Phillip Dean Hancock executed for double murder in Oklahoma

Phillip Dean Hancock was executed in Oklahoma.

He was convicted of a double murder.

He claims it was self defense.

On the morning of Thursday, November 30, 59-year-old Phillip Dean Hancock was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

This ended a legal process that lasted more than two decades after the murder of two men in Oklahoma City in 2001.

Hancock maintained his claim that he acted in self-defense until the very end.

The execution was carried out after Republican Governor Kevin Stitt refused to commute Hancock’s sentence.

Phillip Dean Hancock is executed

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The execution was carried out despite a recommendation for clemency Pardon and Parole board.

The delay in the governor’s decision generated criticism, including from Rev. Don Heath, president of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

He did not hesitate to express his dismay that the governor waited until the last minute to reject his appeal for clemency.

Hancock, reiterated his insistence that he acted in self-defense from the execution chamber: «I have no doubt that they would have killed me. They forced me to fight for my life.»

Hancock’s last words

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In addition, Phillip Dean Hancock harshly criticized Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office, saying it lacked virtue and honor.

«They are vile. They are virtueless. They are without honor,» said Hancock, while Drummond, who was present at the execution, remained impassive in the face of the comments.

Hancock’s attorneys argued that Robert Jett Jr. and James Lynch, who Hancock was convicted of murdering, were members of outlaw motorcycle gangs and attacked Hancock at Jett’s home.

They claimed that Hancock, unarmed, defended himself by taking Jett’s gun and shooting both men, according to The Associated Press.

Details of the murder

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The state’s legal representatives raised inconsistencies in Hancock’s accounts and discrepancies between his testimony and the physical evidence.

Deputy Attorney General Joshua Lockett stated a witness claimed that, after shooting Jett inside the house, Hancock followed him into the backyard and shot him again.

He pointed out that this goes beyond self-defense.

Relatives of the victims, such as Jett’s brother Ryan, witnessed the execution and said they’d been waiting more than two decades for justice.

Philip Dean Hancock had been convicted of murder before

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«We have waited a long time for justice to be served,» said Ryan Jett, according to The Associated Press.

Phillip Dean Hancock had previously been convicted of first-degree murder in a separate shooting in 1982, where he also claimed self-defense.

For that crime he was sentenced to four years, of which he only served three.

Hancock is the fourth person to be executed in Oklahoma this year and the 11th since the state resumed executions in October 2021.

Controversy over Hancock’s execution

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There is still a great deal of controversy surrounding this case, with strong arguments from both sides about whether Hancock’s execution was justified.

Doubts about the nature of self-defense, inconsistencies in the testimony and the long wait for this outcome raise questions.

This fall on the judicial system and the death penalty is handled in Oklahoma.

To see a photo of Phillip Dean Hancock click HERE.