Published: June 11, 2009 10:33 pm      

Thank you, jury

EDMOND — An Oklahoma County jury this week convicted 31-year-old Marcus Isaiah Clancy in the death of 5-year-old Declan Stewart in 2007. The jury is recommending life with parole as Clancy’s sentence.

We wish to express our gratitude for the conviction in this terrible crime. No child should ever suffer the way Declan Stewart did before his death.

In his short time on this earth, Declan visited the emergency room at least six times, and with injuries that most adults will never know the pain of. We’re grateful that most will not know the type of suffering Declan knew, but infinitely sad that this small child had to bear this type of pain.

What this case highlights is that far too many Oklahoma mothers make poor choices in boyfriends and mates, and their children pay the price. In this case, Declan paid the ultimate price by living — and dying — with an abusive person in his home.

This case also highlights yet again that our state safety net for children also failed. Declan had been removed from the home, only to be returned there, which became his death sentence.

One bright spot in this case is that a murderer is not walking free to harm anyone else in our community.

This board would like to thank Edmond Police Detective Mark Oak for his ingenious work in solving this case. He and other officers worked tirelessly to build a solid case against Clancy.

Clancy told police that Declan climbed on top of something in a closet trying to reach a pair of binoculars and fell, hitting the back of his head against a metal bed rail. By re-enacting what allegedly happened to the boy, Oak and his fellow officers were able to determine that scenario could not possibly work with the type of injuries suffered by Declan when factoring in his height and weight. And for the record, Declan died of blunt force trauma to the head plus serious internal injuries, including one to the pancreas.

This community can rest easier this weekend knowing that Clancy will remain in jail and that law enforcement officers like Detective Oak are working on our behalf to keep our residents safe and see that justice is served.