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Board recommends clemency for Oklahoma death row inmate

Angela Merrell, the fiancé of death row inmate James Coddington, listens during an Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole meeting Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Emma Rolls, left, attorney for death row inmate James Coddington, speaks to the Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole during a clemency hearing Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City. At right is paralegal Kim Ludwig. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) In this photo from a video screen, death row inmate James Coddington, speaks to the Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City. An emotional Coddington apologized to the victim's family and said he is "OK" with the death penalty, but told the board that he is a different man today. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Emma Rolls, center, attorney for death row inmate James Coddington, reacts after the Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole recommended clemency for Coddington at a hearing Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is pictured during an interview in his office Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole has recommended clemency for death row inmate James Coddington. Stitt said that he hasn't been formally briefed on Coddington's case, but that with any clemency recommendation, he meets with prosecutors, defense attorneys and the victim's family before making a decision. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) In this photo from a video screen, death row inmate James Coddington, right, speaks to the Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City. Julie Gardner, investigator at the Oklahoma Federal Defenders Office, is at left. An emotional Coddington apologized to the victim's family and said he is "OK" with the death penalty, but told the board that he is a different man today. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole members Larry Morris, left, and Richard Smothermon, right, talk during a break in a clemency hearing for death row inmate James Coddington, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City. Both men voted to recommend Gov. Kevin Stitt grant clemency to Coddington. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) FILE - This Feb. 5, 2021, photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows James Coddington. The Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole is recommending clemency for death row inmate Coddington. The board voted 3-2 on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, to recommend Gov. Kevin Stitt grant clemency to Coddington, who was convicted and sentenced to die for killing 73-year-old Albert Hale inside Hale's home in Choctaw in 1997. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP, File)