Jemaine Cannon is on death row in Oklahoma for the 1995 murder of Sharonda Clark and is scheduled for execution on July 20, 2023. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 against a recommendation for clemency, disregarding his claim that he killed the victim in self defense.

Like so many of those who end up on death row, Cannon had a difficult childhood. This does not excuse his crime, but offers context and a space for mercy. A case narrative may be found here, on the web page of the Forgiveness Foundation.

Oklahoma's aggressive execution schedule marks it as an outlier in its use of the death penalty while the majority of other states are on a downward trend of executions. In the last few years, Oklahoma has been one of only a handful of states that have carried out death sentences - and it continues to do so targeting the poor, the mentally ill and people of color.

This particular execution is just one in a series of 25 executions scheduled by Oklahoma in the coming months, despite serious concerns around the state's lethal injection protocols and drugs.

Please sign the petition asking Governor Stitt and the Pardon and Parole Board to do everything within their power to ensure this execution does not go forward, and to seek a path to clemency in the case.