Oklahoma judge rules death row inmate not competent to be executed

By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge has determined that a death row inmate is not competent to be executed for his role in the 1999 slayings of two people. Pittsburg County Judge Michael Hogan issued an order Thursday in the case involving 61-year-old James Ryder. Hogan’s decision followed a competency hearing this week in which two experts testified Ryder suffers a psychotic disorder diagnosed as schizophrenia. Ryder was scheduled to be executed last month for his role in the slayings of a mother and son in Pittsburg County over a property dispute.