Oklahoma will resume executions on Aug. 25 and carry out lethal injections in stages through the end of 2024 under a schedule made public Friday morning.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals set 25 execution dates for convicted murderers who have exhausted appeals of their convictions and sentences.
First up in August is James Coddington who beat a friend to death with a claw hammer in 1997. His attorney said in a statement Friday he "embodies the principle of redemption."
"Prison staff have given him accolades for his problem-free record and commitment to serving the prison community and engaging in academic study over his 15 years on death row. James is the most deeply and sincerely remorseful client I have ever represented,” attorney Emma Rolls said.
Second up in September is Richard Glossip, who was within an hour of being executed in 2015 when a doctor realized the wrong drug had been delivered.
His innocence claim has drawn widespread support, notably from actress Susan Sarandon who won an Academy Award in 1996 for her portrayal of death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean in "Dead Man Walking."
He also has found support at the state Legislature. State Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, said June 15 that a new "independent investigation confirmed, in my mind, that we do have an innocent man on death row.”
Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor asked for the dates after 28 inmates lost their federal lawsuit challenging the lethal injection protocol. Two of those inmates have not exhausted their appeals and a third may be too mentally impaired to be executed.
Another 15 also still have appeals pending.
Executions are carried out at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester on Thursdays. Two inmates were put to death there last year and two more this year.
After the first execution phase was set Friday, the attorney general said the family members of murder victims have waited decades for justice.
"They are courageous and inspiring in their continued expressions of love for the ones they lost," O'Connor said. "My office stands beside them as they take this next step in the journey that the murderers forced upon them.
"Oklahomans overwhelmingly voted in 2016 to preserve the death penalty as a consequence for the most heinous murders. I’m certain that justice and safety for all of us drove that vote."
Inmates still can seek clemency before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. The governor gets the final say, but only if the board recommends a sentence reduction. Gov. Kevin Stitt in November commuted the death sentence of Julius Jones about four hours before his execution was to begin.
Inmates also still could get execution stays while they appeal their lawsuit loss. An Oklahoma City federal judge dismissed the lawsuit June 6 after ruling the state's lethal injection protocol does not violate the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
Glossip Friday morning raised a new challenge to his conviction based on the investigative report's findings. Others could be spared if they are found to be no longer mentally competent.
Corrections officials had asked that the executions be at least four weeks apart. The attorney general had asked the appeals court to set as many as possible that way.
The parole board asked for a schedule that allowed it to have only one clemency hearing a month, during its regular meeting.
The judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals explained in an order they were dividing the execution dates into phases so they can respond to unforeseen contingencies in the future.
"These execution dates are (obviously) subject to change due to unforeseen delays or other circumstances that may arise," they wrote. "This Court will adjust the execution schedule as needed to ensure that executions progress in a timely and orderly manner.
"An open month will separate each phase ... to accommodate rescheduling if needed."
Most of the 25 inmates "are ... vulnerable individuals who suffer from severe mental illness and experienced horrific trauma and deprivation throughout their childhoods," their attorneys said.
"Many also are brain-damaged, several are floridly psychotic, and at least one is a person with intellectual disability. Their cases reveal other deep flaws in Oklahoma’s capital punishment system, including racial bias, prosecutorial misconduct, and arbitrariness."
Scheduled for execution are:
- James Coddington on Aug. 25 for murdering a friend, Albert Troy Hale, 73, in Choctaw during a cocaine binge and robbery spree in 1997. He is 50.
- Richard Glossip on Sept. 22 for the 1997 beating death of his boss, Oklahoma City motel owner Barry Van Treese. He is 59. A motel maintenance man confessed, saying Glossip offered to pay him $10,000 to do it to keep from being fired.
- Benjamin Cole on Oct. 20 for killing his infant daughter in 2002 in Claremore because she wouldn't stop crying. He is 57.
- Richard Fairchild on Nov. 17 for fatally beating his girlfriend's 3-year-old son in Del City in 1993. He is 62.
- John Hanson on Dec. 15 for fatally shooting a woman in 1999 after kidnapping her from a Tulsa mall during a carjacking. He is 58.
- Scott Eizember on Jan. 12, 2023, for bludgeoning an elderly man to death in 2003 after breaking into the victim's home in Depew to spy on an ex-girlfriend. He is 61.
- Jemaine Cannon on March 9, 2023, for fatally stabbing his girlfriend at her Tulsa apartment in 1995 after escaping from a state Corrections Department work center. He is 50.
- Anthony Castillo Sanchez on April 6, 2023, for murdering University of Oklahoma ballerina Juli Busken in Norman in 1996 after raping her. He is 43.
- Phillip Hancock on May 4, 2023 for fatally shooting two men in Oklahoma City in 2001. He is 58.
- James Ryder on June 1, 2023, for bludgeoning a 70-year-old woman to death in 1999 at her Pittsburg County home over a property dispute. He is 60.
- Michael Dewayne Smith on July 6, 2023, for two fatal shootings in Oklahoma City in 2002. He is 40.
- Wade Lay on Aug. 3, 2023, for fatally shooting a Tulsa bank guard during an attempted robbery in 2004. He is 61. His execution will be called off if a jury in May finds him mentally incompetent.
- Richard Rojem on Oct. 5, 2023, for murdering a 7-year-old girl in 1984 after kidnapping her from an Elk City apartment and raping her. He is 64.
- Emmanuel Littlejohn on Nov. 2, 2023, for fatally shooting an Oklahoma City convenience store owner during a robbery in 1992. He is 50.
- Kevin Underwood on Dec. 7, 2023, for killing a 10-year-old Purcell girl in 2006 because of his cannibalistic fantasies. He is 42.
- Wendell Grissom on Jan. 11, 2024, for a 2005 fatal shooting at a rural Blaine County home during a burglary. He is 53.
- Tremane Wood on Feb. 8, 2024, for fatally stabbing a migrant farm worker from Montana during a robbery at an Oklahoma City motel on Jan. 1, 2002. He is 42.
- Kendrick Simpson on March 7, 2024, for killing two men in a drive-by shooting in 2006 in Oklahoma City after a confrontation at a nightclub. He is 41.
- Raymond Johnson on May 2, 2024, for killing his girlfriend and their infant daughter in 2007 in Tulsa. He is 48.
- Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez on June 6, 2024, for fatally shooting his wife in 2003 in Oklahoma City. He is 66.
- James Pavatt on July 11, 2024, for the 2001 fatal shooting of his lover's estranged husband in Oklahoma City. He is 68. The girlfriend, Brenda Andrew, also was sentenced to death for her role in the murder.
- Clarance Goode Jr. on Aug. 8, 2024, for a triple murder in Owasso in 2005. One victim was a 10-year-old girl. He is 46.
- Ronson Kyle Bush on Sept. 5, 2024, for fatally shooting a friend in 2008 in Grady County. He is 45.
- Alfred Brian Mitchell on Oct. 3, 2024, for bludgeoning to death a counselor at an Oklahoma City recreation center in 1991. He is 49.
- Marlon Harmon on Dec. 5, 2024, for killing an Oklahoma City convenience store owner in 2004 during a robbery. He is 41.
