Man who serves as spiritual adviser for death row inmates sues Oklahoma for millions

By Alexandria Williams

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    OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — A man who serves as a spiritual adviser to death row inmates is suing Oklahoma for millions.

Rev. Jeff Hood claims the state defamed him to the media when they tried to bar him from a recent execution. The Department of Corrections won’t comment on the lawsuit, but the attorneys for Hood did.

His legal time filed the lawsuit on Friday. They argued Hood is continuing to fight to abolish the death penalty and also pushing back against the allegedly false statements against him.

“The Department of Corrections knew they were false when they were made, and they were designed to harm Jeff in his effort to exercise his civil rights,” said Kim Hood, attorney.

Ahead of the execution of convicted murderer Scott Eizember, the DOC sent KOCO 5 and other media members a statement about Hood. They claimed, “The spiritual advisor, in this case, has been arrested multiple times for such outbursts in other states, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the experiences of victims’ families and the solemnity of the process.”

Eventually, Hood was allowed in to witness the execution as the spiritual adviser, but now, he’s fighting back against those statements, claiming they’re false and that he never disrespected a victim’s or death row inmate’s family.

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