When the execution procedure began at 6:04 p.m., and the blinds covering the window between the execution chamber and the viewing area were raised, OSP Warden Randy Workman asked Stemple if he had a last statement. Stemple, with his eyes closed, simply nodded his head from left to right, indicating he would have no last words. At 6:05 p.m. Workman said, “Let the execution begin.”
† Stemple’s time of death was announced by an attending physician at 6:11 p.m. His execution was witnessed by seven members of the media; members from the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office; Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan; Sheriff Glands from Tulsa; OSP and Oklahoma Department of Corrections staff; Stemple’s mother and father, his two sisters and his daughter; and 12 members of the victim’s family. Other victim’s family members were present, however, they watched the execution via live video feed outside of the execution chamber.
Trisha Stemple’s sister, Deborah Ruddick-Bird, made a statement to the media following the execution. “Today is not about Shaun,” she said. “Today is about justice, finality and closure for my beautiful sister Trisha. … Today we say it is finished.”
A written statement was provided by Michael Steen on behalf of Trisha Stemple’s father, Morris Ruddick, who was unable to attend the execution as he is out of the country on a missionary assignment. “The media often speaks of closure during tragic events such as those witnessed today,” the statement reads. “I think it more appropriate to say we think of this as a foreclosure. The State has collected his body and his mind as compensation for his transgressions. Before the judgment seat of Christ, the Lord will determine the eternal outcome for his soul.”
source : http://mcalesternews.com
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update : 5.32 pm usa time.
5:32 PM
McALESTER – The execution Thursday night of Tulsa County killer Timothy Shaun Stemple appears to be on schedule after Gov. Mary Fallin’s office confirmed earlier today that she will not issue a stay.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20120315_12_0_McALES804866
update 10 min ago : source http://www.krmg.com
Time running out for convicted killer
Tulsa, Okla.
The Tulsa cop who helped convict him says he’s evil.
His family is still convinced he is innocent.
Either way, the clock is ticking down for Timothy Shaun Stemple, convicted of killing his wife with a baseball bat in 1996.
His brother-in-law, John Smucker, will be leading a rally outside the Governor’s Mansion in Oklahoma City right up until the last minute, hoping to convince Mary Fallin to issue a stay of execution.
“I voted for her, and I believe she is an agent of change and will honestly look at this,” Smucker said. “There’s still hope.”
Fallin however has already been quoted as saying that she will not intervene.
Smucker says his family has evidence that has not been considered by the courts, that shows Stemple is innocent.
He also says the Oklahoma City University chapter of the Innocence Project, a non-profit group dedicated to proving the innocence of people who are wrongly-convicted, is asking the Governor to stay the execution.
Prosecutors say Stemple and a teenaged accomplice beat Trisha Stemple with baseball bats along Highway 75 between 81st and 91st streets and also ran over her with a truck to make it look like a hit-and-run accident.
Smucker believes it was in fact a hit-and-run accident, and that the driver who hit Trisha Stemple is still out there somewhere.
He said if people want to contact the Governor’s office about the execution, they can call (405) 521-2342
The Office of Governor Mary Fallin
Oklahoma State Capitol
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 212
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Local: (405) 521-2342
Fax: (405) 521-3353
Oklahoma is preparing to execute Timothy Stemple for the killing of his wife.
The 46-year-old Stemple is to die at 6 p.m. Thursday He was convicted of plotting with a relative of his mistress to kill 30-year-old Trisha Stemple and collect insurance money. She died Oct. 24, 1996, along U.S. Highway 75 in Tulsa. Prosecutors said she was beaten in the head with a bat and run over with a pickup truck.
Stemple’s family requested Gov. Mary Fallin stay the execution so medical testimony disputing his accomplice’s account of the crime could be heard in court. The Pardon and Parole board last month denied Stemple’s plea for clemency.
Stemple requested a last meal of a large stuffed crust pizza topped with half-pepperoni, half-Canadian bacon and extra cheese, and orange soda.
source : from usa today
Timothy Shaun Stemple Final Letter
This letter is written by Timothy Shaun Stemple as his final letter. We believe that this letter should be made available for anyone to read.
March 5, 2012
To whom it may concern,
When my wife and best friend Trisha Stemple was killed, it devastated me. I found some strength in our combined families, but I was still lost. When I was accused of her killing and learned that the police ignored (as I wrongly believed) the eyewitness’ testimony and the lies told by my accusers, I broke.
As I write this, I am certain that I will soon join Trisha & my son – our son – Shane. My two great hopes are that Trisha’s family learn that Trisha was killed almost instantly and that my family never did or would abandon Trisha – even in memory.
For either hope to be realized, it must become publicly acknowledged, that while no police officer or prosecutor set out to do wrong – a simple mistake, compounded by a flawed process has resulted in final injustice. The inevitable errors which occur when human beings must sift through lies & conflicting evidence are always denied by the State. While this is not important now for me at this moment, I and my family, as well as Trisha’s family, though they have yet to learn it – are the “collateral damage” in the war on crime.
To those who experience the State’s adamant refusal to acknowledge the in defendable – evil is done. The wrong done: Trisha’s death and mine – contains no confusing issues, no difficult forensic concepts – all anyone need do is look – the State now publicly admits that the actual murderer – who escaped the death penalty in exchange for these lies – could not truthfully include me in the crime – even to save his life. If the Attorney General knows this, why am I to die? Why then does the state continue to emotionally rape Trisha’s family by allowing them to continue believing Trisha was essentially tortured to death when they know she must have died instantly? The adversarial process demands its collateral damage, and perhaps those involved do all they can to limit such damage. But to those who experience it and will die in the name of “Public Confidence” – those who know best – and stand silently by in noble pose – Do True Evil. The powerless who do nothing are forgiven; the powerful who do nothing are condemned.
My death is a small thing, I go to God and my wife and son, and we will watch. I do hope that both our families find some peace, and that the great wrong done to us all can somehow be used to fix a thing so broken as to allow this.
Timothy Shaun Stemple
CLAIM YOUR INNOCENCE 