OKLAHOMA CITY – A man convicted of gunning down a father of two will ask the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board for clemency, saying that he was wrongfully convicted.
Oklahoma County killer James Pavatt, 72, faces a November execution for the 2001 shooting death of Robert D. Andrew, 39, an advertising executive. Andrew was fatally shot as he attempted to pick up his two children for a holiday visit.
Andrew and his wife, Brenda, 62, were separated and going through a divorce. Brenda Andrew and Pavatt were having an affair, according to prosecutors, who also alleged a $800,000 life insurance policy was part of the motive.
Brenda Andrew, who is appealing her own death sentence, is housed at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud.
The state alleges Pavatt and Brenda Andrew spent weeks, if not months, planning the murder after an earlier failed attempt in which Robert Andrew’s brake lines were cut.
After the murder, Pavatt and Brenda Andrew, with the Andrews’ two children, fled to Mexico, prosecutors say.
According to his clemency packet, Pavatt is expected to argue he is innocent, and prosecutors orchestrated his wrongful conviction.
“The reality is that Jim Pavatt has never killed anyone,” according to his clemency packet. “He had never been arrested before this case. He is a decorated, 21-year Air Force master sergeant, a Baptist church deacon and Sunday school teacher, and a University of Oklahoma graduate who the state has never credibly shown was even at the crime scene much less shot victim Rob Andrew.”
Pavatt’s attorneys blame his conviction on prosecutorial misconduct, flawed forensics and an inadequate defense.
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s office said Pavatt was a killer who wanted the life Rob Andrew was living.
“Rob Andrew was gunned down in his own garage, feet from the children he loved, by the man he had trusted as a friend and insurance agent,” said Oklahoma attorney General Gentner Drummond. “Twenty-five years later, Pavatt still won’t tell the truth about what he did. There must be justice for Rob.”
Pavatt’s clemency hearing is set for 9 a.m. Oct. 14.
If the Pardon and Parole Board recommends clemency, Gov. Kevin Stitt will have the final word.
In a letter to the Pardon and Parole Board, Rob Andrew’s brothers said their parents, who raised his children, are gone now.
They described the void of his absence in their lives.
“We would let the laws of the State of Oklahoma decide their fate,” they wrote. “Vengeance is not ours. Our brother is gone and we cannot change that.”
His execution by lethal injection is set for Nov. 12 at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.
Republished in partnership with Oklahoma Voice under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Oklahoma Voice is a part of States Newsroom which is a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter.
Barbara Hoberock is a senior reporter with Oklahoma Voice. She has covered the statehouse since 1994 and served as Tulsa World Capitol Bureau chief. Hoberock covers statewide elected officials, the legislature, agencies, state issues, appellate courts and elections.
