Oklahoma death row inmate's last words before execution: 'My conscience is clear'
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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, according to the Associated Press. "My conscience is clear, completely. I love my children."
Eizember received his last meal at 5:10 p.m. on Wednesday evening. The lethal drugs started flowing at 10:01 a.m. on Thursday and he was declared dead at 10:15.
This Feb. 2, 2018, photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows Scott Eizember, who was executed on Thursday. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP, File)
As the execution began, Eizember could be seen talking to his spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeffrey Hood, who the Oklahoma Department of Corrections initially barred from the death chamber due 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 love you," toward his daughter and attorneys.
The Rev. Jeffrey Hood, of Arkansas, speaks to the media before protestors deliver petitions against the death penalty to the office of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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 street. When the Cantrells came home, Eizember shot and killed Patsy then bludgeoned AJ to death with the gun, prosecutors said at trial.
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After killing the Cantrells, he broke into his ex-girlfriend's home and attacked both 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 man who he attempted to hold hostage in Texas.
Johnny Melton, the nephew of slain couple A.J. And Patsy Cantrell, delivers a statement on behalf of the Cantrell family on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Okla., after witnessing the execution of Scott Eizember. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)
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Johnny Melton, the couple's nephew, said that the past two decades have been "absolutely excruciating."
"There is no closure today, but a page has been turned and a fresh chapter in our lives has begun. After living this nightmare, I must say that 20 years is too long for justice to be served," Melton said after the execution.
"We absolutely want to get it right and we absolutely want to ensure that everyone’s rights are protected, but the process is much too slow."
Eizember's attorney did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
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