On Monday, anti-death penalty activists launched a campaign to seek clemency for the inmate next in line for execution in Oklahoma, USA Today reports. Emmanuel Littlejohn, who was convicted in 1994 for the 1992 murder of a convenience store owner, was given an execution date of September 26 by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Reverend Jeff Hood, a death row spiritual advisor, and Abraham Bonowitz, Death Penalty Action Co-Founder Executive Director, argued that evidence pointing towards Littlejohn's co-conspirator Glenn Bethany, who is serving a life sentence, being the person that fired the fatal shot, made the scheduled execution an injustice. Littlejohn accepted responsibility for his role in the robbery but maintained his innocence in the murder, "They don't want to punish me for what I did do, the robbery and all that," Littlejohn said. "They want to kill me and I didn't kill nobody."
The group presented a video asking Oklahomans to advocate for Governor Kevin Stitt to grant Littlejohn clemency. Stitt has used his clemency power once, sparing the life of Julius Jones after a high-profile advocacy campaign. The state has executed 13 people since Stitt lifted a moratorium on executions in 2020. "Governor Stitt has a moral responsibility to the people of Oklahoma to do the right thing no matter what he has done in the past," Hood said. "I'm an old preacher, I believe it's possible for people to get saved." Oklahoma has executed 124 people since 1976, the second most in the U.S. since the reinstatement of capital punishment. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board could recommend Littlejohn's punishment be changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole in a hearing scheduled for August 7. Stitt can only act if the board recommends clemency.
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