Gilbert Postelle

Gilbert Ray Postelle (June 22, 1986 – February 17, 2022) was an American mass murderer who was sentenced to death and executed for his involvement in a quadruple murder in Oklahoma. He was executed on February 17, 2022, by lethal injection.

Early life Postelle was abandoned by his mother at a young age and later began using methamphetamine on a daily basis. His father, Earl Bradford "Brad" Postelle, had a 1996 drug conviction and, in 1999, was suspected of manufacturing methamphetamine in an old school bus behind his home. The shooting was motivated by Postelle's belief that Swindle was responsible for the motorcycle accident despite there being no evidence for his involvement. His father, Brad, was declared incompetent to stand trial due to injuries resulting from the motorcycle accident. Brad Postelle died on February 18, 2011, aged 46.

Post-conviction proceedings In December 2011, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the death penalty for Postelle.

In February 2020, more than two dozen inmates, including Postelle, filed a motion to reopen the 2014 lawsuit, Glossip v. Chandler after the state announced plans to resume executions, claiming the new lethal injection protocol was incomplete. On October 15, 2021, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the lower court made a mistake by dismissing the six prisoners from the lawsuit. In November 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit rejected the inmates' request to intervene. Postelle stated "I do understand that I'm guilty and I accept that. There's nothing more that I know to say to you all than I am truly sorry for what I've done to all these families." Oklahoma Attorney General John M. O'Connor stated that he was grateful the Pardon and Parole Board denied Postelle's request.

In January 2022, Postelle and other death row inmates in Oklahoma asked Judge Friot of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma to grant them a temporary injunction that would halt their executions until a trial could be held over the constitutionality of the three-drug lethal injection method. The trial was scheduled for February 28, 2022, after the scheduled execution dates of the four inmates.

The United States Supreme Court refused to grant Postelle a stay of execution. Postelle declined to give any last words.

Personal life Gilbert married Veronica Gale Ward of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 2017 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. A pastor from the Light of God Church in Oklahoma City performed the ceremony, according to the marriage certificate. They divorced in 2020 but remained friends. At the time of his execution, he was engaged to Jackie Thompson.