Tulsa Murder Victim Donates Organs To Help Dozens Of People, Family Says He 'Lives On'

A victim's mother said her son "lives on" after his organ donation helped the lives of 81 other people.

Monday, December 18th 2023, 5:19 pm

By: Amy Slanchik

TULSA, Okla. -

A man who admitted killing two people because they were white, was sentenced on Monday to life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors said Carlton Gilford shot and killed Lundin Hathcock at the Rudisill Library, then drove to QuikTrip where he shot James McDaniel. The killings happened this past April.

Hathcock's mother, DeeDee Clapp, spoke in court Monday and brought a framed picture of her son.

Clapp said her son Lundin was a kind, loveable and smart man who loved the outdoors. She said she was not just speaking for her son, who was killed at the library, but also, for the other victim, James McDaniel, because he didn't have family in the courtroom. She said she was also speaking on behalf of the other people who were shot at that day, and the witnesses.

DeeDee told Gilford in court she prays for forgiveness for him every day, and says she is at peace with "God's judgment" of him.

"It's been an enormous test of my faith, but for me and this family we know that God stands first in our lives and he tells us that we have to forgive over and over, and so forgive we are, and to leave it in His hands, and that's what we're doing. From there, it's up to God,” Clapp said.

DeeDee said Lundin was able to donate eight organs. She said that meant helping a 71-year-old man be able to breathe again, and she knows Lundin's heart is still beating because a 35-year-old man has his heart now.

Through tissue donation, DeeDee said Lundin was able to help a total of 81 people, and told Gilford that her son "lives on."

Gilford pleaded guilty to the murders last month and kept his head down while DeeDee spoke.

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A man who murdered two innocent people because they were white, was sentenced to life without parole on Monday. Carlton Gilford shot the victims at a Tulsa QuikTrip and a Tulsa library last April.

Gilford was charged with shooting Lundin Hathcock and James McDaniel and shooting at two QuikTrip employees. Gilford was also charged with a hate crime. The judge asked Gilford in court if he shot Hathcock and McDaniel because they were white and Gilford said yes. He pleaded guilty in November.

Prosecutors say surveillance video shows Gilford walk into the Rudisill Library last April, walk up behind Lundin Hathcock who was looking at a computer and shooting him in the head. Gilford left the library, drove to a QuikTrip a few blocks away and walked up behind James McDaniel at an ATM and shot him in the head. Video shows Gilford shot McDaniel several more times after McDaniel was on the ground.

Two QuikTrip employees heard the gunshots and started walking up to the store when Gilford fired shots at them too, but they weren’t hit. Police arrested Gilford at the store and said he had the gun with him and a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. Police say Gilford didn’t know the victims and didn’t say a word to them before he shot them.

Prosecutors later charged Gilford with malicious intimidation or harassment, which means it was a hate crime.

As part of the plea agreement, the DA’s office recommended Gilford be sentenced to life without parole.

Amy Slanchik

Amy Slanchik is passionate about storytelling. She joined the News On 6 team in May of 2016 after spending almost two years in Fort Smith, Ark. She is a proud University of Oklahoma graduate.