Oklahoma City – On Monday, December 5, the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP) will hold a press conference to plead for mercy for death row prisoner Scott Eizember, who is scheduled to be executed on January 12, 2023.

Mark Henricksen, Eizember’s lead attorney, will be part of the conference. According to his LinkedIn reference, he “has been a civil and criminal litigator since 1977. He litigates complex trials and appeals and has represented over thirty citizens facing the death penalty. He has twice been honored by the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers.”

The “presser” will take place at 11 a.m. in the House Press Room — Room G-5, on the ground floor — of the Oklahoma State Capitol and will be facilitated by State Representative Mauree Turner, D-Oklahoma City.

Speakers at the press conference will include Henricksen, Eizember’s attorney, Jasmine Brown-Jutras, Managing Organizer for ACLU Oklahoma, and Rev. Don Heath, OK-CADP Chair.

Eizember’s clemency hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, December 7, at 9 a.m. at Kate Barnard Community Corrections Center, Ted R. Logan Meeting Center, 3300 N. Martin Luther King Avenue, in Oklahoma City.

Members of the Legislative Black Caucus and the Democratic Caucus of the Oklahoma House of Representatives support Scott Eizember’s clemency petition.

The clemency petition that was prepared by Henricksen is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CnEDG5CteNs7gxJh07vZL5mthClP7GQF/view

According to the petition, the crimes committed by Mr. Eizember were the unplanned and impulsive actions of a desperate man. The petition and press release were sent to CapitolBeatOK.com and other news organizations.

The death of Patsy Cantrell was accidental. It resulted from a struggle over a firearm with Patsy’s husband, A. J. Cantrell and Mr. Eizember. Mr. Cantrell, in fact, shot the fatal discharge into Ms. Cantrell, the press release said.

“A fair-minded clemency board could reasonably view the circumstances of his life and this desperate moment and conclude that his death should occur on God’s schedule rather than the State of Oklahoma’s,” Henricksen said in his petition.

Mr. Eizember’s prison records indicate that he has achieved the most favorable security rating available to an inmate living on Oklahoma’s H-Unit (death row).

Eizember is 61 and has been incarcerated for 19 years.

“We hope that the Pardon and Parole Board will consider Scott Eizember’s perspective of the tragic events at the Cantrell house and recommend clemency,” said Rev. Don Heath.

“He just wanted to meet with his ex-girlfriend, who had taken all his money, and had agreed to give some of his money back so that he could return to Michigan and build a new life for himself.

“He made a series of tragic choices and will be incarcerated for the rest of his life. We ask that the Board allow him to die of natural causes in prison instead of being poisoned by the State.”

Note: CapitolBeatOK.com is an independent, non-partisan and locally-managed news service based in Oklahoma City.