Supporters of Oklahoma City pharmacist deliver petitions Politics Topics

July 5th, 2011 by Leo Truchanas

Supporters of Oklahoma City pharmacist deliver petitions

Petitions containing the signatures of about 17,000 people have been collected by friends and family members of Jerome Ersland, 59, who was convicted of first-degree murder on May 26 for the shooting death of a teenager who tried to rob the south Oklahoma City pharmacy where he worked. Prosecutors said Ersland was justified in shooting 16-year-old Antwun Parker once in the head at the Reliable Discount Pharmacy on May 19, 2009, a shot that knocked him unconscious. But they said Ersland went too far when he grabbed a second gun and fired five more bullets into the unconscious and unarmed teen’s abdomen, wounds the Medical Examiner’s Office said killed him. Petition organizers said Ersland acted in self-defense and should not have been found guilty. “He should have never been charged,” said Karen Monahan, one of several people who have collected signatures at the pharmacy and elsewhere. “He was dealt an injustice. I’m wanting him to be out.” Monahan and Ersland’s son, Jeff Ersland, delivered the petitions to Fallin’s deputy legal counsel, Rebecca Frazier, during a brief meeting in the governor’s office. Jeff Ersland said Fallin did not meet with them personally. “While the Oklahoma County court has ruled on the letter of the law, we hope these petitions will alert Governor Fallin to recognize that a large number of Oklahomans are asking for a more complete justice in this case,” Jeff Ersland said after delivering the petitions. He said supporters want Ersland pardoned of his conviction. In a statement, Fallin’s communications director, Alex Weintz, said Jerome Ersland must follow the normal legal process in appealing his conviction. He is scheduled to be formally sentenced on Monday to life in prison with the possibility of parole. “When convicted of a crime, an individual has the right to petition the Pardon and Parole Board to request his or her sentence be commuted,” Weintz said. If commutation is recommended, the governor conducts her own review before deciding whether to grant the recommendation. Jeff Ersland said his father’s conviction has been “emotionally trying.” “Hope is basically the only thing we have,” he said in the lobby of the governor’s office before meeting with Frazier. “I was definitely surprised by the outcome. It was pretty disappointing.” He said the actions of Parker and a second armed teen who attempted to rob the pharmacy, Jevontai Ingram, provoked his father to defend himself and two female pharmacy employees. “He would probably still be working today if it wasn’t for that,” Jeff Ersland said. Among other things, the petition said its signers “are in shock and outrage” over the guilty verdict and “fear for the safety of our homes and businesses.” “It essentially shows the voice of the state of Oklahoma,” Jeff Ersland said. He said he visits his father weekly at the Oklahoma County Jail where he is being held prior to formal sentencing and that he is buoyed by the support he has received. “He didn’t realize how much support he actually has,” he said. “He looks a little bit more healthy, a little bit more rested.” Ingram, 16, was sentenced to a state juvenile facility after pleading guilty to first-degree murder under Oklahoma’s felony murder law. Two men who prosecutors said recruited the teens and helped plan the robbery, Anthony D. Morrison, 44, and Emanuel Mitchell, 33, were also convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

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