Oklahoma
Oklahoma prepares for an execution after parole board recommended sparing man's life
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma was preparing to execute a man Thursday while waiting for Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt to decide whether to spare the death row inmate’s life and accept a rare clemency recommendation from the state’s parole board.
Emmanuel Littlejohn, 52, was set to die by lethal injection for his role in the 1992 shooting death of a convenience store owner during a robbery.
In six years as governor, Stitt has granted clemency only once and denied recommendations from the state’s Pardon and Parole Board in three other cases. On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Stitt said the governor had met with prosecutors and Littlejohn’s attorneys but had not reached a decision.
The execution was scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Littlejohn would be the 14th person executed in Oklahoma under Stitt’s administration.
Another execution was set for later Thursday in Alabama, and if both are carried out, it would be the first time in decades that five death row inmates were put to death in the U.S. within one week.
In Oklahoma, an appellate court on Wednesday denied a last-minute legal challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s lethal injection method of execution.
Littlejohn would be the third Oklahoma inmate put to death this year. He was 20 when prosecutors say he and co-defendant Glenn Bethany robbed the Root-N-Scoot convenience store in south Oklahoma City in June 1992. The store’s owner, Kenneth Meers, 31, was killed.
During video testimony to the Pardon and Parole Board last month, Littlejohn apologized to Meers’ family but denied firing the fatal shot. Littlejohn’s attorneys pointed out that the same prosecutor tried Bethany and Littlejohn in separate trials using a nearly identical theory, even though there was only one shooter and one bullet that killed Meers.
But prosecutors told the board that two teenage store employees who witnessed the robbery both said Littlejohn, not Bethany, fired the fatal shot. Bethany was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Littlejohn’s attorneys also argued that killings resulting from a robbery are rarely considered death penalty cases and that prosecutors today would not have pursued the ultimate punishment.
“It is evident that Emmanuel would not have been sentenced to death if he’d been tried in 2024 or even 2004,” attorney Caitlin Hoeberlein told the board.
Littlejohn was prosecuted by former Oklahoma County District Attorney Bob Macy, who was known for his zealous pursuit of the death penalty and secured 54 death sentences during more than 20 years in office.
Because of the board’s 3-2 recommendation, Stitt had the option of commuting Littlejohn’s sentence to life in prison without parole. The governor has appointed three of the board’s members.
In 2021, Stitt granted clemency to Julius Jones, commuting his sentence to life without parole just hours before Jones was scheduled to receive a lethal injection. He denied clemency recommendations from the board for Bigler Stouffer, James Coddington and Phillip Hancock, all of whom were executed.
The executions in Oklahoma and Alabama would make for 1,600 executions nationwide since the death penalty was reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The Oklahoma Sooners rebounded from their loss to Texas with a strong 4-1 win on Sunday evening over the Oregon Ducks. Isabela Emerling snapped out of her slump with a solo shot, and Cydney Sanders hit two home runs to power the Sooners to the semifinals.
Now, they’ll face Texas Tech and Red Raiders ace NiJaree Canady. Canady leads the nation in ERA at 0.86. She’s 32-5 this season. In the Women’s College World Series, Canady shut out Ole Miss and allowed just one run to the UCLA Bruins.
The Oklahoma Sooners will have to win two games on Monday to advance to the Women’s College Series finals. They’ll need an extraordinary effort from the Sooners lineup and the pitching staff to go toe-to-toe with Canady, a finalist for several National Player of the Year awards and a first-team All-American is a force.
But the Sooners have a lineup to be reckoned with. They’ll need to be at their best when they take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Here’s how you can tune into the game on Monday night.
Watch Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech live on Fubo
What channel is Oklahoma-Texas Tech on today?
TV Channel: ESPN
Livestream: Fubo, ESPN+
Watch Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech live on ESPN+
Oklahoma-Texas Tech time today
Date: Monday, June 2, 2025
Start time: 6 p.m. CT. Game two at 9:30 p.m. CT if OU wins first game.
Oklahoma Softball Schedule 2025
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 6 | Cal State Northridge | W, 7-2 |
| Feb. 6 | at San Diego State | W, 11-6 (9 inn.) |
| Feb. 7 | California Baptist | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 7 | Cal State Fullerton | W, 13-3 |
| Feb. 8 | Loyola Marymount | W, 9-0 |
| Feb. 9 | at Long Beach State | W, 2-0 (11 inn.) |
| Feb. 15 | Hofstra | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 15 | at No. 23/24 Baylor | W, 9-1 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 16 | Hofstra | W, 11-3 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 16 | at No. 23/24 Baylor | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 22 | Tulsa | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 23 | Wichita State | W, 8-1 |
| Feb. 24 | Bowling Green | W, 8-5 (8 inn.) |
| Feb. 24 | Abilene Christian | W, 9-1 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 28 | Marshall | W, 9-1 (5 inn.) |
| Feb. 28 | Kansas | W, 9-1 (6 inn.) |
| March 1 | Kansas | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| March 1 | Marshall | W, 11-0 (5 inn.) |
| March 2 | Kansas City | W, 17-1 (5 inn.) |
| March 7 | No. 10/11 South Carolina | W, 10-9 |
| March 9 | No. 10/11 South Carolina | W, 10-9 |
| March 9 | No. 10/11 South Carolina | W, 2-1 |
| March 12 | at Tulsa | W, 10-2 (6 inn.) |
| March 15 | at No. 15/12 Arkansas | W, 7-0 |
| March 15 | at No. 15/12 Arkansas | W, 6-4 |
| March 16 | at No. 15/12 Arkansas | W, 10-7 |
| March 19 | East Texas A&M | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| March 21 | at Missouri | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| March 22 | at Missouri | L, 3-1 |
| March 23 | at Missouri | W, 5-1 |
| March 26 | at Wichita State | W, 19-16 |
| March 28 | No. 10/9 Tennessee | L, 5-2 |
| March 29 | No. 10/9 Tennessee | W, 4-1 |
| March 30 | No. 10/9 Tennessee | L, 5-3 |
| April 1 | at UT-Arlington | W, 13-2 (5 inn.) |
| April 4 | St. Thomas | W, 12-4 (5 inn.) |
| April 4 | UCF | W, 6-0 |
| April 5 | UCF | Cancelled |
| April 9 | Oklahoma State (Devon Park, OKC) | W, 11-3 (5 inn.) |
| April 12 | at Alabama | W, 5-1 |
| April 13 | at Alabama | L, 6-1 |
| April 14 | at Alabama | L, 2-1 |
| April 18 | Mississippi State (Devon Park, OKC) | W, 4-0 |
| April 19 | Mississippi State (Devon Park, OKC) | W, 6-5 |
| April 20 | Mississippi State (Devon Park, OKC) | W, 9-6 |
| April 25 | Texas Longhorns | W, 7-6 |
| April 26 | Texas Longhorns | W, 7-2 |
| April 27 | Texas Longhorns | W, 9-8 |
| May 1 | at Florida | W, 6-5 |
| May 2 | at Florida | L, 9-4 |
| May 3 | at Florida | L, 6-4 |
| May 6-10 | SEC Tournament | Athens, Ga. |
| May 8 | vs. LSU | W, 4-1 |
| May 9 | vs. Arkansas | W, 8-6 |
| May 10 | vs. Texas A&M | Canceled |
| May 16-18 | NCAA Regionals | Norman, Okla. |
| May 16 | vs. Boston | W, 8-0 (5 inn.) |
| May 17 | vs. Cal | W, 11-2 (5 inn.) |
| May 18 | vs. Cal | W, 12-1 (5 inn.) |
| May 23-25 | NCAA Super Regionals | Norman, Okla. |
| May 23 | vs. Alabama | W, 3-0 |
| May 24 | vs. Alabama | W, 13-2 (5 inn.) |
| May 29-June 6 | Women’s College World Series | Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| May 29 | vs. Tennessee | W, 4-3 |
| May 31 | vs. Texas | L, 4-2 |
| June 1 | vs. Oregon | W, 4-1 |
| June 2 | vs. Texas Tech | 6 p.m. CT |
| June 2 | *vs Texas Tech | 9:30 p.m. CT |
*denotes if necessary
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Oklahoma and Oregon softball will meet today at 7 p.m. in the Women’s College World Series.
Fans can watch the game on ESPN2 or stream it on FuboTV, Sling or DirecTV.
Streaming Options
| Streaming Options | Price/Month | Free Trial? | Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| FuboTV | $84.99 | Yes | $20 off the first month |
| Sling | $45.99 | N/A | N/A |
| DirecTV | $79.99 | Yes | $20 off the first month |
DirecTV and FuboTV both offer free trials and $20 off the first month of your subscription. Sling Orange plans which include ESPN and ESPN2 are $45.99 per month.
Oregon defeated Ole Miss, 6-5 on Friday and Oklahoma was defeated by Texas, 4-2 on Saturday.
The winner of today’s game will advance to play Texas Tech, while the loser will be eliminated from the tournament.
The WCWS best-of-three championship finals will begin on June 5.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 16 Oregon
When: Sunday, June 1
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Oklahoma City
Channel: ESPN2
Oklahoma’s Witherspoon brothers reversed roles this weekend in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 3 starter Malachi Witherspoon, who posted a 1-8 record in SEC play with a 6.08 earned run average, dominated Nebraska on Friday night at the Chapel Hill Regional.
Then ace Kyson Witherspoon, who went 5-3 against the Southeastern Conference with a 2.98 ERA, was rocked for six unearned runs in the first inning against host North Carolina on Saturday.
Baseball can be weird sometimes.
Kyson Witherspoon’s early struggles against the Tar Heels eventually became an 11-5 Sooner loss at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, as the No. 5 national seed Tar Heels rolled to an easy victory.
OU fell to 36-21 on the season, while UNC improved to 44-12.
The No. 2-seed Sooners now face elimination Sunday in an 11 a.m. CT rematch with Nebraska. OU beat the 3-seed Cornhuskers 7-4 in their first-round game on Friday after jumping on top 7-0. The Tar Heels await the survivor of that contest Sunday at 5 p.m. CT. Nebraska eliminated 4-seed Holy Cross 4-1 on Saturday morning.
After OU left a runner in scoring position in the top of the first, North Carolina most certainly did not in the bottom of the first.
Kane Kepley reached on what would become a fatal error by Dawson Willis, but Witherspoon quickly retired the next two hitters.
That would be the Sooners’ only highlight early.
Two-out singles from Gavin Gallaher, Hunter Stokely, Alex Madera and Tyson Bass staked UNC to a 3-0 lead — all unearned due to the error at third base.
That’s when right fielder Sam Angelo broke it open with a three-run home run to left field that made it 6-0.
“Just figuring out what we’re doing,” OU coach Skip Johnson said during a fourth-inning in-game interview with the ESPN broadcast crew. “If we play good catch in the first inning, I think he throws six pitches. They took the momentum and we’ve gotta get some momentum back.”
Witherspoon’s previous season high for runs allowed — for an entire game — was four (twice). The Tar Heels scored six in their first eight batters.
His previous season-high for hits allowed was six (four times), but UNC had seven after loading the bases again in the second inning.
The Sooners were chasing the scoreboard rest of the night, and that was a tough task against Carolina hurler Jason DeCaro, who came into the weekend with a 10-4 record and a 3.42 ERA. DeCaro went six innings, allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out eight while walking none.
UNC added a run in the fourth to make it 7-0 on Gallaher’s RBI single to score Kepley, but things got really out of hand in the fifth.
Bass and Angelo hammered back-to-back solo home runs to extend the Tar Heels’ lead to 9-0 and end Witherspoon’s night.
Witherspoon hadn’t given up more than one home run in a game all season, but he served up three on this night. His four-inning start also tied his shortest outing of the season (he threw four innings at Alabama on March 28).
Witherspoon finished the night yielding a season-high 10 hits and nine runs — three earned — and tied both his season-low with just four strikeouts and his season-high with three walks.
“Kyson’s been really good for us all year,” Johnson said.
The Sooners finally answered with a pair of runs in the sixth on Sam Christiansen’s RBI double and Kyle Branch’s RBI groundout.
But North Carolina answered immediately with a run in the bottom of the inning when Gavyn Jones gave up a hit batter, a wild pitch and an RBI single by Madera to make it 10-2.
OU plated another run when Drew Dickerson opened the seventh with a single, advanced on back-to-back ground-ball outs and came home on Trey Gambill’s RBI single up the middle to cut it to 10-3.
Again, however, the Tar Heels answered when Beau Sampson walked Angelo to lead off, then misfired a pair of wild pitches and eventually gave up an RBI single to Carter French for an 11-3 lead.
OU made it 11-4 in the eighth when Christiansen drew a one-out walked, took second on a passed ball and scored on Dasan Harris’ RBI single to left.
Jaxson Willits make it 11-5 in the ninth when he delivered an RBI single to score Jason Walk.
Left hander Cameron Johnson came in to pitch the eighth for OU. Johnson, a weekend starter over the first seven weeks of the season after transferring from LSU, hadn’t made an appearance on the mound since April 13 and had only thrown 20 innings total in 2025.
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