Oklahoma carried out its first execution of the year Thursday, putting to death Kendrick Simpson, 45, for the 2006 drive‑by shooting deaths of Anthony Jones, 19, and Glen Palmer, 20, officials said. Simpson was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester after receiving a three‑drug lethal injection, prison officials reported.
Simpson had been convicted of firing roughly 20 rounds into a vehicle following an altercation outside an Oklahoma City nightclub, killing the two men and injuring another. He had admitted to the killings during a clemency hearing last month and apologized to the victims’ families, saying he accepted responsibility without excuses.
Despite his apology, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted narrowly to deny clemency, 3-2, and a U.S. Supreme Court appeal to block the execution was rejected shortly before it was carried out.
Simpson’s last meal at 5:14 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, with him ordering a bacon cheeseburger, large onion rings and a strawberry milkshake.
Simpson’s execution marks the first in Oklahoma this year.