Oklahoma intends to execute a man found guilty of killing an elderly couple on Friday after the parole board decided not to commute his sentence.
The 62-year-old Scott James Eizember will be executed via lethal injection. He was found guilty of the 2003 slayings of A.J. Cantrell, 76, and Patsy Cantrell, 70. Although they acknowledge Eizember’s guilty, his lawyers contend that his life still has value, according to The Associated Press.
“I offer no apologies. I should be in jail, “In December, Eizember informed the parole board. I’ve apologized sincerely to all the victims, and by all, I mean the whole Creek County community, as I’ve said from the beginning.
“Every day of his imprisonment, he has felt regret.” Other than retaliation, there is no reason to murder him next month, “At the time, attorney Mark Henricksen remarked.
According to the prosecution, Eizember broke into the Cantrells’ house to make it easier for him to follow his ex-girlfriend, who lived across the street. They claim that Eizember waited for the couple to depart before entering the house and that he killed them when they unexpectedly returned home.
Although defense lawyers said Patsy was shot when A.J. and Eizember fought over the weapon, the AP reported prosecutors claiming he shot Patsy with a shotgun before using the shotgun to beat A.J. to death.
Prosecutors said that Eizember entered Kathryn Smith’s house shortly after the deaths, shot Smith’s kid in the back, and then assaulted Smith’s mother. According to the AP, both people involved in the incident survived, and Eizember left the area.
Eizember wasn’t discovered for some months. He was allegedly trying to go to Arkansas by threatening another couple with a pistol and ordering them to take him there. Before phoning the police, the husband could locate a gun he had stashed inside his car and shot Eizember four times.