue that Hancock's accounts of the incident have been inconsistent and do not align with the physical evidence. They also presented a witness who testified that Hancock chased Jett into the backyard and shot him again after Jett said he was going to die. The state argued that this behavior does not constitute self-defense.
Family members of the victims testified against recommending clemency for Hancock, expressing their belief that he deserved to be executed. Hancock has a previous conviction for first-degree manslaughter in a separate shooting in 1982.
Hancock's execution would be the fourth in Oklahoma this year and the 11th since the state resumed executions in 2021. The next scheduled execution in Oklahoma is James Ryder on February 1st.