A 50-year-old American was executed Thursday in Oklahoma for killing a man with a hammer in 1997 after the governor denied his request for clemency, state prison officials said. James Coddington received a lethal injection at McAlester Prison.
He was pronounced dead at 10:16 a.m. local time, Oklahoma Corrections Director Scott Crow said, adding that the process went “smoothly.”
Ten executed since the beginning of the year
Oklahoma, a rural and conservative southern state, resumed executions in October 2021, after a six-year hiatus due to botched executions.
This state is the one that executed the highest number of prisoners in 2022, with three executions.
The state Board of Pardons and Paroles had recommended clemency for James Coddington, but Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt rejected his request on Wednesday. Ten prisoners have been executed in the United States since the beginning of the year, most in southern states, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).
Source: BFM TV
