Oklahoma’s First Execution of 2025: Wendell Grissom’s Death Penalty Case

Oklahoma is set to execute a man named Wendell Grissom for a crime he committed 20 years ago. He is 56 years old and will be given a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. This is the first execution in Oklahoma for 2025.

Grissom was found guilty of shooting a woman named Amber Matthews, who was just 23, during a robbery at a friend’s house. Another person, Dreu Kopf, was also shot but managed to escape and get help. Grissom’s partner in the crime, Jessie Floyd Johns, was given a life sentence instead.

Prosecutors said Grissom and Johns decided to commit robberies while they were driving. They randomly picked the home of Kopf, where Matthews was visiting. Grissom shot Matthews twice in the head, but she survived long enough to be flown to a hospital before passing away. Kopf, although injured, managed to flee and call for help. Fortunately, her children were unharmed and found safe in their home.

Grissom’s lawyers argued that he has brain damage that the jury didn’t know about at the trial, but their request for clemency was denied. They mentioned that Grissom has always accepted he did something wrong and even wrote a letter of apology to Matthews’ family after being arrested. One victim, Kopf, testified that the attack left her with many mental and physical scars. She still feels scared and anxious, especially when strangers come to her door.

Oklahoma’s Attorney General said the attack was very serious, describing it as the kind of crime that keeps people up at night. Since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976, this execution will be the 127th in Oklahoma.