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| Oklahoma Death Sentence Commuted |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 04/20/2001 |
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Gov. Frank Keating commuted the death sentence of a convicted murderer on to life in prison without parole, the first death row commutation in the state in 35 years. Phillip Dewitt Smith had been convicted of the 1983 beating death of Matthew Taylor at Taylor's apartment in Muskogee. But the prosecution's star witness later recanted testimony placing Smith at the crime scene. Smith had been scheduled for execution March 8. Keating issued a 30-day stay March 2, the day after the state Pardon and Parole Board recommended clemency. He extended that stay for another 30 days last week while he considered his decision. While recommending clemency, the board could not agree on substitute punishment, with two members wanting life without possibility of parole, two recommended life with parole and one sticking with the death penalty. Keating, a former prosecutor, said the case against Smith was 'convincing and it certainly met the legal threshold for conviction.' But he said inconsistencies that came out after Smith's conviction 'raise questions in a case without eyewitnesses to the crime or forensics evidence tying the accused to the crime. Therefore, I cannot in good conscience allow the execution of this inmate.' Vicki Werneke, one of Smith's attorneys, said, 'We are extremely gratified that Mr. Smith's life is spared.' The victim's mother, Opal Taylor, told The Daily Oklahoman she no longer believes in the justice system when a governor can change the decision of 12 jurors. 'I've begged. I've pleaded. I've cried an ocean,' she said. 'They don't care what I think. I'm just the boys mother. ... It rips my heart out. Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said he disagreed with Keating's action but it was the governor's call to make. Dallas Quinton Sharp was the last death row inmate to have his conviction commuted. His sentence was commuted to life in prison by Gov. Henry Bellmon in 1966. Sharp was paroled 20 years later. |
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