Death row inmate set to be executed this week awaits clemency decision by Oklahoma governor
By Jason Burger
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OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (KOCO) — A man convicted of a deadly 1992 robbery at an Oklahoma City convenience store faces his execution date this week after the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended his clemency in August.
Emmanuel Littlejohn claims he did not kill convenience store owner Kenneth Meers during the robbery, maintaining his innocence in front of the Pardon and Parole Board. With his execution scheduled for Thursday, Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has the final say on if the execution will be stopped, has not said whether he will grant clemency for the death row inmate.
“Please don’t kill my son. Give him a second chance. Don’t kill him. Wouldn’t do no good to kill him,” Ceily Mason, Littlejohn’s mother, said during his clemency hearing. “We just glad, and we’re just going to keep on praying and hope everything works out.”
Littlejohn has always said that he’s innocent of murder, although he admitted his involvement in the robbery at the same convenience store.
“I committed a robbery that had devastating consequences, but I repeat, I did not kill Mr. Meers,” Littlejohn said.
The death row inmate said it was his accomplice in the crime that shot and killed Meers.
Bill Meers, the brother of the victim, said this has forever changed the family’s lives.
“It affected everything: my marriage, my friendships, the way I treat people. Everything in our lives was affected and cannot and will not forgive this man for carelessly deciding Kenny’s life meant nothing,” Bill Meers said.
Last month, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said they will fight the board’s recommendation.
“My office intends to make our case to the governor why there should not be clemency granted to this violent and manipulative killer,” Drummond said.
In August, the state’s Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 to recommend clemency for Littlejohn. Stitt has not taken any action on the case since the vote.
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