Kendrick Antonio Simpson, 45, is the first man scheduled to be executed in Oklahoma in 2026.
Simpson was convicted more than a decade ago for killing Glen Palmer, 20, and Anthony Jones, 19, after a confrontation at an Oklahoma City nightclub. Another man was wounded. Simpson is said to have fired as many as 25 shots from a semi-automatic rifle at the victims’ car.
He received two death sentences in 2007. Two other men in the car with Simpson made plea deals for 20-year prison terms. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal that argued Simpson’s lawyer provided ineffective assistance during the punishment phase of his trial.
Simpson’s case will be considered a final time by the state’s Pardon and Parole Board on Jan. 14. The board has the power to recommend that Simpson be spared, and instead spend the rest of his life behind bars. His attorneys plan to ask for mercy because Simpson was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the crime…