Anti-death penalty advocates spoke at the State Capitol to ask for clemency for Jemaine Cannon on Tuesday.
Advocates with the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP) gathered at the Oklahoma State Capitol to request clemency for Cannon.
Cannon is expected to go before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board on Wednesday.
Cannon was convicted for murdering Sharonda Clark in her Tulsa apartment. He argues that he killed her as an act of self-defense.
Cannon submitted paperwork ahead of Wednesday's hearing that retells his side of the events that unfolded in 1995.
Cannon's lawyer said that Cannon's legal team during the murder trial failed him by not submitting evidence that would prove Cannon's case.
"He wanted to present his self-defense presentation, his explanation, and his public defenders declined to permit him to do that," said Mark Henrickson, Cannon's attorney. "You have the right to testify, you should listen to the advice of your lawyer, but at the end of the day, it is your decision. That did not happen in this case."
Advocates argue that clemency is the best option for Cannon, saying that he was abused by both of his parents and suffers from several medical disorders, including PTSD.
The OK-CADP says since Cannon's time on death row, dating back to 1996, he has "shown no suggestion of violence, substance abuse or any action putting others at risk."
Cannon is seeking commutation based on his evidence of self-defense and a commutation to a sentence of time served.
Should the Pardon and Parole Board deny Cannon clemency, he is slated to be executed by lethal injection on July 20.
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