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Pavatt clemency bid rejected in 3-2 Oklahoma board vote
Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 to deny clemency to James Pavatt, who is on death row for the 2001 killing of Rob Andrew. The attorney general said Pavatt is scheduled to be executed Nov. 12.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 Wednesday to deny clemency for James Pavatt, a death row inmate convicted in the 2001 killing of Rob Andrew, an Oklahoma City advertising executive and father of two.
Pavatt was sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of Andrew, who was 39. Evidence presented at trial showed Pavatt had begun an affair with Andrew’s wife, Brenda Andrew, in 2001. Prosecutors argued the killing was motivated by an $800,000 insurance policy and was especially cruel.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said Pavatt and Brenda Andrew plotted the killing and that Pavatt shot Andrew, who had once been his friend. Drummond said Pavatt’s execution is scheduled for Nov. 12.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Pavatt’s death sentence in 2020. The parole board’s decision rejects his request for clemency; the board’s reasons for its vote were not provided in the available details.