Verna Stafford, the last living perpetrator of the infamous Sirloin Stockade massacre, was denied parole on Tuesday by Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Stafford, 73, is serving one of two life sentences for her part in nine murders.
"I just want you to know that I'm very sorry for what happened," she said during an appearance before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board in August.
Roger Dale Stafford, his wife, Verna, and his brother, Harold, brutally shot and killed six Sirloin Stockade employees while they robbed the Oklahoma City restaurant in 1978.
Three weeks earlier, the Staffords had flagged down a car on the side of Interstate 35 near Purcell and killed the three-person family inside. The victims were traveling from Texas to a funeral in North Dakota.
Roger Stafford was convicted of all nine murders after Verna testified against him at trial. He was executed in 1995. Harold died in a motorcycle accident six days after participating in the restaurant mass shooting.
Board members voted 3-2 to recommend Verna Stafford for parole last month, but addressed the public's dissatisfaction with the possibility of her commutation.
"We're not talking about releasing Miss Stafford," board member Kevin Buchanan said. "The state of Oklahoma did not seek the death penalty against Miss Stafford … they made a deal with her to testify against Roger Dale Stafford and ensure that he got the death penalty. The state got what they wanted out of her, and she agreed to be incarcerated."
Buchanan voted in favor of the recommendation, along with Susan Stava and board chairman Robert Reavis II. Richard Miller and Sean Malloy voted not to recommend parole.
Even if Stitt had agreed with the board's recommendation that she be approved for parole, Stafford would not have been released from prison. Instead, she would have begun serving her second life sentence, which isn't eligible for parole for another 15 years.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
