The Cure for Dying While Alive: On the Upcoming Execution of Anthony Sanchez Recently, I found out that a dear friend is dying of cancer. Instead of treating it as if it is an end, he treated it as a beginning. Since the seemingly grim news, my friend has made it a point to share as much connection with people as possible. Surprisingly, he tells me that the past few weeks have been anything but grim. After... Read more
September 7, 2023 Office of Governor J. Kevin Stitt 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 212 Oklahoma City, OK 73105 Re: Anthony Castillo Sanchez Dear Governor Stitt, I am Anthony Castillo Sanchez’s attorney, and I am writing to request a 60-day reprieve for Mr. Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez’s previous attorney refused to provide his legal materials tohim. He requested that Federal Judge Joe Heaton provide his file to him. He refused. Judge Heaton decided, on... Read more
Dear Honorable Kevin Stitt, My name is Anthony Sanchez. I am asking you for some help to prove my innocence. I am scheduled to be executed September 21, 2023. In 2006 I was convicted of the murder of Julie Busken and I am 100% innocent. I did not murder Julie Busken. I am writing you because you have the authority and ability to help me. Please help me by granting me a 60 day reprieve. So that my... Read more
There is danger in thinking about theological things while on pilgrimage. The roads grow longer and longer as you try to figure out the ways of both God and man. But what choice do you have? The questions seem to find you whether you want them to or not. It’s almost as if such questions pull at you every time you lift your feet…they make each step harder and harder. Sometimes you want to give up. Sometimes that seems... Read more
The Anthony Sanchez Gospel: INNOCENCE, HOPE, JUSTICE & LOVE *Anthony Sanchez is an inmate on Oklahoma’s Death Row who is scheduled to be executed on September 21, 2023. “When you think of God, what words come to mind?” The question ruminated in my dear brother Oklahoma Death Row Inmate Anthony Sanchez’s brain for a long time. Then, he replied, “INNOCENCE, JUSTICE, HOPE & LOVE.” The passages below are a result of my attempt as Sanchez’s... Read more
Underrepresented: Oklahoma Death Row Inmate Michael Smith, the Relentless Campaign of a Mother and the Failure of the Capital Habeas Unit in Oklahoma This is Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood. I serve as a spiritual advisor to Michael Smith, who is currently imprisoned on Oklahoma’s Death Row. I am here with Michael Smith’s mom, Vanessa Smith, to give her the opportunity to discuss some of the recent frustrations that she’s had with Michael’s legal representation at the Capital Habeas... Read more
Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood: On December the 20th, 1996, Juli Busken was abducted from her apartment complex, driven out to Lake Stanley Draper and executed, murdered on the shore. For years, authorities had very little evidence and no suspects to go on. They found a traced amount of DNA on a leotard that was found close to the body of Juli Busken. Using that trace amount they claim to, six or seven years later, get a random match on... Read more
To The Family of Juli Busken. Much has been made of my effort to save the life of Anthony Sanchez. I do not apologize for such work. Indeed, I believe that the message of Jesus compels me to such work. From the beginning, I told Sanchez that I would do everything in my power to save his life and that if I failed, I would be there to pray with him as he died. Though my work... Read more
“Courage Personified: Anthony Sanchez” In our day, courage is an interesting cultural phenomenon. It’s sort of a linguistical mirage. Everybody talks about it…but nobody seems to actually know the fullness of what they describe. It is a partial without the perfect. For a very long time, I knew the partial. Then, I met the perfect. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus the Christ is drowning in a world of sorrow. Knowing that society is determined to... Read more
*This is the condensed version (225 words) of the original “Anthony Sanchez: The Innocence Report” (4000 words) On December 20, 1996, the body of accomplished ballerina Juli Busken was found floating in the shallow water of Lake Stanley Draper, right outside of Norman, Oklahoma. For years after the incident, the murder went unsolved. Then, state authorities miraculously matched DNA from the scene with DNA in a database of convicted felons. As a result of the sensational turn of events,... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In