Scott Eizember scheduled for execution, Oklahoma denies minister access to chamber

Editor's note: After the publication of this article, the Oklahoma State Department of Corrections reversed course and granted Scott Eizember's spiritual advisor the ability to be present with him in the execution chamber Thursday.

Convicted killer Scott Eizember, 62, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

The state recently denied a minister connected to Eizember access to the chambers during his execution.

Eizember was sentenced to be executed for the bludgeoning death of A.J. Cantrell, 76, and to 150 years in prison in the shotgun slaying of Patsy Cantrell, 70, at their Depew home in 2003.

A daughter of the Cantrells previously told The Oklahoman she wanted to live long enough to see Eizember executed.

Eizember had broken into the Cantrells' home to watch and wait for his ex-girlfriend to return to her mother's house across the street.

He also was convicted of shooting with intent to kill his ex-girlfriend’s 16-year-old son, and assault with a dangerous weapon against his ex-girlfriend’s mother.

In 2015, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to uphold Eizember’s death sentence.

Current Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who served on the appeals court at the time, voted to uphold the death sentence.

In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Eizember’s final appeal by declining to review, without comment, the appeals court decision.

In December, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 to deny Eizember clemency.

"I belong in prison," Eizember said by video during the hearing. "I've said that right from the start. And I apologize profusely to all the victims."

The board’s decision meant Gov. Kevin Stitt could not change Eizember’s death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In Oklahoma, a governor can commute a death row inmate's sentence only if the board recommends clemency.

Eizember’s execution would be the eighth lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary since 2021.

In November, the state executed Richard Fairchild, 63, for the torture and killing of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son in 1993.

Spiritual adviser denied access to execution chamber

Eizember and his spiritual adviser, Arkansas-based the Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, planned to file a complaint in federal court after they were told last week that Hood would not be allowed to be present with Eizember in the execution chamber.

During a news conference Monday, Hood said the Oklahoma State Department of Corrections denied him access and referred to him as a “woke preacher.”

Hood said the gospel message is spiritually and socially connected, and that he considered it an honor to be called a "woke preacher."

Hood said the department denied him access to the execution chamber because of his history of social activism.

“The Department of Corrections is the Department of Corrections,” Hood said. “They are not the department of theology. The Department of Corrections should not and cannot be in the business of determining which religions and which spiritualities are appropriate to the ministers of persons in the chamber.”

In a statement, the agency said part of its role is “ensuring the dignity of all involved” in the execution process.

"Out of respect for the families of victims, ODOC will not allow the outbursts of activists to interfere, regardless of that activist’s declared role in this process," the statement said. "The spiritual advisor in this case has been arrested multiple times for such outbursts in other states, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the experiences of victims’ families and the solemnity of the process."

Hood acknowledged his history of arrests in a written response sent to media outlets.

"The Department of Corrections can slander me for three arrests for peaceful protest and a national reputation as an activist all they want. What they can't do is trample on the religious liberty of their prisoners and the ministers who serve them. Protest and protected speech against injustice doesn't make me an enemy of the Department of Corrections. It makes me a follower of Jesus."

If the complaint is filed, it's unclear whether it will bear any impact on the timing of the execution in Oklahoma, however there was a delay recently in Texas following a similar situation.

John Henry Ramirez initially was denied the presence of a minister for his scheduled execution in Texas. His case was argued in the U.S. Supreme Court about whether he had the right to have a minister lay hands on him and pray before his execution.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ramirez, saying Texas violated his religious freedom by not allowing his pastor to be present.

Ramirez was executed in October at the age of 38 in the presence of his minister.

Eizember will be afforded access to Hood in the time leading up to his execution, according to the Corrections Department. Hood is allowed to witness the execution in another part of the facility via a closed-circuit feed, officials said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Convicted killer Scott Eizember scheduled for execution in Oklahoma