Bio 

Jerry Lynn McCracken was born on September 28, 1967, in the United States. McCracken later served in the United States Army, making him a military veteran before his criminal notoriety. At some point during his youth or early adulthood, he left school before graduating and entered military service. Later accounts described a history of alcohol abuse, behavioral instability, and violent outbursts. During appeals and clemency proceedings, defense attorneys argued that he struggled with mental health and personality disorders, including diagnoses that reportedly included bipolar and antisocial traits. 

Before the 1990 murders, McCracken had already established a violent criminal record. In 1989, he was convicted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon after stabbing and wounding three people during an incident at a bar in Lawton, Oklahoma. He later claimed the stabbings were committed in self-defense, but the conviction remained part of the record used against him during the murder trial. He was released on pre-parole status in July 1990, only a few months before the Tulsa killings.

While imprisoned later in life, McCracken said he had attempted suicide and spoke openly about anger problems. He stated that medication eventually helped control his temper. During his years on death row, he became involved in religious activities, read the Bible regularly, attended services, and corresponded with prison ministries. He also said he accepted Christianity on September 2, 1991, shortly before his conviction.

Murder Story

On the night of October 13, 1990, Jerry Lynn McCracken and David Keith Lawrence spent several hours drinking at the New Ferndale Lounge in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After most customers had left, prosecutors said the two men decided to rob the bar.

During the robbery, four people were shot with a .22-caliber pistol: Steve Allen Smith, Tyrell Lee Boyd, Timothy Edward Sheets, and bartender Carole Ann McDaniels. Some victims died at the scene, while others later died at a hospital. About $350 was taken from the lounge.

At trial, McCracken blamed Lawrence and said he was not the gunman. Lawrence, who accepted a plea deal, testified that McCracken carried out the shootings. A jury convicted McCracken in September 1991 of four counts of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death. Lawrence received life sentences plus 20 years.

After years of appeals, McCracken later admitted responsibility and said, “I am guilty. I have no excuse.” He was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on December 10, 2002. Before his death, he apologized to the victims’ families and told his mother, “I’ll see you in heaven.”