A Comanche County judge has granted Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s motion to have death row inmate Ricky Ray Malone reevaluated for his eligibility to receive the death penalty.
Malone was sentenced to death for the 2003 first-degree murder of Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Nik Green. Malone fatally shot Green after he stopped to check on his vehicle, which was parked on the side of the road in Cotton County.
“Trooper Green’s family has waited more than 20 excruciating years for justice to be served,” Drummond said in a press release after the reevaluation was granted. “At long last, this case appears to be moving forward, and we are one step closer to justice being served on the monster who took the life of Trooper Green.”
In 2017, Malone was deemed not mentally competent for execution and was moved off death row in McAlester to the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita.
Due process laws prohibit the trial and/or execution of an incompetent defendant. A person is deemed incompetent if they lack the ability to understand the charges brought against them or can't rationally understand why they are being executed.
A person can be restored to competency after receiving proper restoration services, such as education, medication and treatment. In Oklahoma, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is responsible for providing restoration services at the forensic center.
However, the process of restoring competency can pose ethical and practical concerns for lawyers and medical professionals. For people with severe mental disorders, a period of lucidity is often the exception, not the norm.
In December, Drummond filed a motion requesting Malone be reevaluated. Malone’s competency has not been checked in more than six years.
An agreement on reevaluation requirements is due March 5. Then, if he is determined to be competent, Malone will once again be eligible for the death penalty.
After the ruling, Oklahoma House Rep. Trey Caldwell, R-Faxon, praised Drummond’s efforts.
“I am hopeful this evaluation will show Malone is fit to pay the ultimate price for brutally murdering a public servant in the line of duty," Caldwell said.
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