Oklahoma Executes Double Murderer, Who Allegedly Killed in Self Defence, Using Lethal Injection

A 59-year-old man was executed in the US state of Oklahoma on Thursday for a double murder that he claimed was committed in self-defense. Phillip Hancock was put to death by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections said. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board had recommended that Hancock be granted clemency but it was denied by Governor Kevin Stitt. The death penalty has been primarily carried out by lethal injection in recent years, but Alabama intends to execute an inmate next year using nitrogen gas. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has set January 25 as the execution date for Kenneth Smith, 58, who was sentenced to death for a 1988 murder.