Published: May 03, 2008 04:51 pm      

Allen sane enough, will die for crime

A Pittsburg County jury has decided on a split decision that an Oklahoma State Penitentiary inmate who gunned down his girlfriend outside a day care center in 1986 is sane enough to be executed.

However, it’s still uncertain when an execution date will be set.

After deliberating for approximately an hour and 25 minutes on Thursday, jurors decided on a split nine-to-three vote that Garry Thomas Allen is sane — rejecting arguments that he should not be executed because he had purportedly “become insane” in prison.

Because the jurors in District Judge Thomas Bartheld’s courtroom were charged with determining Allen’s mental competency as the result of a civil lawsuit — not on a criminal matter — a unanimous verdict had not been required.

The jury, which consisted of 11 men and one woman, had been charged only with determining whether Allen, 52, had become too insane to be executed, not with deciding his innocence or guilt.

That had already been decided in Oklahoma County.

Allen had been sentenced to death on a 1986 Oklahoma County charge of first-degree murder for gunning down his girlfriend, Lawanna Gail Titsworth, four days after she moved out of their home with their two sons, who were 6 and 2 at the time.

Titsworth had picked up the children on Nov. 21, 1986, at a daycare center in Oklahoma City and had gone to the parking lot when Allen confronted her, according to court documents.

As Titsworth opened the door to her truck, Allen shut the door and prevented her from entering, court documents state.

As the two argued, Allen reached into his sock, pulled out a revolver and shot Titsworth twice in the chest.

“It is unclear whether Titsworth was holding her youngest son at the time of the shooting or had picked him up immediately thereafter,” documents filed with the Tenth US. Circuit Court of Criminal Appeals state.

After Allen shot Titsworth, she begged him not to shoot her again and fell to the ground.

Allen then asked Titsworth if she was all right and lifted up her blouse, apparently attempting to examine her injuries.

“At the time of the shooting, some of the daycare employees were in the parking lot and several of the children were in a van parked a few feet from Titsworth’s truck,” court documents state.

“After the shooting, Tistworth managed to get up and began running toward the building along with a daycare center employee.”

As they headed up the steps leading to the front door, Allen pushed the daycare employee through the door and shoved Titsworth down on the steps, where he shot her twice in the back at close range.

Oklahoma City Police Officer Mike Taylor responded to the 911 call within minutes and a witness pointed to an alley where Allen was hiding.

Taylor drove into an alley, spotted Allen, pulled his revolver and ordered him to stop and remain still.

Although Allen initially complied with the order, he turned and began walking away. When Taylor reached out to place a hand on him, he quickly turned and grabbed the policeman’s gun.

During a struggle, Allen gained partial control of the gun and “attempted to make officer Taylor shoot himself by applying pressure to Taylor’s finger which was still on the trigger,” according to court documents.

As the struggle continued, Taylor regained control of the gun and shot Allen in the face, court documents state.

Allen remained in the hospital for approximately two months, treated for injuries to his face, left eye and brain.

After he left the hospital, Allen entered a blind plea —meaning no plea bargain agreement had been reached — to first-degree murder and other charges on Nov. 10, 1987.

An Oklahoma County judge subsequently sentenced him to death. The appeals court later ordered a second sentencing hearing, which also resulted in the death sentence.

After exhausting his appeals, Allen had been set for execution at OSP on May 19, 2005.

Just two days before the scheduled execution, then-OSP Warden Mike Mullin sent a letter to then-District 18 District Attorney Chris Wilson.

Mullin told Wilson in the letter that he had been advised following a recent medical evaluation that Allen had “become insane.”

State law required the warden to notify Wilson, and also required Wilson to file a petition in district court asking for a jury trial to determine the question of Allen’s sanity.

Wilson’s office filed the petition the next day — the day before Allen was scheduled to die.

The district court issued a stay of execution and the case has been wending its way through the court system, with numerous court motions and legal arguments heard along the way.

During the trial in Pittsburg County, jurors heard conflicting opinions regarding Allen’s mental competency.

One state’s witness, Dr. William Ruwe, testified he had conducted conversations with Allen, with much of it “at a very high level.”

“He talked about things which were philosophical, even theological,” Ruwe said.

After the four-day trial ended, Assistant Attorney General Robert Whittaker said the state will now consider its next course of action.

“We need to look at our options in light of their verdict,” Whittaker said.

“I imagine it will involve asking Judge Bartheld to lift the stay of execution and asking the Court of Criminal Appeals to set an execution date.”

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.