Scott Eizember is on death row in Oklahoma for the 2003 murders of A.J. Cantrell, 76, and Patsy Cantrell, 70 and is scheduled for execution on January 12, 2023. (Clemency hearing is December 7, 2022.) If this execution proceeds, he will be the first person executed in Oklahoma in 2023.

On October 18, 2003, Scott Eizember broke into the vacant home of A.J. and Patsy Cantrell, an elderly couple in Depew, Oklahoma, thinking that they would be away for an extended period of time. When the couple unexpectedly returned home early from an outing, Eizember picked up a shotgun that he’d found in the home and engaged them in a tense standoff. As the situation started to subside, Eizember set the gun down. Sensing a chance, A.J. Cantrell picked up the gun and fired off a shot. The bullet grazed Eizember and hit Patsy (who was killed immediately). In response, Eizember grabbed the gun out of A.J. Cantrell’s hands and beat him to death. After the incident, Eizember led police on an over 37-day manhunt that extended into both Arkansas and Texas. Ultimately, Eizember was sentenced to death for the murder of A.J. Cantrell.

Issues of Concern:

• Eizember grew up in a home ravaged by drug addiction and alcohol abuse. When he was only 8 months old, Eizember’s mom committed suicide. Later in early adolescence, his stepmother (maternal figure) died of liver disease. Eizember suffered from years of alcoholism, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideations due to the difficulties he faced growing up.
• Two jurors, known in litigation by the initials D.B. & J.S., expressed clear bias in favor of the death penalty. One even used the statement, “the death penalty keeps taxpayers from having to support a criminal for the remainder of their life.”

Please sign this petition asking Governor Stitt and the Pardon and Parole Board to do everything within their power to ensure Mr. Eizember does not face execution and to seek a path to clemency in the case.