Oklahoma group to hold vigil during scheduled execution of prisoner John Hanson

OKLAHOMA CITY – On Thursday, June 12, the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP) asks the public to join them at the George John Hanson, (also known as John Fitzgerald Hanson) “Don’t Kill for Me” protest and vigil during his scheduled execution that morning at 10 a.m.

The demonstration will begin at 9 a.m. in front of the Governor’s Mansion, at 820 NE 23rd Street at Phillips Avenue.

Vigil participants will stand in silence at 10:00 a.m. until notice of a stay of execution is received or the execution is carried out. The vigil will conclude with a circle of prayer and contemplation. The vigil will be canceled if the execution is postponed or canceled.

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted on May 7 to deny clemency for Mr. Hanson by a vote of 3-2.

Dr. Elizabeth Overman, OK-CADP Chair stated, “In the words of Mrs. Coretta King, ‘an evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed of retaliation and justice is never advanced by taking a human life.'”

Hanson, 61, would be the second person executed in Oklahoma in 2025 and the seventeenth person to be executed after a six-year moratorium ended in Oklahoma.in October 2021.