Oklahoma’s death row inmate on Thursday spent his final moments thanking loved ones and forgiving the governor who refused to grant him clemency — but failed to mention his victim, the man he killed in a 1997 hammer attack. James Coddington, 50, was given a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and pronounced dead at 10:16 a.m. on Thursday, despite a recommendation from the state Board of Pardons that his life be spared. Gov. Kevin Stitt refused to commute Coddington’s sentence to life in prison without parole and denied his request for clemency. Coddington was the fifth Oklahoma inmate to be put to death since the state resumed executions last year. “To all my family and friends, the lawyers, everyone who was around me and loved me, thank you,” he said, as he sat strapped to a wardrobe inside the execution chamber. “Governor Stitt, I do not blame you and I forgive you.” OKLAHOMA EXECUTES PRISONER JAMES CONTINGTON DAY AFTER GOVERNOR REFUSES TO COMMUTE SENTENCE FILE – In this photo from a video monitor, death row inmate James Coddington speaks to the Oklahoma Board of Parole, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) After speaking his final words, Coddington raised his head and flashed his thumb at his attorney, Emma Rawls, who wept quietly in the witness box. After the first drug, midazolam, was administered, Coddington’s breathing became labored and his chest was cut several times. A doctor on the execution team pronounced him unconscious at 10:08 am. and Coddington could be heard snoring in the hall. Coddington was convicted and sentenced to death for the death of his friend and colleague, 73-year-old Albert Hale, inside Hale’s Choctaw home. Prosecutors say Coddington, who was 24 at the time, became enraged when Hale refused to give him money to buy cocaine. FILE – This Feb. 5, 2021 photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows James Coddington. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP, File) During a clemency hearing this month before the state’s five-member Parole and Parole Board, an emotional Coddington apologized to Hale’s family and said he was a different person today. OKLAHOMA GOV. KEVIN STITT REJECTS BUSINESS FOR ADMISSION “I’m clean, I know God, I’m not … I’m not a vicious murderer,” Coddington told the board. “If this ends today with my death sentence, fine.” Oklahoma Department of Corrections Facility (Oklahoma Department of Corrections Twitter) But Mitch Hale, the son of Albert Hale who witnessed the execution, said he did not believe Coddington was truly remorseful, noting that he never mentioned his father or the Hale family during his final words. “He proved today that he wasn’t genuine. He never apologized,” Hale said. “She didn’t raise my dad.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Hale added: “I forgive him, but that doesn’t absolve him of the consequences of his actions.” The Associated Press contributed to this report. Stephanie Pagones is a Digital Reporter for FOX Business and Fox News. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @steph_pagones.
