Oklahoma Executes Emmanuel Littlejohn on September 26, 2024

Emmanuel Littlejohn, Oklahoma

Updated: Thursday, September 26, 2024

On Thursday, September 17, 2024, Emmanuel Littlejohn was executed by the state of Oklahoma.  He was pronounced dead at 10:17 am local time, inside the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma.  Emmanuel was 52 years of age.  He was executed for the murder of Kenneth Meers on June 20, 1992, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Emmanuel spent the last 30 years of his life on Oklahoma’s death row. 

Emmanuel’s mother was addicted to drugs and his father was an alcoholic who took little interest in his son. He was abandoned by his mother at the age of five. Drugs, alcohol, gambling, and violence were often present in the home where Emmanuel grew up. Emmanuel struggled in school and had a poor home life, where food, basic necessities, and utilities were not always available. While under the age of 18, Emmanuel stole several cars, resulting in a stay at a juvenile facility. Two weeks after his release at the age of 18, Emmanuel committed a robbery while armed, resulting in a nearly two-year jail term.

A few weeks after his release, on June 20, 1992, Emmanuel Littlejohn and Glenn Bethany entered the Root ’n’ Toot convenience store, with the intention of robbing it. At that time, Tony Hulsey, Danny Waldrup, and Kenneth Meers were working at the store. As Bethany and Littlejohn exited the store, Kenneth was shot in the face. He died from his injuries.

Littlejohn has long maintained that he did not fire the fatal shot. However, under Oklahoma’s felony murder law, a person who commits a felony crime where a murder occurs is responsible for the murder, no matter if they actually killed the person.

Bethany, who Littlejohn maintains pulled the trigger, was also tried and convicted. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Please pray for peace for the family of Kenneth Meers. Please pray for strength for the family of Emmanuel Littlejohn. 

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