Wade Lay Execution to be Stayed, as Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board Denies Clemency to Two Other Death-Row Prisoners

The Oklahoma Attorney General​’s office has agreed to a stay of exe­cu­tion for a severe­ly men­tal­ly ill death-row pris­on­er who may be incom­pe­tent to be exe­cut­ed, while the state’s Pardon and Parole Board denied clemen­cy to two oth­er pris­on­ers set to be put to death in Oklahoma​’s five-month sched­uled execution spree.

After hear­ing tes­ti­mo­ny on November 29, 2021 that Wade Lay expe­ri­ences para­noid delu­sions from schiz­o­phre­nia that leave him with­out a ratio­nal under­stand­ing of the rea­son for his January 6, 2022 exe­cu­tion, Pittsburgh County District Court Associate District Judge Tim Mills found ​“good rea­son to believe’ that Lay is incom­pe­tent to be exe­cut­ed. Mills ruled that Oklahoma State Penitentiary Warden Jim Farris had abused his dis­cre­tion by fail­ing to take steps under Oklahoma law to impan­el a jury to ascer­tain Lay’s com­pe­ten­cy after receiv­ing notice of Lay’s con­di­tion in mid-October 2021, and ordered Farris to con­duct a competency trial. 

Lay’s lawyers then filed a motion on December 1, 2021 to stay Lay’s exe­cu­tion, argu­ing that Farris’ delay made it impos­si­ble to con­duct the com­pe­ten­cy tri­al pri­or to his sched­uled exe­cu­tion. In court fil­ings December 2, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office con­sent­ed to the stay, cit­ing ​“unique con­sid­er­a­tions and con­straints at issue” in Lay’s case,

The devel­op­ments in Lay’s case come amidst a flur­ry of activ­i­ty occa­sioned by Oklahoma’s sched­ul­ing of sev­en exe­cu­tions in five months between mid-October 2021 and March 2022. On November 30, 2021, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board vot­ed 4 – 1 to deny clemen­cy for Donald Grant (pic­tured left), a brain-dam­aged pris­on­er who also has been diag­nosed with schiz­o­phre­nia. On December 1, 2021, the Board, also by a 4 – 1 vote, denied clemen­cy for Gilbert Postelle (pic­tured right). 

The clemen­cy deci­sions were the fourth and fifth dur­ing the sched­uled exe­cu­tion spree. The board denied clemen­cy to John Grant, who media wit­ness­es said expe­ri­enced more than two dozen full-body con­vul­sions and vom­it­ed dur­ing a botched exe­cu­tion on October 28, 2021. On November 1, the board vot­ed 3 – 1 to rec­om­mend clemen­cy in the high-pro­file case of Julius Jones, cit­ing doubts about his guilt. Four hours before he was sched­uled to be put to death on November 18, Governor Kevin Stitt com­mut­ed Jones’ sen­tence to life with­out parole. The board then vot­ed 3 – 2 to rec­om­mend clemen­cy for Bigler Stouffer II based on con­cerns about Oklahoma’s exe­cu­tion pro­ce­dures. Stouffer is set to be exe­cut­ed December 9, 2021. Governor Stitt has tak­en no action on that recommendation.