Oklahoma Stays Execution of Wade Lay on June 6, 2024
Wade Lay, Oklahoma
Updated: Thursday, June 6, 2024
An Oklahoma judge has found Wade Lay to be mentally incompetent, meaning he is ineligible to be executed. The judge determined that to Wade’s schizophrenia, delusions, and paranoia, he cannot understand why he is being executed. An inmate must be able to understand why they are being executed in order for an execution to be carried out.
Updated: Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Wade Greely Lay is scheduled to be executed at 10 am local time on Thursday, June 6, 2024. Executions take place at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma. Sixty-three-year-old Wade is convicted of murdering 36-year-old Kenneth Anderson on May 24, 2004, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For the past 18 years, Wade has been on death row in Oklahoma.
On May 24, 2004, Wade Lay and his son Christopher Lay entered a bank in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They were wearing ski masks and gloves. Both men were armed, as they were planning to rob the bank.
Upon entering the bank, Christopher ordered the employees to get on the ground. This attracted the attention of the security guard, Kenneth Anderson. A shootout resulted. Wade and Christopher both received injuries and fled the bank without any cash. Police arrested them later that same day. The security guard died from his injuries.
Wade and Christopher both admitted their guilt and were tried together. However, Christopher chose to be represented by an attorney, while Wade represented himself. In defense, both men argued that their actions were justifiable. Wade and Christopher sought to rob the bank to start a patriotic revolution to hold accountable those they thought were responsible for the 80 Branch Davidians who died in Waco, Texas, after a standoff with law enforcement.
Wade was sentenced to death, while Christopher was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.
Wade Lay was previously scheduled to be executed on August 3, 2023. That execution date was rescheduled at the request of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. Drummond requested that several upcoming scheduled executions in Oklahoma be rescheduled to allow more time between executions. Oklahoma’s Department of Corrections is currently understaffed and preparing for an execution is time intensive.
Pray for peace and healing for the family of Kenneth Anderson. Pray for the family of Wade Lay. Please pray that if Wade should not be executed for any reason, evidence will be presented before his execution. Pray that Wade finds peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
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