Thursday, January 27th 2022, 10:21 am
Breaking News Update 10:18 a.m. 1/27/2022:
The State of Oklahoma has executed death row prisoner Donald Grant for the killing of two Del City hotel workers in 2001.
Grant died at 10:16 a.m. on Thursday. Witnesses said the execution was without incident and described as peaceful or uneventful. Witnesses say Grant spoke for about two minutes though some of what he said was "disjointed and unintelligible"
This is a breaking news update, the original story can be found below.
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Death row prisoner Donald Grant is scheduled to be executed Thursday morning at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Grant is convicted of killing two Del City hotel workers in 2001.
A federal judge refused to block the state of Oklahoma from carrying out the execution. During his clemency hearing, the judge denied his request for a stay. Now after 15 years on death row for double murder, Donald Grant will be executed at 10 a.m. Thursday morning.
Related Story: SCOTUS Denies Stay Of Execution For Death Row Prisoner
The execution comes after a failed attempt by Grant's attorney to change the way his execution will be carried out. Grant requested the use of a firing squad instead, saying that would be less painful than the injection. He argued Oklahoma's lethal injection protocol would cause unconstitutional pain and suffering, but a federal judge ruled that wasn't reason enough to create a firing squad and denied Grant's request for an emergency stay.
Related Story: Death Row Donald Grant Denied Clemency After Testimony Of 'Heinous' Crime
Grant is convicted of killing two Del City La Quinta hotel workers after he said he went to rob the hotel to get money to bail his girlfriend out of jail. He told police that during the robbery, he decided to not leave any witnesses, so he shot both women at the front desk. Del City Police say he then brutally beat one of the women with several objects within reach.
During the clemency hearing, grant apologized to the board for his actions and blamed the devil for his behavior. The vote to reject his clemency was 4-1.
Related Story: 2 Oklahoma Death Row Prisoners Request Firing Squad Execution Option
Like the past three executions in the state, the Supreme Court does have the power to step in and stop the state from carrying out the execution, but at this time, they have not made any motion of doing so. This will be the third execution held since the state resumed them in 2021.
Gilbert Postelle also requested death by firing squad and was denied. His execution is set for February 17.
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