Connect with us

Oklahoma

Only woman on Oklahoma’s death row granted Supreme Court hearing

Published

on

Only woman on Oklahoma’s death row granted Supreme Court hearing


The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a case review of the only woman on Oklahoma’s death row, citing concerns over the prosecution’s use of her sexual history during her trial.

Brenda Andrew, convicted in 2004 for the murder of her estranged husband Rob Andrew, argued that prosecutorial tactics, including references to her as a “slut puppy” and the display of her thong underwear during closing arguments, unfairly influenced the jury.

Why It Matters

Brenda Andrew was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder in the 2001 killing of her advertising executive husband in Oklahoma City.

Prosecutors alleged that Andrew and her lover, James Pavatt, lured Rob Andrew into the garage and fatally shot him with a shotgun, intending to claim his life insurance proceeds. Pavatt also received the death penalty.

Advertisement
A stock image of the U.S. Supreme Court on November 16, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

searagen/Getty Images

What To Know

A three-judge panel at the 10th Circuit upheld Andrew’s conviction, but one dissenting judge argued that the use of irrelevant evidence rendered the trial fundamentally unfair.

Judge Arlene Johnson of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals had previously made a similar critique.

Lawyers for Andrew argued that the state had a circumstantial case that it backed up by presenting evidence about “her sexual history, gender presentation, demeanor and motherhood.”

The Supreme Court’s decision does not exonerate Andrew but directs the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider her claims. In an unsigned opinion, the court noted that previous rulings under the Due Process Clause prohibit the introduction of evidence so prejudicial that it undermines a fair trial.

Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch in dissent, argued that the state presented “overwhelming evidence” of Andrew’s guilt and upheld her sentence.

Advertisement

Oklahoma officials echoed this view, maintaining that the references to Andrew’s personal life were “a drop in the ocean” of the case’s evidence.

Brenda Andrew and James Pavatt exit Judge Carol Hubbard’s courtroom in Oklahoma City on July 18, 2002.

AP Photo/The Oklahoman, Steve Gooch

At the 2004 trial, Andrew’s defense argued her innocence, portraying her as a devoted mother and churchgoer. Prosecutors, however, emphasized her extramarital affairs and demeanor, presenting male witnesses who described her as provocative and seductive. The trial culminated in the dramatic display of her thong before the jury, paired with descriptions of her as manipulative and immoral.

The state also highlighted Andrew’s actions following the crime, including fleeing to Mexico with Pavatt before her arrest. Despite Pavatt’s confession to the murder, police and prosecutors asserted Andrew’s involvement in orchestrating the crime, leading to her conviction.

Andrew’s attorneys contend that these tactics violated her constitutional rights. They argue that evidence irrelevant to the crime rendered the trial fundamentally unfair and cast her character, rather than her actions, as the centerpiece of the prosecution’s case.

What People Are Saying

At trial, lawyers for Andrew said: “The state invited the jury to convict and condemn Ms. Andrew to die because she was a ‘hoochie,’ was a bad mother and wife, did not cry publicly, and otherwise failed to adhere to feminine stereotypes.”

Advertisement

Judge Robert Bacharach wrote: “The evidence not only lacked relevance but also cast Ms. Andrew as a woman fixated on seducing nearby men.”

What Happens Next

The case now returns to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, where judges must determine whether the evidence used against Andrew meets the standard for rendering her trial fundamentally unfair.

If the appellate court upholds the conviction, Andrew’s legal options may be exhausted, leaving clemency from Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt or the parole board as her last resort.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

Advertisement



Source link

Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s Jahsiear Rogers ‘Knew It Was Time to Showcase’ His Talents In Spring Game

Published

on

Oklahoma’s Jahsiear Rogers ‘Knew It Was Time to Showcase’ His Talents In Spring Game


NORMAN — The Oklahoma Sooners liked their wide receiver room a year ago. They want 2026 to be even better.

Isaiah Sategna’s return helps that desire. Earning experienced pass catchers Trell Harris and Parker Livingstone via the transfer portal gives you added play makers. But after the Sooners Spring Game on Saturday, an unlikely hero emerged.

When Jahsiear Rogers flipped from Penn State to Oklahoma last December, he drew the usual excitement that comes with a new commitment. But few expected him to climb the depth chart this quickly, even with the injuries that hit Emmett Jones’ room.

Advertisement

Rogers did just that and more on Saturday. He led all pass catchers with five receptions for 70 yards in Oklahoma’s annual Red/White game.

“I knew it was time to showcase,” Rogers said after the game. “It was amazing to see the fans and get used to the OU way. I’m a playmaker. They really want to put the ball in playmakers hands. I pretty much knew I had to lead the white team.”

Rogers got the ball rolling early. On the second offensive play for the white team, backup quarterback Whitt Newbauer rolled to his right wide, then stopped and looked towards the middle of the field where he saw Rogers running open. Newbauer connected with Rogers for a 39-yard gain.

Advertisement


Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

Advertisement

With Rogers on the white team, he is running against (most of) Oklahoma’s starting defense. As fate would have it, on that 39-yard reception, Rogers beat his favorite teammate to compete against — Reggie Powers.

Advertisement

“He is just a leader, good guy,” Rogers said of Powers. “Me and him go after it every day in practice. Reggie is strong. When I come at him, I have to really come at him.”

Rogers’ big play over Powers was the second-longest catch of the spring game — Sategna’s 50-yard reception that appeared to be a touchdown before coaches pulled it back to set up a red-zone rep. The other four catches weren’t flashy, but they were important in their own way, and Rogers looked like he belonged on the field.

“I love it. As long as I can get the ball, I can be me. I love it,” Rogers said. “When I am on the field, I am ready to go. I am ready to be a playmaker.”

Advertisement

The season is still months away, and Rogers hasn’t earned a spot high on the depth chart yet. A strong spring and an encouraging Red/White Game can only lead to early playing time if he carries that momentum into summer and fall camp.

More experienced players will return from injury and receivers who’ve been in the program for a few years will have an extra leg-up.

But Rogers is taking everything in stride and leaving no stone unturned in his development.

“Just learning from the older guys,” Rogers said. “Manny Choice, Isaiah Sategna, Trell Harris, Mackenzie Alleyne. Really all of them. We lean on each other, learn from each other. That is kind of how our room is.”

Advertisement

Add us as a preferred source on Google



Source link

Continue Reading

Oklahoma

Oklahoma knocks off Missouri in series opener

Published

on

Oklahoma knocks off Missouri in series opener


The Oklahoma baseball team is back in the mix and trending upward.

After a rough few weeks in Southeastern Conference play, the 14th-ranked Sooners have won three of their last four games to get to .500 at just beyond the halfway point of the league slate. Friday’s 9-6 win over Missouri allowed Oklahoma to move to 8-8, tied with three other teams for eighth in the standings.

Friday’s win wasn’t truly that close, even. OU took a 9-3 lead into the ninth before Mizzou made it somewhat interesting with three runs in the frame. Two of them came with two outs, though, and Mason Bixby induced a groundout with the bases empty to hold on.

The large edge came via a home run-happy night. The Sooners popped four over the wall at Kimrey Family Stadium, including three in a four-run seventh inning that gave OU a four-run lead.

Advertisement

Jason Walk, who hit one of the four homers, had the best day at the plate. He went 2 for 5 with the shot, three RBIs and a run. Camden Johnson, who also homered, went 2 for 3 with a walk, a double and two runs, and Dasan Harris went 2 for 4 with a home run, two RBIs, and three runs. Trey Gambill hit the Sooners’ other jack.

Oklahoma jumped out to a four-run lead in the second behind four hits and a walk. Missouri helped the Sooners out with an error that resulted in a bases-loaded situation and three unearned runs registered to Tigers starter Josh McDevitt.

The runs were more than enough for Oklahoma’s LJ Mercurius, who pitched six strong innings, giving up three runs on six hits with no walks and nine strikeouts.

Game 2 in the series is set for 4 p.m. Saturday and the finale will be played Sunday at 2 p.m., weather permitting.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Oklahoma

The man behind Route 66’s Totem Pole Park: The history of a 90-foot Oklahoma landmark

Published

on

The man behind Route 66’s Totem Pole Park: The history of a 90-foot Oklahoma landmark


Just miles off Route 66 in Rogers County stands one of Oklahoma’s most unusual roadside attractions: a 90-foot concrete totem pole built largely by one man over more than a decade.

Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park is home to what is widely described as the world’s largest concrete totem pole, created by Oklahoma folk artist Nathan Edward Galloway during his retirement years.

The park sits near Chelsea and continues to draw visitors traveling Oklahoma’s stretch of Route 66.

A project decades in the making

Advertisement
An early photograph shows the towering concrete totem pole at Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park near Chelsea, Oklahoma, shortly after its completion in the late 1940s.

Credit: Rogers County Historical Society

According to the National Park Service, Nathan Edward Galloway was born in 1880 in Springfield, Missouri. He later worked as a manual arts teacher at Sand Springs Home before retiring in 1937 to property near present-day Chelsea in Rogers County.

After retiring, Galloway began building what would become Totem Pole Park. Using concrete, steel rebar, wood, and red sandstone, he created a series of colorful, highly decorated totems and structures across the property.

Atlas Obscura reports that Galloway began construction in 1938 with the goal of building durable totem poles from sturdy materials, and he surrounded his land with tapered concrete monuments and decorative features.

Advertisement

Between 1937 and 1948, Galloway constructed the park’s centerpiece: a 90-foot-tall totem pole carved with bas-relief designs. Travel Oklahoma describes it as a Route 66 icon and a state landmark.

Eleven years and 90 feet of concrete

The detailed bas-relief designs include birds and Native American-inspired figures that circle the structure from base to peak.
The detailed bas-relief designs include birds and Native American-inspired figures that circle the structure from base to peak.

Credit: Rogers County Historical Society

The main totem took roughly 11 years to complete, according to Atlas Obscura. The structure is made of red sandstone framed with steel and wood, then covered with a thick concrete exterior.

Advertisement

The tower features more than 200 carved images, including representations of birds and Native American figures facing the four cardinal directions. Near the top are four nine-foot figures representing different tribes.

Galloway’s version differs from traditional totem poles of the Pacific Northwest, which are generally carved from red cedar.

The structure rises from the back of a large, three-dimensional turtle. The turtle base was carved from a broad sandstone outcrop on the site and painted in bright colors.

The totem is hollow and rises about nine stories, with the ground level measuring about nine feet in diameter. Inside, plastered walls feature painted murals of mountain-and-lake scenes and bird totems, along with Native American shields and arrow points. At the top, the cone is open to the sky.

Picnic tables supported by small concrete totems, a totem barbecue fireplace, and gate structures designed to resemble fish fill the park grounds.

Advertisement

The Fiddle House

Galloway stands inside the Fiddle House at Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park, surrounded by his hand-carved violins.
Galloway stands inside the Fiddle House at Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park, surrounded by his hand-carved violins.

Credit: Rogers County Historical Society

Beyond the towering pole, Galloway’s artistic interests extended into music and woodworking.

An 11-sided structure known as the “Fiddle House” sits on the property and resembles a Navajo hogan, according to the National Park Service. The building houses many of Galloway’s hand-carved fiddles and other creations.

Advertisement

The Rogers County Historical Society says the Fiddle House Museum retains many of Galloway’s handcrafted violins and artifacts.

From neglect to restoration

The 90-foot concrete totem at Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park stands restored and repainted, following decades of preservation work.
The 90-foot concrete totem at Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park stands restored and repainted, following decades of preservation work.

Credit: Rogers County Historical Society

Galloway continued working on the park until his death in 1961. After he died, the site gradually fell into disrepair.

Advertisement

In 1989, the Rogers County Historical Society acquired the property. A major restoration effort took place from 1988 to 1998, with art conservators and engineers studying the structures and repairing damaged materials.

Additional repainting and preservation projects began in 2015.

Today, Totem Pole Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It remains open year-round with free admission and is managed by the Rogers County Historical Society.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending