Scott James Eizember, a 62-year-old man who murdered an elderly couple 19 years ago, was executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma on Thursday.
“I’m at peace,” Eizember said with an intravenous line in his arm, in line with the Associated Press. “My conscience is evident, completely. I really like my children.”
Eizember received his last meal at 5:10 p.m. on Wednesday evening. The lethal drugs began flowing at 10:01 a.m. on Thursday and he was declared dead at 10:15.
Because the execution began, Eizember could possibly be seen talking to his spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeffrey Hood, who the Oklahoma Department of Corrections initially barred from the death chamber attributable to his history of anti-death penalty activism and an arrest, but was allowed in after the victims’ family requested it.
At one point, Eizember lifted his head and mouthed, “I really like you,” toward his daughter and attorneys.
He was convicted of murdering an elderly couple – 76-year-old AJ Cantrell and 70-year-old Patsy Cantrell – on Oct. 18, 2003.
Eizember broke into their home to surveil his ex-girlfriend, Kathryn Smith, who lived across the road. When the Cantrells got here home, Eizember shot and killed Patsy then bludgeoned AJ to death with the gun, prosecutors said at trial.
After killing the Cantrells, he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home and attacked each her son and mother before fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle.
Eizember was on the run for months until he was shot by a person who he attempted to carry hostage in Texas.
Johnny Melton, the couple’s nephew, said that the past 20 years have been “absolutely excruciating.”
“There isn’t any closure today, but a page has been turned and a fresh chapter in our lives has begun. After living this nightmare, I have to say that 20 years is just too long for justice to be served,” Melton said after the execution.
“We absolutely need to get it right and we absolutely need to be sure that everyone’s rights are protected, but the method is way too slow.”
Eizember’s attorney didn’t reply to a request for comment on Thursday.
Scott James Eizember, a 62-year-old man who murdered an elderly couple 19 years ago, was executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma on Thursday.
“I’m at peace,” Eizember said with an intravenous line in his arm, in line with the Associated Press. “My conscience is evident, completely. I really like my children.”
Eizember received his last meal at 5:10 p.m. on Wednesday evening. The lethal drugs began flowing at 10:01 a.m. on Thursday and he was declared dead at 10:15.
Because the execution began, Eizember could possibly be seen talking to his spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeffrey Hood, who the Oklahoma Department of Corrections initially barred from the death chamber attributable to his history of anti-death penalty activism and an arrest, but was allowed in after the victims’ family requested it.
At one point, Eizember lifted his head and mouthed, “I really like you,” toward his daughter and attorneys.
He was convicted of murdering an elderly couple – 76-year-old AJ Cantrell and 70-year-old Patsy Cantrell – on Oct. 18, 2003.
Eizember broke into their home to surveil his ex-girlfriend, Kathryn Smith, who lived across the road. When the Cantrells got here home, Eizember shot and killed Patsy then bludgeoned AJ to death with the gun, prosecutors said at trial.
After killing the Cantrells, he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home and attacked each her son and mother before fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle.
Eizember was on the run for months until he was shot by a person who he attempted to carry hostage in Texas.
Johnny Melton, the couple’s nephew, said that the past 20 years have been “absolutely excruciating.”
“There isn’t any closure today, but a page has been turned and a fresh chapter in our lives has begun. After living this nightmare, I have to say that 20 years is just too long for justice to be served,” Melton said after the execution.
“We absolutely need to get it right and we absolutely need to be sure that everyone’s rights are protected, but the method is way too slow.”
Eizember’s attorney didn’t reply to a request for comment on Thursday.
