Published: September 27, 2025
Author: Staff Writer
Ricky Reese, Oklahoma prisoner #197429, has spent the last 35 years in prison for the 1990 murder of his ex-wife’s husband, Billy Keith Adkins, and for kidnapping his ex-wife, Sharlon, and her mother, Estelle. Reese shot Adkins at the door of the home, then held his ex-wife and her mother inside the house until the following morning, when he surrendered peacefully. Now 67 years old, Reese’s case raises serious concerns about the fairness of his representation and the circumstances that led him to plead guilty. Advocates with Injustice Spotlight believe that his continued incarceration, without proper consideration of these issues, constitutes a grave injustice.
At the time of the crime, Reese had no prior criminal history as either a juvenile or adult. He was a working father of two sons, struggling through a contentious custody dispute with his ex-wife. The day before the incident, Ricky missed a custody hearing, which resulted in restricted visitation with his children. When Ricky told his kids about the restrictions, they begged him to go speak with their mother. On the following day, he did so. Ricky maintains that, contrary to the prosecution's assertions, he had no intention of shooting Billy that day.
The events of May 1990 led to tragedy, and Reese ultimately pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison for murder, along with two consecutive 10-year sentences for kidnapping.
One of the most troubling aspects of his case is the firing of his appointed attorney, Richard O’Carroll, who by many accounts was providing him with an aggressive and competent defense. According to reporting in the Tulsa World in 1992, O’Carroll was dismissed from the Tulsa County Public Defender’s Office by then-Chief Public Defender Johnie O’Neal for providing Ricky with too aggressive of a defense. O’Carroll later reached a settlement with the state for wrongful termination, arguing that he was punished for insisting on giving his clients a strong defense. After O’Carroll’s removal, O’Neal himself took over the case. Advocates argue this conflict of interest and disruption of legal strategy left Reese fearful and pressured into pleading guilty rather than risk a death sentence.
Compounding these concerns, Reese’s attorneys never pursued a defense based on mental defect, despite evidence of a serious childhood brain injury. At age five, Reese suffered a severe head injury after being struck with a golf club, requiring hospitalization and rehabilitation. Modern legal standards — shaped by rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court — recognize that neurological impairments and cognitive limitations can and should be considered in determining culpability and sentencing, particularly in capital cases. Yet Reese’s defense team failed to raise these issues or seek exclusion from death penalty eligibility based on his brain injury.
Although the state initially pursued the death penalty, Reese ultimately pleaded guilty and received a life sentence with additional consecutive terms. Advocates maintain that if his defense had presented medical evidence of brain injury and cognitive impairment, and if O’Carroll had been allowed to continue representing him, the outcome might have been substantially different.
In 2012, Ricky Reese was recommended for parole by the Oklahoma Parole Board. Despite the recommendation, then-Governor Mary Fallin refused to approve his parole, leaving him to continue serving his sentence. Following this recommendation, the victim's family visited Reese and stated that they would never forget and that they forgave him. Reese has expressed gratitude for their forgiveness.
Over the decades, Reese’s prison record has remained largely positive. Aside from minor infractions, he has demonstrated stability and maturity as he aged behind bars. Tragically, he has also endured profound personal loss, including the suicide of his son Aaron in 2022.
“Ricky Reese was denied the defense every person deserves,” said an advocate with Injustice Spotlight. “His attorney was fired for doing his job too well, and Ricky was forced into a guilty plea under the looming threat of execution. The jury never heard about his brain injury or its lasting effects. That is not justice. After 35 years in prison, continuing to keep him locked away without addressing these failures only compounds the injustice.”
As Ricky Reese seeks commutation of his sentence and hopes for eventual release, Injustice Spotlight calls for careful reconsideration of the failures that plagued his case. Justice must not only account for the crime but also for the fairness of the process that put a man behind bars for life.