Oklahoma Court Denies Stay for Emmanuel Littlejohn Execution

Death row inmate Emmanuel Littlejohn is scheduled for execution in Oklahoma despite a clemency recommendation from the Pardon and Parole Board, urging Governor Kevin Stitt to spare his life. Littlejohn maintains that he did not kill the convenience store owner during a 1992 robbery, claiming a fellow robber was responsible. Meanwhile, Missouri inmate Marcellus Williams, who has long proclaimed his innocence in the 1998 murder of reporter Felicia Gayle, is set to be executed as well, despite DNA evidence raising doubts about his conviction. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal to halt the execution, and significant questions about the handling of evidence persist. Both cases highlight ongoing debates about the death penalty, innocence claims, and clemency decisions in the U.S. justice system. Activists and family members in both states have issued pleas for mercy, emphasizing the potential for wrongful executions.