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#Post#: 526--------------------------------------------------
~ Benjamin Cole, 20Oct22, (OK) ~
By: BuzzC Date: September 23, 2022, 12:43 am
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Next death row inmate set to be executed in Oklahoma files for
clemency--
Benjamin Cole, who is scheduled to be put to death at the end of
October, was convicted of killing his infant daughter in 2002
Monday, September 19th, 2022
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HTML https://kfor.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/10/benjamincole.jpg?w=768[/img]
In their clemency filing, Cole’s attorneys said their client
suffers from severe mental illness and that he has no rational
understanding of why the state is executing him. They do not
deny he killed his child.
They said Cole has paranoid schizophrenia and brain damage.
Attorney Tim Hird wrote that Cole’s mental health has
deteriorated dramatically over his years in solitary
confinement, and he is now so physically compromised that he can
barely move.
A five-member Pardon and Parole Board will determine next week
if that argument is strong enough for them to recommend clemency
Andrea Miller with the Oklahoma Innocence Project explained even
if the board votes for clemency, the final decision belongs to
Gov. Kevin Stitt.
"Because the end of the day, clemency is an act of mercy, and
ultimately it’s up to the governor, not a board, hearing the
actual clemency hearing to determine if he or she wants to
exercise that mercy in any particular case," said Andrea Miller,
Oklahoma Innocence Project.
On top of his clemency hearing, Cole also has a hearing before a
judge at the end of the month. The judge will decide if a jury
trial should be held to determine mental capacity.
#Post#: 529--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Benjamin Cole, 20Oct22, (OK) ~
By: BuzzC Date: October 19, 2022, 8:31 pm
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Oklahoma to execute death row inmate after Supreme Court denied
last-minute appeal--
Wednesday, October 19th, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a last-minute appeal
filed by Oklahoma death row inmate Benjamin Cole, paving the way
for him to receive a lethal injection on Thursday.
Cole, 57, was convicted and sentenced to death for killing his
9-month-old daughter Brianna Cole by forcibly bending the infant
backward, breaking her spine. Prosecutors allege Cole was angry
at the child for crying while he was playing a video game.
Cole's attorneys have not disputed that he killed the infant,
but they say he is severely mentally ill and that has brain
damage that worsened while he has been in prison.
A state panel rejected Cole's bid for clemency earlier this
month, and a district court judge in Oklahoma determined that he
was competent enough to be executed.
Cole's execution would be the sixth since Oklahoma resumed
carrying out the death penalty in October 2021.
8)
#Post#: 530--------------------------------------------------
Re: ~ Benjamin Cole, 20Oct22, (OK) ~
By: BuzzC Date: October 20, 2022, 8:56 pm
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Oklahoma executes man convicted of killing infant daughter--
Thursday, October 20th, 2022
McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma executed inmate Benjamin Cole
on Thursday morning despite claims from his attorneys that he
had been severely mentally ill.
Cole was pronounced dead at 10:22 a.m. at Oklahoma’s state
penitentiary in McAlester. He was the sixth Oklahoma inmate to
be executed since the state resumed carrying them out in October
2021.
Cole delivered a sometimes rambling, two-minute prayer while
strapped to the gurney.
“Choose Jesus while you still can,” he said.
The first of the three lethal execution drugs began to flow at
10:06 a.m., and Cole was declared unconscious at 10:12. He could
be heard snoring inside the death chamber.
Two members of Brianna Cole’s family, maternal aunt Donna Daniel
and uncle Bryan Young, who witnessed the execution, said they
were disappointed it took more than 20 years for Cole’s
execution to be carried out.
“Twenty years? Give me a break,” Young said. “We should not have
to wait 20 years for a 9-month-old baby to get justice.”
Daniel and Young said Cole’s two-minute speech suggests he was
more competent than he let on.
“It just proved that he’s been faking all along,” Daniel said.
8)
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