Oklahoma prepares to execute man for 1985 slaying of teacher

By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma is preparing to execute a man for the 1985 slaying of an Oklahoma City-area teacher. Bigler Stouffer II is set to receive a three-drug lethal injection at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. The 79-year-old has maintained his innocence in the attack that left Linda Reaves dead and her boyfriend seriously injured. Stouffer would be the first person executed in Oklahoma since John Grant convulsed on the gurney and vomited during his lethal injection in October as the state ended a six-year execution moratorium. Stouffer has argued in court filings that the state’s three-drug execution method poses a risk of subjecting him to unconstitutional pain and suffering. A final appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court was denied Thursday morning.