“I didn’t kill nobody!” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard it before. One of the hazards of working with guys on death row is that you catch more than your fair share of bullshit. Most of the time such talk doesn’t pan out. Most folk on death row have committed heinous crimes. That doesn’t mean they should be executed but it does mean that the phrase “I didn’t kill nobody!” isn’t often accurate. Yet, in... Read more
“This way!” From the point that I arrived at Oklahoma State Penitentiary to the moment I left, I was surrounded by officers. For someone aware of the many videos of police brutality, such attention is everything but comforting. I guess I should’ve expected it. After all, I was the wildly dangerous pastor seeking entrance into Oklahoma’s Execution Chamber. For over a week, I’d been fighting to arrive at this point. From filing a federal lawsuit to pushing back on... Read more
Danger seems to be lurking everywhere. Not the danger that will kill you immediately. More so, the type of danger that will kill you slowly…one choice at a time. I never thought it would be this hard. You see, I’m a purist. I believe in moral absolutes…or at least I did. There is nothing clear about working with guys on death row. Of course, there is no question that we are called to befriend and defend the condemned. The... Read more
Scott Eizember & Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood Sue OK Department of Corrections for Violation of Religious Freedom Background: Scott Eizember is scheduled to be executed on January 12, 2023. Like every other prisoner on death row in the United States, Eizember was given the opportunity to choose a minister to accompany him during his execution. He chose his trusted friend and mentor, Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, who has now visited Mr. Eizember in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester without incident for... Read more
Police brutality thrives in places of ambiguity. Places where everyone assumes that trust is shared. Places where the past is assumed to have already passed. Places where everybody says that people are just people. Places with few questions and countless answers. Places like Tulsa, Oklahoma. On the night of August 25, 2005, Mitch Thompson, Tara Burchette-Thompson and 10-year-old Kyla Burchette were brutally murdered. When an event like this happens in a predominantly white town, vengeance is swift…especially when the majority of the victims... Read more
Christmas, Scott Eizember, Christian Nationalism and False Promises of Peace Just a few short weeks ago, I participated in the clemency hearing of Scott Eizember. Seated at the front of the room, I declared that it is always going to be evil to kill a child of God. Without hesitation, I declared, “Where is God at in a process such as this?” Seeing that Scott’s lawyers and I went first, my remarks served to change some of... Read more
Forgiveness: Thoughts on Leesa Gray, Thomas Loden, Jr., Wanda Ferris and the Perpetuation of Evil I remember my exact thought when I heard about the murder of 16-year-old Leesa Gray: “This is the stuff that nightmares are made of.” On June 22, 2000, Gray was driving down a rural Mississippi road when her tire went flat. Pulling off to the shoulder and turning on her flashers, the young woman prayed that someone would stop and help her.... Read more
Scott Eizember – Wednesday, December 7, 2022 at 9:00 AM Meeting Place: Zoom Webinar Web Address: https://oklahomadoc.zoom.us/j/1605256917 Webinar ID: 160 525 6917 *This letter was included in the official packet for Scott Eizember’s Clemency Hearing. November 14, 2022 To: The Pardon and Parole Board of the State of Oklahoma Mrs. Cathy Stocker Dr. Edward Konieczny Mr. Larry Morris Mr. Scott Williams Mr. Richard Smothermon You ever willed yourself to... Read more
We’re losing consciousness. We don’t seem to notice. We just keep going faster. Will we destroy ourselves? Nobody seems to care. We are just interested in going further than those who came before us as quickly as possible. We call it progress. We are sorely mistaken. In such a world, it seems ludicrous to ask people to slow down. Yet, slowing down is the only way to know where we are. So, I ask you to slow down.... Read more
“Forgive them for they know not what they do.” No matter your religious preference, the words of Jesus Christ echo down through the centuries. Perhaps more than any other words ever uttered, they have come to be recognized as the very constitution of grace. Daily, I wonder what the application of such words would look like in our age. What does it mean to offer grace beyond that which is warranted or deserved? Our laws can only go so far... Read more
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