Execution Delayed: The Legal Battle Over John Fitzgerald Hanson

An Oklahoma judge has issued a temporary stay of execution for John Fitzgerald Hanson, scheduled to die this week for the murder of a Tulsa woman in 1999. The decision follows arguments from Hanson's lawyers about a potentially biased clemency hearing.

Hanson, 61, was convicted of carjacking, kidnapping, and killing Mary Bowles, after he and an accomplice abducted her from a Tulsa mall. His clemency request was denied in a narrow 3-2 vote by the state's Pardon and Parole Board. Hanson's legal team claims that board member Sean Malloy's past work with the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office compromised the fairness of the hearing.

The stay has sparked a legal back-and-forth, with Attorney General Gentner Drummond contesting the district judge's authority to intervene. Hanson had been transferred to Oklahoma custody earlier this year under a federal directive initiated by the Trump administration, seeking to prioritize executions.

(With inputs from agencies.)