Oklahoma Set For Execution This Week In 1992 Case

Oklahoma will execute Emmanuel Littlejohn on Thursday, pending any intervention from Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Stitt has not publicly indicated any plans to grant clemency for Littlejohn, despite a recommendation from the Pardon and Parole Board last month.

Littlejohn has been on death row for 30 years after being sentenced to death for his part in a deadly Oklahoma City robbery in 1992. In separate trials, a jury found him and his co-accomplice Glenn Bethany guilty. Bethany was sentenced to life in prison.

But Littlejohn's defense has long argued it was Bethany who pulled the trigger. Bethany and prosecutors have always maintained it was Littlejohn, referring to witness reports.

The owner of the convenience store the pair robbed, Kenneth Meers, was shot and killed during the crime.

Family of Meers urged the Pardon and Parole Board not to recommend clemency for Littlejohn.

“We deserve to have our lives' back and to have loving memories of Kenny and not carry the murder in our hearts forever, if that's possible,” his brother, Bob, said during the hearing.

For his part, Littlejohn admits he participated in the robbery with devastating consequences.

“I am so truly sorry and I remain a work in progress.”

Stitt has only once granted clemency for a death row inmate during his time in office; in 2021 for Julius Jones.