An eastern Oklahoma woman sentenced to die in prison for a murder characterized as self-defense is seeing a glimmer of hope.
KWGS reported last year on the case of 72-year-old Cathy Lamb. In 1991, when Lamb was 39, she shot 23-year-old Darrell Lovell to death outside a bar near Poteau. Lovell was in an argument with Lamb’s boyfriend.
During the confrontation, Lamb, who’s about five feet tall and weighed less than 100 pounds at the time, says the nearly 200 pound, 5’10” Lovell “shoved her in the face.” Lamb maintains she meant to fire the gun she was holding in the air but accidentally shot Lovell instead.
The district attorney who prosecuted Lamb, Mike Sullivan, has long said her life without parole sentence was excessive for what amounted to self-defense.
“I hope somehow, someday she gets out of prison,” Sullivan wrote to KWGS in 2024.
Now, more than three decades after Lamb’s crime, Sullivan’s wish may become a reality.
At a commutation hearing for Lamb on Tuesday, Oklahoma's parole board members commented on the uniqueness of Sullivan’s regret.
“It’s unusual. We come here and sit on this board every month and don’t see these things,” said former judge Richard Miller.
“I’ve been a prosecutor. It’s meaningful,” said Sean Malloy.
A handful of Lamb’s advocates were at the hearing, including former state Senator Connie Johnson and former LeFlore County Judge George McBee. McBee was on the bench at the time of Lamb’s conviction and volunteered to be her pro bono attorney after retiring.
“It’s the worst miscarriage of justice I’ve ever seen,” said McBee in an interview with KWGS.
He emphasized the domestic violence Lamb — who grew up in poverty and first married at 14 — experienced throughout her life.
Not everyone in attendance supported Lamb. Lovell’s family continues to protest her release.
Dennis Lovell was about 21 years old when he saw his brother get shot in the parking lot of the Why Not? Club in Bokoshe.
“She shot him. She didn’t have to,” said Lovell. “I think about it all the time.”
The parole board softened their unanimous vote to commute Lamb’s sentence by affirming the Lovells’ grief and rage. Kevin Buchanan directly addressed the family, saying they had every right to be angry but that the case is no longer about Lamb’s innocence.
“What this is about is what’s happened in the last 34 years,” said Buchanan. “We shouldn’t have non-dangerous, 72-year-old people in prison.”
Lamb, who’s partially paralyzed and wheelchair-bound, has taught art and reading at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center along with a variety of other jobs. She’s never had a misconduct.
Lamb addressed the board herself via video conference, tearfully reading from a letter.
“I am not an incorrigible person,” she said. “Please give me a chance to prove myself.”
Lamb’s sentence will be commuted to life from life without parole if Gov. Kevin Stitt approves. She may become eligible for parole this year.
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