by Nehemiah Frank @BlackWallStreetTimes.
OKLAHOMA CITY – With Oklahoma’s death penalty under mounting scrutiny, state leaders and advocates will gather at the State Capitol on Thursday, October 9, to mark World Day Against the Death Penalty and call attention to the human, moral, and financial costs of executions.
State Sen. Nikki Nice (S-48) will join the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP) at 10:30 a.m. in Room G-5 for a press conference. Other speakers include ACLU of Counsel and OK-CADP board member Randy Bauman, Julius Jones Institute co-founder Antoinette Jones, and NAACP State Conference President Bernard Allen-Bey.
World Day Against the Death Penalty Movement, Local Stakes
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty organizes World Day Against the Death Penalty each October 10th. The coalition includes more than 160 organizations, bar associations, and local authorities. Since its launch in 2003, the observance has mobilized political leaders, civil society, and the public to push for the universal abolition of capital punishment.
This year’s theme challenges the misconception that the death penalty makes communities safer. Advocates argue instead that executions politicize justice, enable human rights abuses, and disproportionately target marginalized groups.
“Affirming that every life deserves dignity, transparency, and fair justice is the purpose of World Day Against the Death Penalty,” said Sen. Nice. “I look forward to joining the continued conversation in advancing thoughtful reform and strengthening Oklahoma’s commitment to human rights.”
Reform Push in Oklahoma
Speakers will also spotlight Senate Bill 601, known as the Death Penalty Moratorium Bill, sponsored by Sen. Dave Rader of Tulsa. The measure, which will come up for debate in 2026, would pause executions while lawmakers consider reforms based on the 2017 Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission Report.
The bipartisan report offered 46 recommendations after investigating a series of botched executions, including those of Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner and the near-execution of Richard Glossip. Lawmakers have ignored all of the recommendations to date.
“It is undeniable that innocent people have been sentenced to death in Oklahoma,” said former Gov. Brad Henry, who co-chaired the commission.
Dr. Elizabeth Overman, chair of OK-CADP, added, “The bipartisan review commission was created in the wake of the botched executions, yet not one recommendation has been taken up.”
Growing Public Opposition
A February 2023 poll commissioned by Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty found that 78% of voters support a moratorium on executions. Cost concerns also fuel opposition. Cases seeking the death penalty cost an average of $1.26 million compared to $740,000 for non-death cases. Housing death row prisoners costs taxpayers $90,000 more annually per inmate than the general prison population.
Beyond financial burdens, wrongful convictions remain the most compelling reason for change. Courts have exonerated 201 people from death row nationwide, including 11 in Oklahoma.
National and Global Context
Oklahoma currently has 28 inmates on death row. Nationwide, about 2,100 men and women face active death sentences as of January 2025.
The U.S. remains among a small group of nations still carrying out executions, including China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, Vietnam, and Yemen. In contrast, 23 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have abolished the death penalty, joining 144 countries worldwide that have ended the practice in law or in practice.
The Bigger Picture
Advocates say the stakes could not be higher. “Of all the reasons to abolish the death penalty, the fact that there are no ‘do-overs’ should give pause to those implementing America’s deadliest punishment,” said Bauman.
As Oklahoma prepares for another legislative fight over executions, organizers of World Day Against the Death Penalty hope the state will join the growing global consensus that capital punishment protects no one and risks the lives of the innocent.
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