Littlejohn received a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and was pronounced dead at 10:17 a.m.

His execution occurred despite ongoing debates about his guilt and a clemency recommendation from the state's parole board.

Emmanuel Littlejohn, 52, was executed in Oklahoma for his involvement in the 1992 murder of convenience store owner Kenneth Meers.

Governor Kevin Stitt rejected the parole board's recommendation to commute Littlejohn's death sentence to life without parole.

Littlejohn's legal team argued that his co-defendant, Glenn Bethany, was the sole shooter and highlighted inconsistencies in witness testimonies.

Prosecutors claimed that eyewitness testimony identified Littlejohn as the shooter, while Bethany received a life sentence without parole.

Although Littlejohn admitted to participating in the robbery, he maintained that he did not kill Meers and expressed remorse for his actions.

His attorneys contended that the death penalty is rarely pursued in robbery-related killings and that his case would likely not warrant such a sentence today.

The case has drawn attention from anti-death penalty activists and Littlejohn's family, while the victim's family supports the execution.

Just before the execution, a state appellate court denied last-minute legal challenges regarding the constitutionality of Oklahoma's lethal injection method.

Governor Stitt has granted clemency only once in six years, with Littlejohn's case being among the most controversial.

Littlejohn's execution is part of a broader trend of increasing executions across the country, raising concerns about the fairness of the justice system.