MCALESTER, Okla. — Oklahoma has executed Donald Anthony Grant, which marks the state's first execution of 2022.
Grant's official time of death was 10:16 a.m.
The 46-year-old was sentenced to death for the 2001 shooting and killing of Brenda McElyea and Suzette Smith, the manager and desk clerk of a Del City motel where he had applied for a job the day before.
According to the Associated Press, Grant killed them so that there would be no witnesses to his robbery of the hotel.
The AP reported that court records showed that both women were shot and stabbed, and Smith was also bludgeoned.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted to deny clemency for Grant last November.
Grant's execution comes after weeks of debate about the state's execution methods.
Since then, many death row inmates and their legal teams have submitted requests to courts to put a pause on executions.
Gilbert Postelle and Grant both asked for a temporary injunction to delay their executions until after a trial challenges whether Oklahoma's current execution protocols are considered to be constitutional.
The trial is currently set to start on Friday, Jan. 28.
A federal judge denied the request.
ODOC does not currently have alternative execution protocols in place for any method other than lethal injection.
The U.S. Supreme Court also denied Grant’s application for a temporary stay of execution on Wednesday.
Protesters were expected to gather outside the state's penitentiary on Thursday.
Emily Farris at KJRH first reported this story.
