Killer executed after spending 22 years on death row

The chilling final moments of a convicted killer who was executed after spending 22 years on death row have been revealed.

Phillip Hancock was executed for the double murder he committed in 2001. Picture: Supplied

A convicted killer who spent 22 years sitting on death row has been executed.

Phillip Dean Hancock took his last breaths just before 11.30am after receiving a three-drug lethal injection at Oklahoma State Penitentiary on November 30.

The 59-year-old’s sentence went ahead over two decades after he committed his crime, despite a clemency recommendation from the state’s Pardon and Parole Board.

“I can’t imagine the anxiety that Phillip Hancock must have felt as Governor Stitt again waited until beyond the last minute to reject clemency,” Rev. Don Heath, chair of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, said in a statement.

Phillip Hancock was executed for a double murder in 2001. Picture: Oklahoma Department of Corrections

Hancock was sentenced to death in 2001 for the double slaying of Robert Jett Jr., 37, and James Lynch, 58, who he shot and killed during an altercation.

He long claimed the murder was purely in self-defence, attesting that the two men attacked him inside Jett’s home in south Oklahoma City.

His lawyers attest that Jett and Lynch were members of “outlaw motorcycle gangs” and that Jett lured Hancock, who was unarmed, to his home.

One female witness previously stated that Jett forced Hancock to get inside a large cage before he began swinging a metal bat at him.

After the two men allegedly attacked him, Hancock took Jett’s gun and shot them both, according to his defence team.

He always claimed self-defence for the crime. Picture: Oklahoma Department of Corrections

“Please understand the awful situation I found myself in,” he told members of the Pardon and Parole Board via a video feed from jail.

“I have no doubt they would have killed me. They forced me to fight for my life.”

Despite his pleas that he acted in self defence, it was not enough to save him.

Day of execution

While strapped to a gurney awaiting his death inside the execution chamber, Hancock thanked his legal team and reiterated his claim that he killed in self-defence.

He added that he hoped to be exonerated after his execution.

Hancock criticised Attorney-General Gentner Drummond’s office, which handled his post-conviction prosecution.

“They’re vile. They’re virtueless. They’re without honour,” he said before his death.

A witness said that he told a female supporter attending the execution to “not cry” for him and added that it was “hard to smile” in light of what was about to happen.

Robert Jett was killed by Hancock during an altercation. Picture: Oklahoma Department of Corrections

James Lynch was also murdered. Picture: Oklahoma Department of Corrections

The night before his execution, the death row inmate ate a simple last meal of dark meat only fried chicken in a bucket from KFC, with no sides and a bottle of root beer.

Hancock’s lawyer, Shawn Nolan, said his team were “profoundly sad” about his death.

“We are profoundly sad that Oklahoma executed Phil for protecting himself from a violent attack,” he stated.

“This was a clear case of self-defence and the Governor and the state ignored a wealth of evidence showing that Phil was fighting for his life.”

State lawyers argued that Hancock had given changing accounts of the exact details of what occurred on the night of the murders.

They also said that his testimony did not appear to align with physical evidence.

His final meal was a bucket of dark meat fried chicken from KFC. Picture: iStock

Assistant Attorney-General Joshua Lockett claimed a witness who testified in the case said that after Hancock shot Jett inside the house, he followed him into the backyard where a wounded Jett said “I’m going to die”, while Hancock responded by saying “yes you are” before shooting him again.

“Chasing someone down, telling them you are about to kill them and then doing it is not self-defence,” Lockett said.

Back in 1982, Hancock was convicted of first-degree manslaughter in separate shooting where he also claimed self-defence.

He served less than three years of a four year sentence in that case.

He was executed via lethal injection. Picture: iStock

The families of the two victims expressed their relief over Hancock’s execution.

“Our two families have waited a long time for this,” Jett’s brother said.

In a statement from Lynch’s sister, she said that she was grateful that “justice could be served”.

“This 22 year nightmare can be laid to rest,” she said.

“I can only hope that he chose to get his soul right with god before his window of opportunity closed for eternity.”

Oklahoma has executed more inmates per capita than any other state since the 1976 reinstatement of the death penalty.

Hancock’s execution was the very last of a total of 24 executions carried out in the US in 2023.

Originally published as Killer executed after spending 22 years on death row