Mcalester, Okla. — An Oklahoma death row inmate whose execution was postponed three times was put to death Tuesday for the murder of his 77-year-old great-uncle almost 17 years ago.
Jeffrey David Matthews, 38, was pronounced dead at 6:09 p.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, state Department of Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie said. Matthews was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the Jan. 27, 1994, slaying of Otis Earl Short during a robbery at the victim's McClain County home.
Matthews, strapped to a hospital gurney with needles in his arms, addressed six family members who witnessed his execution. Some of the prison's 76 other death row inmates loudly banged the heavy steel doors of their cells in tribute to the condemned man.
"Let my mother know I love her," Matthews said as he looked through a window separating the death chamber from the room where family members and spectators were seated.
"I love you, too," replied a woman, whose name wasn't released by prison officials.
"I just want to thank everyone for their support," Matthews continued. "I also want to thank all my buddies on death row. I hear you banging."
Matthews said he left final notes to his family as well as the family of the victim, but he never directly addressed 10 of the victim's family members who also witnessed the execution.
"I hate to see you all in this situation," Matthews told his relatives. "I'm sitting here enjoying my last moments. Enjoy your lives."
Shortly before the lethal drugs began flowing at 6:04 p.m., Matthews looked at his family members and said with a smile: "I think that governor's phone is broke. He hadn't called yet."
Matthews took several deep breaths as the drugs flowed into his body. His eyes remained open as his face turned ashen. He eventually stopped breathing and remained motionless. After he was pronounced dead, a family member looked at a prison official and said: "Can I have his glasses?"
Prosecutors contended that Matthews was one of two men who stormed into Short's home east of Rosedale. Trial testimony indicated Matthews shot Short once in the head at close range with a .45-caliber pistol and that the second man, Tracy Dyer, cut the throat of his wife, Minnie Short.
The men searched the house for almost two hours, eventually leaving in Otis Short's truck with $500 in cash and a .32-caliber pistol. Minnie Short survived the attack but later died of natural causes. Matthews was arrested the day after the attacks.
Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who witnessed Matthews' execution, issued a statement Tuesday that said Matthews was convicted of a crime "that was exceptionally brutal."
"My prayers are with the Short family and I am hopeful that justice being carried out on behalf of the victims today will help bring closure and healing," Pruitt said. Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, state District Judge Tom Lucas and Department of Corrections Justin Jones also witnessed the execution.
Matthews' 1995 trial was moved to Cleveland County because of pretrial publicity. He was tried a second time in 1999, after the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his first conviction.
Dyer, 36, was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges at a separate trial and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Matthews' execution was scheduled but stayed three times last year. Former Gov. Brad Henry twice granted stays to give defense attorneys time to investigate Matthews' claims of innocence. Execution dates of June 17 and July 20 were postponed while fingerprint evidence from the crime scene was re-examined and defense attorneys searched for other possible suspects.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation could not match the fingerprints to any other alleged suspect, according to an Aug. 9 letter to the state Pardon and Parole Board from Assistant Attorney General Seth Branham.
Matthews' next execution date, Aug. 17, was postponed after defense attorneys objected to corrections officials' plans to substitute one of three drugs in the lethal injection protocol because of a nationwide shortage. A federal judge ruled in November that the state could make the substitution.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied Matthews' application for a fourth stay, clearing the way for his execution.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denied Matthews' request for clemency on May 26, after members of the victim's family urged the board to reject Matthews' request that his life be spared.
"I do not believe in killing people, but when someone so close to you is taken away, you realize there are some people in this world that deserve justice, and he is one of them," Dawn Randolph, Short's great-grandchild, wrote in a letter to the board. Members of the victim's family made no comments following the execution.
Matthews is the second Oklahoma death row inmate to be executed in as many weeks.
Billy Dawn Alverson, 39, was executed Thursday for the 1995 killing of a convenience store worker, marking the first execution in the U.S. this year. No other executions are scheduled in the state.