WASHINGTON: A man was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Oklahoma on Thursday, officials said, and Alabama carried out an execution by nitrogen gas, the second such method in the United States. The two killings bring the total number of executions in the United States this year to 18, including five in the past week. Emmanuel Littlejohn, 52, was executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma for killing 31-year-old Kenneth Meers during a 1992 robbery. Although he admitted to being at the crime scene, he always denied being the one who shot Meers. He and his accomplice Glenn Bethany blamed each other for the murder. Both men were convicted of murder, but Bethany received a life sentence while Littlejohn was sentenced to death. In August, the state Board of Pardons recommended that Littlejohn’s sentence be commuted, despite opposition from some of the victim’s family. In an interview with NPR on Wednesday, Littlejohn urged Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt to intervene. “Governor, don’t kill me for the hell of it,” Littlejohn said. Stitt, a Republican who has exercised his clemency only once, ultimately denied the request. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said Thursday that “justice was served in the killing of Kenny Meers.” In Alabama, Alan Miller was executed for a 1999 workplace shooting that killed three co-workers: Lee Holdbrooks, Christopher Scott Yancy, and Terry Lee Jarvis. Miller, 59, was executed at Atmore Prison by pumping nitrogen gas into a face mask, suffocating him. The method was controversially used by Alabama for the first time in January, despite the United Nations comparing it to a form of torture. Miller struggled against the restraints on the gurney as he suffocated, shook and shook for two minutes, local media reported. His movements were similar but reportedly not as violent as when nitrogen hypoxia was first used, local media reported. During a previous such execution, 58-year-old Kenneth Smith allegedly thrashed himself for several minutes. State officials later attributed the convulsions to Smith trying to hold his breath. The White House, under Democratic President Joe Biden, said it was “deeply concerned” about Alabama’s January use of nitrogen. It has also drawn rebuke from civil liberties groups, the European Union and the UN Human Rights Office. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, announced in advance that she would not pardon Miller. A previous attempt to execute Miller by lethal injection in September 2022 was called off at the last minute due to difficulties in inserting an intravenous tube and administering the lethal chemicals within the allotted time. The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states. Six others (Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee) maintain a moratorium on executions by order of the governor.
