McALESTER -- Oklahoma County killer John Michael Hooker, 49, was put to death at 6:07 p.m. Tuesday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
He received the death sentence for the 1988 murders of his common-law wife, Sylvia Stokes, 28, and her mother, Drusilla Morgan, 53.
Strapped to a gurney, he leaned up, nodded and smiled to his witnesses, telling them he was good and at peace.
"Y'all stay up," Hooker said. "I'm out. "
A prison official began administering the lethal drugs at 6:05 p.m.
Stokes was in the process of leaving Hooker when she was killed. She and her mother returned to the apartment that she and Hooker had shared to retrieve clothing for the couple's three children.
Stokes and Morgan were stabbed several times with an 8-inch butcher knife.
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Nine of the victims' relatives witnessed the execution.
"I am feeling a sense of relief and like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, personally," said Leonard Stokes, Morgan's son and Sylvia Stokes' brother. "Now I can focus on what is important to me, and that is my family.
"We will always love and remember them. They may be gone physically, but they will never be far from our hearts."
Two spiritual advisers, Hooker's daughter, his sister, his brother and an attorney were set to witness the execution, Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie said.
Hooker's last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to Charlie Price, a spokesman for Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson.
"John Michael Hooker was properly convicted and sentenced for the 1988 murders of Sylvia Stokes and Drusilla Morgan," Edmondson said. "His appeals have been exhausted. The Pardon and Parole Board has rightfully denied clemency. It is time the execution is carried out."
At a March 12 clemency hearing, Hooker's attorneys argued that he was too drunk and high to form the premeditation needed for first-degree murder. State prosecutors, however, said Hooker previously had threatened to kill Stokes and Morgan. Stokes had sought a protective order against him, and the couple had a history of violence.
Hooker was the fourth inmate the state has put to death this year. Four other inmates have pending execution dates.
Grady County killer David J. Brown is set to die Thursday for the 1988 murder of his former father-in-law, Eldon Lee McGuire, 47, in Norge.
Creek County killer Scott Allen Hain is scheduled to be executed April 3 for the 1987 murders of Michael William Houghton, 27, and Laura Lee Sanders, 22, both of Tulsa.
Oklahoma County killer Donald Wilson Hawkins Jr. is set to die April 8 for the 1985 murder of Linda Ann Thompson, 29.
Oklahoma County killer Larry Kenneth Jackson is slated to be put to death April 17 for the 1994 murder of his girlfriend, Wendy Cade, 29.
Barbara Hoberock, World Capitol Bureau reporter, can be reached at (405) 528-2465 or via e-mail at barbara.hoberock@tulsaworld.com.