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Who is Gilbert Postelle? Oklahoma Death Row Inmate Dead By Lethal Injection!: Oklahoma has executed death row inmate Gilbert Postelle for killing four people on Memorial Day in 2005.
He was pronounced dead at 10:14 a.m. Thursday. Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Scott Crow said the execution did not have any complications.
“The State’s execution of Gilbert Postelle was carried out with zero complications at 10:14 this morning,” Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor’s office said in a statement. “Justice is now served for Amy Wright, James Alderson, Terry Smith, Donnie Swindle, and the people of Oklahoma.”
Postelle, 35, was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of Amy Wright, James Alderson, Donnie Swindle and Terry Smith. He said the four people were responsible for a motorcycle crash that badly injured Postelle’s father.
The death row inmate’s brother and father were involved in the murders. Postelle’s brother was sentenced to life in prison, and their father was declared incompetent to stand trial because of a brain injury suffered in the crash.
Postelle was on death row until his execution Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.
His attorneys argued he had a low IQ and abused meth for years. Attorneys also said Postelle changed while in prison.
Jackie Thompson, who was Postelle’s fiance, spoke with KOCO 5 about how he deserved another chance.
“Two wrongs don’t make a right. Executing Gil is not going to bring those people back. It’s only creating more victims. He deserves a second chance,” Thompson said.
Oklahoma has now executed four death row inmates since restarting the program in late 2021. The state put John Grant and Bigler Stouffer to death at the end of last year and executed Donald Grant in late January.
