What's next for Oklahoma death row inmate Brenda Andrew after Supreme Court ruling
Jan 22, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KFOR) – The United States Supreme Court released a rare ruling Tuesday in favor of Oklahoma death row inmate Brenda Andrew. Her attorney has claimed she did not receive a fair trial in 2004 for the murder of her husband because prosecutors in the case focused on her sex life.
It will now be up to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to decide what will happen next and it could mean a new trial.
The former Sunday school teacher was convicted of killing her estranged husband, Rob. She and her accomplice, James Pavatt, have spent the past two decades on death row. Andrew is the only woman on Oklahoma's death row.
The majority of Justices ruled to toss out the federal court of appeals decision from 2023 where they voted 2-1 to uphold Andrew’s murder conviction. KFOR interviewed former Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane after the 2023 decision.
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"Not surprised,” said Lane. “I mean the evidence was overwhelming. The evidence was overwhelming at the preliminary hearing phase. I mean there were so many pieces of evidence."
Andrew’s attorneys claimed she was not given a fair trial because prosecutors “sex-shamed” her and focused on her sex-life and extra-marital affairs.
In the 29-page opinion, Supreme Court Justices agreed writing, "the prosecution elicited testimony about Andrew's sexual partners reaching back two decades; about the outfits she wore to dinner or during grocery runs; about the underwear she packed for vacation; and about how often she had sex in her car."
Justices also wrote the prosecution called on witnesses to exclusively testify about Andrew’s “provocative clothing” and whether or not a “good mother would dress or behave the way Andrew did.”
In its closing statement, the prosecution again invoked these themes, including by displaying Andrew's "thong underwear" to the jury" Now the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will review the Justices’ ruling and decide how to move forward.