The Prayer List (November 2022): Clergy United Against the Death Penalty’s Reports & Prayers on Upcoming Executions

Last updated on: November 9, 2022 at 12:46 pm By Jeff Hood

The Prayer List (November 2022): Clergy United Against the Death Penalty’s Reports & Prayers on Upcoming Executions *In partnership with our friends at the For Whom the Bell Tolls Campaign. Learn more about how faith communities in particular can get involved in this effort at https://forwhomthebellstoll.org/ Tracy Beatty is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on November 9 in Texas. He was sentenced to death in 2004 for brutally murdering his mother, Callie Click. During his... Read more

An Open Letter to Debra Wyatt (daughter of AJ and Patsy Cantrell, who were victims of Scott Eizember in Oklahoma)

Last updated on: November 8, 2022 at 12:07 am By Jeff Hood

An Open Letter to Debra Wyatt (daughter of AJ and Patsy Cantrell, who were victims of Scott Eizember in Oklahoma In my advocacy to stop the execution of Scott Eizember, I came across an article written by Josh Dulaney in The Oklahoman on October 5, 2020 entitled, “Death Row, Oklahoma: How long could you wait for your parents’ murderer to be executed?” The article contains an extended interaction with Ms. Debra Wyatt…who is the daughter of Eizember’s victims... Read more

A Petition for Scott Eizember (Scheduled to Be Executed in Oklahoma)

Last updated on: November 4, 2022 at 1:06 pm By Jeff Hood

*Transcript of a talk I gave on Thursday, November 3, 2022 to advocate for stopping the execution of Scott Eizember Good evening. My name is Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, and I am here to talk to you about a friend of mine. And yes, I did use that word, friend. This is someone who I am a spiritual advisor to, who I’ve gotten to know who truly has become a friend of mine, Scott Eizember. He is... Read more

“Forensic Files” : “Sands of Crime”: Season 13: Episode 13: Separating Fact and Fiction (On the Murder of Juli Busken & the Conviction of Anthony Sanchez in Oklahoma)

Last updated on: February 6, 2023 at 4:59 pm By Jeff Hood

“Forensic Files” : “Sands of Crime”: Season 13: Episode 13: Separating Fact and Fiction (On the Murder of Juli Busken & the Conviction of Anthony Sanchez in Oklahoma) From 1996 to 2011, a documentary-style television show called “Forensic Files” aired in 406 episodes on TLC (The Learning Channel). Since 2014, reruns of the original series can often be seen on CNN Headline News. Starting in 2020, a new iteration of the show called, “Forensic Files II” began to... Read more

Faces tell stories…and stories tell faces.: Save Anthony Sanchez! An Innocent Man on Oklahoma’s Death Row

Last updated on: October 29, 2022 at 11:54 am By Jeff Hood

Faces tell stories…and stories tell faces. Such is the juxtaposition from which I write. Sketch artists construct faces to reconstruct events…with the hope that the reconstruction of events will lead to capturing the faces that have perpetrated a crime. Unfortunately, sometimes stories are constructed based on the faces that are drawn…with the idea that the person suspected of a crime can be made to fit the face. Such is the case with Anthony Sanchez. You see, just over... Read more

Scott Eizember, AJ Cantrell & Patsy Cantrell: Oklahoma & An Impending Execution

Last updated on: October 26, 2022 at 10:42 am By Jeff Hood

Scott Eizember, AJ Cantrell & Patsy Cantrell: Oklahoma & An Impending Execution For over a decade, I’ve worked as a spiritual advisor on various death rows throughout the country. Over the years, I’ve learned some lessons. In the first death row conversation I ever had, I asked about their crime. Such a question seems forward now. In most relationships, one would wait until at least the second conversation before asking someone to divulge their deepest darkest secrets. Then again,... Read more

Goodbye Dear Friend & Mentor: The Rev. Dr. Henry Mugabe of Zimbabwe

Last updated on: October 23, 2022 at 1:37 pm By Jeff Hood

Sunday October 23, 2022 3:00am Goodbye Dear Friend & Mentor: The Rev. Dr. Henry Mugabe of Zimbabwe I’m not feeling well. By now, I expected to be asleep. But just as I was about to go to bed tonight, I received some heartbreaking news. My dear friend and mentor…esteemed Baptist theologian and longtime President of Zimbabwe Theological Seminary…The Rev. Dr. Henry Mugabe was killed in a car accident yesterday in Zimbabwe (Zim) // along with Dr. Dudzirai... Read more

Rigged: On the Partiality of the (a) Death Qualified Jury (or why Scott Eizember shouldn’t be executed by Oklahoma in January)

Last updated on: October 22, 2022 at 11:38 pm By Jeff Hood

October 22, 2022 Rigged: On the Partiality of the (a) Death Qualified Jury (or why Scott Eizember shouldn’t be executed by Oklahoma in January) Here in the United States, juries that decide death penalty cases are required to be free of attitudes that would, “prevent or substantially impair their ability to decide a sentence fairly.” This means that a jury must be prepared to consider a death sentence…also known as a death qualified jury (…which should mean... Read more

Lamentations: On Benjamin Cole (w/ Abe Bonowitz)

Last updated on: October 19, 2022 at 11:47 am By Jeff Hood

October 19, 2022 Lamentations: On Benjamin Cole (w/ Abe Bonowitz) Benjamin Cole is scheduled to be executed for killing his infant daughter, Brianna, on October 20, 2022 Abe: You were speaking earlier about what these executions remind you of? Do you mind sharing that again? Jeff: We live in a culture that greatly romanticizes hunting. Set up camp under the cover of darkness. Sleep restlessly on a cot. Get up early. Pour some... Read more

Jesus’ First Execution: Dirt, Oklahoma, Anthony Sanchez & The Struggle to End the Death Penalty

Last updated on: October 17, 2022 at 1:18 pm By Jeff Hood

October 16, 2022 Jesus’ First Execution: Dirt, Oklahoma, Anthony Sanchez & The Struggle to End the Death Penalty Jesus was such an effective teacher that people were constantly trying to trip him up…especially on moral issues. One day, as he was teaching, some religious leaders…some preachers if you will…slung a woman at his feet. To make sure that there was no mistaking what they were accusing the woman of, they loudly declared that she had been caught in... Read more