Feb. 22—An Oklahoma Republican lawmaker again called for a moratorium on the death penalty, citing a new poll that shows a majority of residents support it.

State Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, said Wednesday an Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty poll conducted last month showed more than 75% of Oklahomans support a pause on executions.

“We’re calling on our state to issue a moratorium on death row,” McDugle said during a livestreamed press conference.

Demetrius Minor, national manager of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, said the poll showed Oklahomans “prefer some version of a life sentence over the death penalty 52% to 36%” and “78% of Oklahoma citizens support pausing executions or issuing a moratorium.

Minor said the data showed 75% of Oklahoma Republicans support pausing executions — which he said shows Oklahoma conservatives are concerned about executions.

“It is an extreme use of state power deeply at odds with our limited government beliefs and it doesn’t align with consistent life ethics,” Minor said.

Minor said a pause on executions is necessary to ensure an innocent person is not executed and urged Oklahoma leaders to listen to the results of the poll.

“I believe these results say clearly, confidently, and concisely, that it is time for the state of Oklahoma to put into place a moratorium for the use of the death penalty,” Minor said.

Former Chairman of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board member Adam Luck and Pastor John-Mark Hart also joined the press conference.

McDugle said he wants to see policies implemented in the criminal justice system that keep an innocent person from being executed.

“Oklahoma has had over 120 executions since 1976, out of those, we’ve had 10 that were exonerated after they went through the full process because of DNA. And me personally I believe we have one more person that’s still on death row, at least one, that’s still innocent.”

McDugle previously said he believes Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip is innocent and said he would fight to abolish the death penalty in Oklahoma if Glossip is executed.

Glossip is scheduled to be executed in May 2023. The lawmaker also said he wants to see more swift executions for people who are guilty without a doubt of their crimes.

“We got to be able to get to a swift execution, fast,” McDugle said. “We cant take 25 or 30 years. So it pains me, honestly, to have to say lets put a moratorium on. But I would rather have a moratorium and have people who are guilty wait, then to execute an innocent man.”

The state of Oklahoma is currently set to execute seven death row inmates in 2023 after the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals granted a request for more time between executions made by the Oklahoma Attorney General.

Oklahoma has conducted eight executions since October 2021 after a nearly seven-year moratorium on the death penalty.

“We’ve got to come up with a solution,” McDugle said. “You can’t look at our justice system today and say it’s a perfect system. Changes have to be made.”