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Convicted Oklahoma murderer James Coddington was executed on Thursday morning, just one day after the governor declined to commute his sentence despite a recommendation from the state’s Pardon and Parole Board that his life be spared.
Coddington, 50, received a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was pronounced dead at 10:16 a.m. Gov. Kevin Stitt declined to commute Coddington’s sentence to life in prison without parole and rejected his petition for clemency. Coddington was the fifth Oklahoma inmate to be put to death since the state resumed executions last year.
Coddington was convicted and sentenced to die for beating 73-year-old Albert Hale to death with a hammer in 1997. Prosecutors say Coddington, then 24, became enraged when Hale refused to give him money to buy cocaine.
OKLAHOMA GOV. KEVIN STITT REJECTS CLEMENCY FOR DEATH ROW INMATE
FILE – In this photo from a video screen, death row inmate James Coddington speaks to the Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City.
(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
During a clemency hearing this month before the state’s five-member Pardon and Parole Board, an emotional Coddington apologized to Hale’s family and said he was a different man today.
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This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
