OKLAHOMA
May 19, 2005
Barring a decision by Governor Brad Henry to adhere to the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation of clemency for Garry Thomas Allen, Allen will be executed on May 19, 2005. He was sentenced to death for the November 1986 death of his girlfriend, Lawanna Gail Titsworth, in Oklahoma County.
In the days leading up to Titsworth’s death, Allen had become severely distraught over her recent decision to leave him. On November 21, 1986, a disturbed and heavily intoxicated Allen confronted Titsworth in a parking lot. A verbal altercation ensued; it ended with Allen shooting and killing Titsworth. A police officer soon arrived on the scene. During the arrest attempt, the officer and Allen became involved in a struggle. It ended with the officer’s gun discharging—shooting Allen in the head. A CAT scan conducted on Allen soon thereafter showed that the gunshot wound had caused permanent brain damage.
Allen was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, and two lesser offenses. He was found incompetent to stand trial and sent to a state hospital for psychiatric treatment. He was discharged after four months of treatment despite little evidence that his psychiatric condition had greatly improved.
A competency trial was then held, in which the question of whether or not Allen was competent to stand trial was put before a jury. Allen’s counsel requested access to a neuropsychological examination in order to better ascertain the extent of his brain damage. The court denied the request. At the completion of the trial, the jury, using a now defunct standard of competency, found Allen competent to stand trial.
At the plea proceedings, Allen entered blind pleas of guilty for the charges against him. A blind plea of guilty is “[a] guilty plea made without the promise of a concession from either the judge or the prosecutor.” Even though Allen’s counsel believed that he lacked the competency needed to enter these pleas, she did not object.
By pleading in the aforementioned manner, Allen effectively forfeited his rights to put on a defense and to be sentenced by a jury of his peers. The trial judge accepted the pleas and sentenced Allen to death for Titsworth’s murder.
Had Allen been able to put on a defense, he could have made a compelling argument that he did not act with the requisite intent for the murder to be considered premeditated. Not only was Allen heavily intoxicated at the time of the offense, but he possessed a well-documented history of mental problems, including severe head trauma and epileptic seizures.
Additionally, there are questions surrounding Allen’s competency to be executed. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Ford v. Wainwright bars the execution of incompetent inmates. Allen’s seizures have significantly worsened since his incarceration and it appears as though this has had severe effects on his mental condition. His IQ and cognitive abilities have precipitously declined. His IQ is now at a level that places him slightly above Oklahoma’s legal threshold for mental retardation. The execution of the mentally retarded was ruled unconstitutional in Atkins v. Virginia.
On April 20, 2005, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, recommended clemency for Allen by a vote of 4-1. A clemency recommendation from the Board is by no means a common occurrence. Only 9 such recommendations have been made since the reinstatement of capital punishment in Oklahoma in 1973.
Please contact Governor Brad Henry and urge him to follow the Pardon and Parole Board’s clemency recommendation for Garry Thomas Allen.
