Our colleague Rob Freer from the London headquarters of Amnesty International submitted this op-ed piece to the Tulsa World and the Daily Oklahoman. Both papers chose not to run it. It was hoped that it would be run just before Keating's recent State of the State speech in 2002. (Rob was author of the 2001 landmark report, "Old Habits Die Hard: The Death Penalty in Oklahoma," and was a featured speaker at the 2001 OCADP banquet.)

State of the State: Time to think legacy again

In his State of the State address last February, Governor Frank Keating called on all Oklahomans to "think legacy" and to consider what contribution they could make to leave Oklahoma a better place.   That way, the Governor said, "we Oklahomans can celebrate this century not just as any century but as Oklahoma's Century".

In April 2001, Amnesty International offered its own contribution--a 100-page report on Oklahoma's use of the death penalty.   It told of a state with the highest per capita rate of execution in the USA, and a higher rate than most countries.   It described a capital justice system marked by arbitrariness and unfairness, and one that ignored internationally-agreed safeguards.   It advised that the sort of errors in death penalty cases that fifteen months earlier had led the Governor of Illinois to declare a moratorium on executions in his state, were evident in Oklahoma too.   It sympathized with the victims of violence and their loved ones, but asked how the state could justify the suffering to which it daily subjects the families of the condemned.   It suggested that the death
penalty diverts resources and energies from constructive efforts to combat violent crime.

We gave a copy of our report to Governor Keating and every member of the state legislature.   We urged each to make his or her legacy a moratorium on executions, as a first step towards abolishing the death penalty for the good of Oklahoma and the country as a whole.

But, as the title of our report recognized, Old Habits Die Hard.   No halt to executions has been forthcoming.  Rather, 2001 saw Oklahoma put more people to death than it had in any other year in its history.   It killed more prisoners last year than any other state.   In doing so, it moved further from international standards of justice and harmed its standing in today's world.  Is this something for Oklahomans to celebrate in the new century?

Now Oklahoma is about to carry out its first executions of the new year, with three men due to be killed in the McAlester penitentiary in an eight-day period starting Tuesday.

Between the second and third of these killings, Governor Keating will make his 2002 State of the State address.

Twelve months ago, the Governor spoke proudly of the achievements of Oklahomans.  "We have Pulitzer Prize winners.  And we have scholars and we have athletes and we have entertainers and we have the greatest number of astronauts of any state in the union".

Perhaps this year he should add an additional profession.   "And we have executioners, who are among the busiest in the nation".

Or, Governor Keating could "think legacy" and voice his support for a moratorium on executions.   Amnesty International urges him to do so.

Rob Freer, Researcher
Amnesty International
International Secretariat
London, UK