Summary
James Dwight Pavatt, 72, was sentenced to death in Oklahoma for the 2001 murder of Rob Andrew, 39, an Oklahoma City advertising executive. Prosecutors said Pavatt killed him as part of a plot with Andrew's wife, Brenda Andrew, with whom Pavatt was having an affair. She was also sentenced to death and is the only woman on Oklahoma's death row.
His execution by lethal injection is scheduled for Thursday 12 November 2026 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. On 14 October 2026, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3–2 against recommending clemency. Pavatt maintains he is innocent.
The crime
James Pavatt, an insurance salesman, and Brenda Andrew met while teaching Sunday school at an Oklahoma City church and began an affair. Pavatt was also a friend of Brenda's husband, Rob Andrew, and had helped him set up a life insurance policy worth $800,000. Brenda Andrew filed for divorce in October 2001.
On 20 November 2001, Rob Andrew went to the family home to collect his two children for Thanksgiving. According to prosecutors, Brenda Andrew drew him into the garage, saying she needed help lighting the furnace pilot light, and he was shot twice with a shotgun. Brenda Andrew suffered a superficial gunshot wound to her arm and told police two masked men had attacked them. Prosecutors said the wound was inflicted to make the killing look like a robbery.
Prosecutors from the Oklahoma Attorney General's office argued that Pavatt wanted both Rob Andrew's money and his wife. They also said that in the weeks before his death, Rob Andrew told several people that his estranged wife had found someone who would kill him.
Legal history
- 20 November 2001Rob Andrew shot and killed at the family home in Oklahoma City
- 14 September 2003Pavatt found guilty of first-degree murder by an Oklahoma County jury and later sentenced to death
- Separate trialBrenda Andrew also convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy and sentenced to death
- January 202610th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Brenda Andrew's conviction and death sentence by 3 votes to 0; she continues to appeal
- August 2026Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond asks for an execution date for Pavatt
- 27 August 2026Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals sets execution for 12 November 2026
- 14 October 2026Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board votes 3–2 against recommending clemency
Current status
The execution is scheduled for Thursday 12 November 2026 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. It would be Oklahoma's fourth execution of 2026, and its last of the year.
On 14 October 2026, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3–2 against recommending clemency. Under Oklahoma law, the governor can only grant clemency if the board recommends it.
Pavatt maintains he is innocent. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, he previously confessed to the shooting while saying Brenda Andrew was not involved. His current lawyers argue there is no credible evidence that he was the gunman, saying prosecutors told Brenda Andrew's jury that she fired the shots but told Pavatt's jury that he did, and that the prosecutor later admitted a confession attributed to Pavatt was false.
Brenda Andrew remains on death row and is still appealing her conviction.