Gilbert Ray Postelle executed in state's second lethal injection of 2022

MCALESTER, Okla. — Oklahoma executed Gilbert Ray Postelle on Thursday in the state's latest lethal injection of a death row inmate.

Postelle, 35, was sentenced to death for the 2005 Memorial Day shooting deaths of four people at a home in Oklahoma City.

The Department of Corrections said the execution went on without complications, killing Postelle at 10:14 a.m.

READ MORE: Who is next in line for execution in Oklahoma?

Postelle was a teenager when he was convicted for the deaths of Donnie Swindle Jr., Amy Wright, Terry Smith, and James Alderson. He's 35-years-old now.

Postelle's attorney has argued for clemency due to Postelle's upbringing, described as being "neglected by his mentally ill parents" which caused him to stop going to school at 12 and start a meth addiction at 13.

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board ultimately voted 4-1 to deny clemency for Postelle last December.

This is the second execution this year and the fourth overall since executions resumed in the state back in the fall of 2021. It comes after many are still questioning Oklahoma's current execution methods.

In October 2021, John Marion Grant vomited and convulsed after he was administered midazolam, the first drug in the three-step lethal injection process.

Since then, multiple death row inmates and their legal teams have submitted requests to put a pause on executions until after a trial determined whether Oklahoma's current execution protocols are considered to be constitutional.

The trial is set to start on Feb. 28.

Postelle asked for a temporary injunction to delay his execution until the trial concluded, but a federal judge denied the request. Postelle has since asked for a firing squad as an alternative to receiving the lethal injection.

At this time, ODOC does not have alternative execution protocols for any method other than lethal injection.

READ MORE: Federal judge denies emergency motion for Oklahoma death row inmates

There are currently 43 death row inmates in Oklahoma, 42 of them are men and one woman.

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