Anti-Death Penalty Activists Seek Clemency for Emmanuel Littlejohn

Oklahoma City, OK —

Anti-death penalty activists kicked off a campaign seeking clemency for Emmanuel Littlejohn, scheduled to be executed on September 26. Littlejohn was convicted in 1994 for the 1992 murder of a convenience store owner, Kenneth Meers.

Reverend Jeff Hood, a death row spiritual advisor, and Abraham Bonowitz, Co-Founder of Death Penalty Action, argue that Littlejohn's execution would be an injustice due to a lack of clear evidence pointing to his guilt. They claim that witnesses pointed to co-conspirator Glenn Bethany, currently serving a life sentence, as the possible fatal shooter.

"This is not a clear case... We have a number of issues, a number of problems." — Reverend Jeff Hood

In an interview, Littlejohn accepted responsibility for the robbery but maintained his innocence in the murder.

"They don't want to punish me for what I did do... They want to kill me, and I didn't kill nobody." — Emmanuel Littlejohn

The group presented a video appeal asking the people of Oklahoma to contact Governor Kevin Stitt and urge him to grant clemency. They highlight that Stitt has previously spared the life of Julius Jones and has the power to show mercy.

Oklahoma has a long history with the death penalty, ranking second in the country for executions since 1976. Littlejohn's attorneys have exhausted appeals, citing prosecutorial misconduct, but these claims were rejected.

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has scheduled a hearing for August 7 and may recommend changing Littlejohn's punishment to life in prison without parole. Governor Stitt can only grant clemency if the board recommends it.

Sources/URLs:

• Video Appeal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0569Byk5QJE
• Stitt lifts moratorium: https://nondoc.com/2020/02/13/lethal-announcement-oklahoma-to-resume-executions-this-year/
• Prosecutor misconduct claim: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.okwd.56516/gov.uscourts.okwd.56516.34.0.pdf
• Appeals rejection: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.okwd.56516/gov.uscourts.okwd.56516.92.0.pdf