Anthony Sanchez Executed for the 1996 Killing of a University of Oklahoma Dance Student

Anthony Sanchez, 44, was executed on September 21, 2023, for the 1996 killing of University of Oklahoma dance student Juli Busken. Sanchez was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m. following a three-drug injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Even though he maintained that he had nothing to do with the killing of Busken, he took the unusual step of opting not to present a clemency application to the state’s Pardon and Parole Board, which many viewed as the last chance to spare his life. Sanchez is the third inmate put to death in Oklahoma this year and the 10th since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty in 2021, ending a six-year moratorium brought on by concerns about its execution methods. The state had one of the nation’s busiest death chambers until problems arose in 2014 and 20151 2 3 4 5.

Here are the key bullet points:

• Anthony Sanchez, 44, was executed on September 21, 2023, for the 1996 killing of University of Oklahoma dance student Juli Busken1 2 3 4 5.
• Sanchez was pronounced dead at 10:19 a.m. following a three-drug injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester12345.
• Even though he maintained that he had nothing to do with the killing of Busken, he took the unusual step of opting not to present a clemency application to the state’s Pardon and Parole Board, which many viewed as the last chance to spare his life12345.
• Sanchez is the third inmate put to death in Oklahoma this year and the 10th since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty in 2021, ending a six-year moratorium brought on by concerns about its execution methods12345.
• The execution of Sanchez has sparked a conversation online about the death penalty and the role of the justice system in addressing violent crime12345.

The execution of Anthony Sanchez for the 1996 killing of Juli Busken has raised questions about the death penalty and the role of the justice system in addressing violent crime.