Oklahoma Death Row Inmate Claims Innocence Ahead of Scheduled Execution

Emmanuel Littlejohn, scheduled to be executed on September 26, maintains that he was not the triggerman in the 1992 robbery and shooting that resulted in the death of Kenneth Meers.

Littlejohn Seeks Forgiveness from Victim's Family

"I know how they feel but please forgive me. I feel their pain every day." — Emmanuel Littlejohn, speaking to USA TODAY.

Littlejohn, while accepting responsibility for his role in the robbery, has always asserted that his accomplice, Glenn Bethany, was the one who fired the fatal shot.

Anti-Death Penalty Activist Leads Clemency Campaign

The Rev. Jeff Hood, an anti-death penalty activist, has been advocating for Littlejohn's clemency, questioning the ambiguity surrounding the shooter's identity:

"I believe that the district attorney and the prosecutors created a situation where it should be impossible to execute someone because you aren't sure that the person that you're executing is the actual shooter." — Rev. Jeff Hood, in an interview with USA TODAY.

Oklahoma Attorney General Pushes for Execution

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond released a statement opposing clemency for Littlejohn, characterizing him as a "violent and manipulative criminal who refuses to take responsibility for his actions."

The Case of Emmanuel Littlejohn

• On June 19, 1992, Littlejohn and Bethany robbed the Root-N-Scoot convenience store in south Oklahoma City. Kenneth Meers, the 31-year-old store owner, was killed by a single shot to the face as he charged at the robbers with a broom.
• Witnesses differed on who fired the gun, but clemency activists for Littlejohn highlight witness statements claiming the "taller man" was the shooter, referring to Bethany.
• Bethany was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1993.
• Littlejohn was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1994. A second jury in 2000 also voted for the death penalty during a resentencing trial due to improper testimony from a jailhouse informant.
• A central issue in Littlejohn's appeal is a claim of prosecutorial misconduct, as the same prosecutor argued that Bethany was the shooter in the first trial and then argued that Littlejohn was the shooter in the subsequent trial.
• These claims have been rejected on appeal, with the Court of Criminal Appeals finding that the prosecutor did not act improperly given the "uncertainty of the evidence."
• Littlejohn's execution is currently scheduled for September 26.