Oklahoma’s criminal‑justice system administered the death penalty Thursday morning when James Pavatt, 73, was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Pavitt was pronounced dead at 10:12 a.m. local time, and prison officials described the execution as “uneventful” with no final statement from the inmate.
Background of the case
In 2001, Rob Andrew, a 39‑year‑old advertising executive, was shot to death in his garage while retrieving his two young children just before Thanksgiving. Police later learned that Pavitt had been having an affair with Andrew’s estranged wife, Brenda Andrew. Both Pavitt and Brenda Andrew were convicted in separate trials; Brenda received a death sentence that was later commuted, while Pavitt was sentenced to death for first‑degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Weeks before the killing, Andrew reported to police that someone had cut the brake lines on his car, indicating a prior threat. Brenda Andrew later claimed masked intruders shot her in the arm and killed her husband, but prosecutors maintained that she and Pavitt plotted the murder together.
Legal proceedings and clemency hearing
After the trial, Pavitt maintained his innocence, asserting that Brenda Andrew had manipulated him. At a clemency hearing last month, he told the board, “It was not until my trial that I began to see the extent to which I had been manipulated by Brenda. I can see why the jury believed that we were both involved in Rob’s murder.” Prosecutors, however, argued that both parties were equally responsible for the killing.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections confirmed the execution and noted that Pavitt’s last meal request included a strawberry milkshake and a barbecue dinner of smoked chicken, brisket, pulled pork, fried okra, baked beans, and pickles.
National context
Pavitt’s execution was the first of two scheduled executions in the United States on Thursday. Later that evening, Texas scheduled the execution of John Allen Rubio, 46, for the 2003 stabbing and beheading of three young children in Brownsville.
The Associated Press contributed to the original report.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
