Oklahoma executes Hurricane Katrina evacuee Kendrick Simpson for 2006 double murder

McALESTER − Oklahoma has carried out the nation's third execution of 2026, giving a lethal injection to an admitted double murderer who said he had been "compelled by paranoia."

Kendrick Antonio Simpson was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

He was executed for fatally shooting two men in a 2006 drive-by shooting after a confrontation at an Oklahoma City hip hop club.

The New Orleans native had been in Oklahoma only a few months, relocating after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005.

He did not apologize in his last words, upsetting the victims' relatives who said afterward they had hoped to hear remorse. Instead, he addressed his five supporters in the witness room.

"I love y'all," he said, smiling and calling them by name. "Thank y'all for being here to support me. I love y'all. That's it."

Simpson, 45, did apologize at his clemency hearing. He and his attorneys blamed his actions on post-traumatic stress disorder from being shot himself in 2004 in New Orleans and from fleeing the flooded city after the hurricane.

"I was young and traumatized, ignorant to what was important in life, and compelled by paranoia," he told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board in January. "I'm ashamed of my actions. I'm ashamed of the destruction my actions caused. I'm ashamed of being a murderer."

The execution Thursday followed one Jan. 28 in Texas and one Feb. 10 in Florida.

There were 47 executions in the United States last year, the most since 2009, when 52 inmates were put to death.

The surge last year came even though support for the death penalty continues to drop across the country. A Gallup poll in October found that for the first time more Americans say it is applied unfairly (50%) than fairly (47%).

Florida led the surge, putting 19 inmates to death in 2025. Oklahoma only executed two inmates last year. A third inmate, Tremane Wood, was spared at the last minute.

Simpson had hoped for clemency, too, but the Pardon and Parole Board turned him down 3-2 on Jan. 14. The vote meant Gov. Kevin Stitt, by law, could not even consider commuting his death sentence.

Death penalty opponents called on Stitt to intervene in a different way. In an online petition, they asked the governor to grant a temporary stay to give legislators time to consider a Senate bill that would impose a moratorium on executions. The bill was introduced a year ago.

Simpson on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay. Justices denied his request Wednesday.

What to know about Kendrick Simpson's crime

Simpson fired an AK-style assault rifle from the front passenger seat of a car at three men in another car after a confrontation early Jan. 16, 2006, inside Fritzi's.

Killed were the driver, Glen Palmer, 20, and his friend, Anthony Jones, 19. Surviving was another friend, London Johnson, then 19, who was in the back seat.

The club at the time was frequented by gang members. The confrontation was over a remark made about Simpson's red Chicago Cubs baseball cap, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals noted in a 2010 opinion upholding his conviction and sentence.

Simpson said he was going to "chop" them up but returned later to extend his hand and said, "We cool," according to the opinion. Palmer punched him, knocking him to the ground.

After leaving the club, Simpson and two friends went to a 7-Eleven. There Simpson spotted Palmer who had stopped to get cigars, attorneys for the state told the Pardon and Parole Board.

"Follow them," Simpson said.

Ten minutes and 3.5 miles later, he fired approximately 20 rounds at the other car. Palmer and Jones died at the scene with their seatbelts still fastened. Johnson was not hit. They had not known they were being pursued.

After the shooting, Simpson told his friends, "I'm a monster. I'm a (expletive) monster. (Expletive) don't want to play with me," according to testimony in his case.

"He didn't care that it was a residential area where stray bullets would tear through a front door," Assistant Attorney General Christopher Howard said at his clemency hearing.

In November 2004, Simpson had been shot five times in a drive-by shooting while walking to a store in New Orleans, according to his attorneys. He had 16 surgeries.

Simpson actually was shot during a gang-related gun battle, attorneys for the state said.

Simpson was sent to prison in Louisiana when he was 16 for shooting the owner of a New Orleans electronics repair business in the head during a 1997 robbery. The owner, who was hit in the ear, testified at the punishment stage of Simpson's murder trial.

In prison again for his Oklahoma crimes, Simpson became a published poet.

"Kendrick has found salvation through writing," his attorney, Emma Rolls, told the Pardon and Parole Board. "His writing reflect his ongoing commitment to self-reflection, growth, remorse, and accountability."

Simpson was 25 at the time of the murders.

"I've dedicated myself to nonviolence while traveling the road of redemption," he said at his clemency hearing. "I'm not the worst of the worst. I'm not a monster.

The lethal injection took only 12 minutes to complete after Simpson gave his last words.

"It was a very fast execution. No issues," said Justin Farris, the director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Witnessing the execution for the media were reporters for The Associated Press, The Oklahoman, The Frontier, a Tulsa TV station and Telemundo Oklahoma.

Simpson had his last meal at 5:14 p.m. Wednesday. Reporters were told he ordered a bacon cheeseburger, large onion rings and a strawberry milkshake.

Palmer's sister, Crystal Allison of Oklahoma City, said she had expected to hear an apology.

"I'm still just hurt and tormented by this," she told reporters. "I was tormented again today. Even on his death bed, he (was) still smiling. There's no remorse about this."

The inmate's spiritual advisor, Don Heath, said he and Simpson had talked about acknowledging the families of his victims again. He said Simpson was groggy from taking medication before the procedure.

"He planned to do it. I think he just got sleepy," Heath said.

The spiritual advisor stood beside the execution gurney reading scriptures during the procedure. "He was very calm and peaceful the whole time," Heath said.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond said he hopes the execution brings some measure of peace to the families of the victims.

Simpson's attorney, Rolls, called the execution a profound and unnecessary loss.

"We are proud to call Kendrick our friend," she said. "Our grief will not fade in the weeks ahead, and his absence will be deeply felt by all who knew him."

(This story has been updated to add new information.)