Gov. David Hall, who led the state in the early 1970s and spent a year and a half in federal prison almost immediately after leaving office, died Friday morning in California.
Former Gov. David Walters tweeted Friday saying his predecessor had passed away.
Just notified of the death of the 20th Governor of the State of… https://t.co/Z8cFaVWrH8
— David Walters (@DavidLWalters) May 6, 2016
That was later confirmed by Hall’s daughter Julie Martin, accoding to The Oklahoman’s Rick Green. The 85-year-old former governor had been living in suburban La Jolla, and died at 8:39 a.m. at a San Diego hospital, following a stroke:
"We're in shock and devastated," she said. He was in good spirits after a pacemaker implant and was supposed to be released from the hospital Thursday, but he developed a blood clot that traveled to his brain, she said.
Hall grew up in Oklahoma City, and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 until 1954. He earned a law degree from the University of Tulsa, and served as a county prosecutor and law professor at his alma mater throughout the 1960s.
In the 1970 gubernatorial election, he defeated incumbent Republican and fellow Tulsan Dewey Bartlett in the closest gubernatorial election in Oklahoma history.
The front page of @TheOklahoman when David Hall was elected governor. Hall died today at 85. https://t.co/s4tMbbUvPH pic.twitter.com/w2W8sIOCoO
— Don Mecoy (@Mecoy) May 6, 2016
According to his official state biography published by the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Hall focused on education, transportation infrastructure, and corrections reform during his time in the Governor’s Mansion. He finished third in the 1974 Democratic primary to his eventual successor, state Rep. David Boren, and Congressman Clem McSpadden.
Three days after leaving office he faced a federal indictment for racketeering and extortion on charges he tried to bribe a cabinet secretary. He was convicted, and served 19 months in federal prison in Arizona. The Oklahoma Bar Association revoked his license to practice law, and he relocated to suburban San Diego and left the public spotlight.
He wouldn’t return to the state for 29 years, when he visited the Oklahoma History Center in 2007 as an exhibit about the states governors was unveiled. Decades later, he maintained his innocence in the scandal that ended his political career, and told The Oklahoman in 2012 while promoting his memoir Twisted Justice: A Memoir of Conspiracies and Personal Politics that he wanted to salvage his reputation:
Still, he said he has no illusions about restoring his name in his home state. “The people who made up their minds back then that I was guilty aren't going to change their minds,” he said. But he's OK with that, he said. That's something he addresses in his book as well — the capacity to forgive, though he said it didn't come easy, particularly when he was in prison. “You must forgive and get by it so your life can be full then and beyond,” he said.
Walters did not attend a gathering of Oklahoma's living former governors earlier this year, saying he was caring for his wife. The event was hosted by Gov. Mary Fallin at the Governor's Mansion.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of former Governor David Hall, who died today. https://t.co/CfsXbIdJr3
— Governor Mary Fallin (@GovMaryFallin) May 6, 2016
“I served as a page at the Capitol my sophomore year at Tecumseh High School, and still have the picture Governor Hall took with me," Fallin said in a statement Friday.
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