Oklahoma Death Row Inmate James Coddington's Last Meal Revealed Before Execution

Oklahoma death row inmate James Coddington was executed Thursday morning, and before that he consumed a massive meal.

Coddington's last meal consisted of two crunchy fish sandwiches, two cheeseburgers, two large fries and a large soda, reported Metro. The inmate, 50, was given a lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 10.16 a.m.

He was sentenced to death for the murder of his co-worker and friend Albert Hale, 73, in 1997. At the time of carrying out the crime, Coddington was 24 years and battling a severe alcohol and crack cocaine addiction. His lawyers had hoped his remorse for the murder, his traumatic upbringing and rehabilitation while he was on death row would save him, according to LADbible. But Governor Kevin Stitt wasn't convinced, and so he declined Coddington's request for clemency.

While strapped to a gurney inside the death chamber, Coddington thanked all his family and friends, "lawyers, everyone who’s been around me and loved me." He also mentioned Stitt, and said that he didn’t blame him and that he forgave him. After that he flashed a thumbs up to his lawyer, who was crying in the witness room.

He had asked for his sentence to be commuted to life in jail without the possibility of parole. Many, including the state’s Pardon and Parole Board, even supported him. But after reviewing both side’s arguments, Stitt denied him clemency.

Albert's son, Mitchell Hale, said that his family can finally move on. He shared that the execution is "not going to heal anything, but it closes this chapter." He also noted that Coddington did not express remorse for killing his father in his final words. The son said that Coddington never apologized, "he never mentioned my daddy, never mentioned my family, so, there was no true remorse."

According to Mirror, Coddington was the fifth inmate in Oklahoma to be put to death since the state started executions again in 2021. Executions were halted by the state in 2015 when prison officials found that they had received the wrong lethal drug. Later it came to light that the same wrong drug had been used to execute a prisoner, and executions in Oklahoma were put on hold.