By Graham Lee Brewer, Staff Writer
Faced with conflicting orders, Gov. Mary Fallin delayed Tuesday’s scheduled execution of a convicted murderer.
Her executive order is the latest development in what the attorney general’s office calls a judicial crisis.
At issue is who has the authority to say when an Oklahoma death row inmate can be executed.
The state Court of Criminal Appeals had ordered convicted murderer Clayton Derrell Lockett to be executed Tuesday for the 1999 murder of Stephanie Neiman.
However, a divided Oklahoma Supreme Court, for the first time in state history, blocked the execution in an order Monday.
In her executive order, Fallin said Supreme Court justices acted outside their constitutional authority, but she was delaying Lockett’s execution for seven days anyway.
She directed Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to seek guidance from the Court of Criminal Appeals on what to do next.
Normally, in Oklahoma’s judicial system, the state Supreme Court handles only civil matters, and the Court of Criminal Appeals handles criminal matters.
Read more on NewsOK.com
