Vigil, protest held for prisoner's execution after 6-month moratorim
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KTUL) — Jemaine Cannon is set to be put to death at 10 a.m. Thursday morning for the murder of Sharonda White Clark in 1995.
After a six-month hiatus, executions are set to resume with Cannon's execution after he was denied clemency.
The Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty delivered petitions to Governor Kevin Stitt's office yesterday hoping to halt Thursday's execution, but the execution is still on schedule.
Those opposed to the death penalty will attend a vigil outside the governor's house.
"Part of our call is to humanize the offender, as much as possible, humanize the inmate, and so we are there during the prayer vigil to lift him up and pray for him, and we pray for the victim's family as well," said Reverand Don Heath with Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
"It's really, to me, tragic to execute this man. He's almost blind and almost deaf, and he's likely to die in a year anyways from an anti-immune disorder. To execute a man that hopeless and dying, that's just particularly cruel."
Heath said this is a moment of reflection and prayer, not a protest.
There is a protest planned at the same time outside the gates of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
The vigil and protest are open to the public. Heath said people will start gathering at 9:30 a.m.
As for the potential delay of execution, there is currently no pending appeal. Governor Stitt only has the power to delay the execution by 60 days.
Source: KTUL, Mckenzie Richmond, July 20, 2023
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