AG Drummond urges court to reject Alton Nolen’s appeal in 2014 Vaughan Foods beheading case

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has filed a response urging a federal court to deny death row inmate Alton Nolen's latest appeal, asserting that Nolen should not be granted habeas corpus relief.

In the documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Drummond argued that Nolen, whom he described as a "radical Islamist," acted with clear intent when he murdered Colleen Hufford at Vaughan Foods in Moore in 2014.

Nolen, who was sentenced to death in 2017, also received multiple life sentences for a series of violent assaults that took place during the same incident.

The attack occurred when Nolen entered the Vaughan Foods facility armed with a butcher knife. Nolen beheaded Hufford and critically wounded another employee, Traci Johnson.

In interviews with law enforcement, Nolen cited ISIS-inspired executions in the Middle East as motivation for his actions.

>> 'I Beheaded The First Woman' - Alton Nolen Interviews Played In Trial

Drummond's office is asking the federal court to reject any claims that might overturn the conviction or sentence, arguing that justice was appropriately served and that Nolen remains a danger to the public.

Background: Conviction and Charges

In 2017, a jury found Alton Nolen guilty on all six charges related to the brutal attack at Vaughan Foods. After just over two hours of deliberation, jurors returned a unanimous verdict convicting Nolen of:

1. First-degree murder for the beheading of Colleen Hufford
2. Assault and battery with a deadly weapon for attacking Traci Johnson
3. Four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon for separate attacks on coworkers Mark Vaughan, Gary Hazelrigg, Bryan Aylor, and Mark Vanderpool

>> Alton Nolen Found Guilty For Beheading At Vaughan Foods

During the trial, Nolen’s defense attempted an insanity plea, which prosecutors refuted. “The defendant is not insane and he killed for his own vengeance,” Prosecutor Caswell said.

Colleen Hufford’s daughter, Kelli Hufford, responded to the verdict by calling for a swift sentencing phase that would result in the death penalty. “None of this will ever bring my mother back to us,” she said, “but there is a greater sense of closure as justice continues to be administered and our family embraces the healing process.”