Attorney general says victim’s family has endured decades of pain as inmate seeks clemency ahead of August execution date
OKLAHOMA CITY — Attorney General Gentner Drummond is urging the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to deny clemency for Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez, the death row inmate convicted in the 2003 killing of Oklahoma City resident Olimpia Fisher.
In a statement released Monday, Drummond said Cuesta-Rodriguez should not receive clemency ahead of his scheduled Aug. 13 execution.
According to the attorney general’s office, prosecutors said Cuesta-Rodriguez stalked and abused Fisher for months before killing her at her Oklahoma City home. Fisher’s 18-year-old pregnant daughter was only a few feet away when the shooting began, and prosecutors said a second, fatal shot was fired approximately eight minutes later.
“Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez is a violent domestic abuser and murderer who should not be granted the mercy he refused to show to Olimpia Fisher,” Drummond said in a statement. “Olimpia’s daughters and family have endured unimaginable pain for the past 23 years. I am committed to seeing that justice is done for their loved one.”
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is scheduled to consider Cuesta-Rodriguez’s clemency request on July 14. If the board recommends clemency, the matter would proceed to the governor for a final decision. If no relief is granted, Cuesta-Rodriguez is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 13.
