Condemned Murderer To Be Executed Thursday 36 Years After Killing of Putnam City Schools Teacher

Death row inmate Bigler Stouffer is soon to be executed Thursday for the murder of a Putnam City Schools teacher.

Stouffer was convicted of killing Linda Reaves. Reaves was fatally shot 36 years ago.

Stouffer will be the first death row inmate executed since John Grant's October execution where media witnesses reported Grant vomited and convulsed during the execution.

Reaves was 34 years old and a 3rd grade teacher at Hilldale Elementary School.

“When I think of Linda’s murder, I think of the way she died,” Reaves’ sister, Dana Wheat, told the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board in November. “It never leaves me. I can see her face, I hear her voice, I can just hear her screaming.”

Last month, Reaves' family told the pardon and parole board they live in fear of her murderer.

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Prosecutors argued Stouffer staged the 1985 crime scene to look like a murder-suicide, but his second victim, Reaves’ boyfriend, survived being shot in the face.

According to testimony at the trial, Stouffer placed a jailhouse phone call to his girlfriend and said, "I left them both for dead.”

Stouffer maintains his innocence.

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The Thursday execution will be the first since media reports indicated murderer John Grant vomited and convulsed on the execution table.

A state's expert witness anesthesiologist testified the vomit was more like acid reflux, a passive regurgitation. He also downplayed Grant's chest movements and said he was not conscious or aware of pain.

Gov. Kevin Stitt denied clemency for Stouffer last Friday. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a stay of execution for him on Monday.

Stouffer has made a final appeal for a stay to the U.S. Supreme Court. His execution is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday.