Oklahoma City – Tomorrow (Tuesday, June 6, 2023) the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP) will host a press conference to plead for mercy for death row prisoner Jemaine Cannon, who is scheduled to be executed on Thursday, July 7.

An event for journalists will take place at 1 p.m. in the House Media Room (Room G-5) on the ground floor of the Oklahoma State Capitol and will be facilitated by State Representative Maureen Turner, D-Oklahoma City.

Speakers will include Senator George Young, D-Oklahoma City, Mark Henricksen, attorney for Mr. Cannon; Jasmine Brown-Jutras, Managing Organizer for ACLU Oklahoma; Rev. Don Heath, OK-CADP Chair; and Sue Hosch, OK-CADP Board Member.

Mr. Cannon, 51, is convicted of murdering Sharonda White Clark on February 3, 1995, in her Tulsa, Oklahoma apartment.

According to the clemency petition prepared by Mr. Henricksen — available online here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d4DyP4rSCINwHuMzIMJIg6pPjU-NLvY3/view — and submitted by Cannon is entitled “Events Leading to Self-Defense.”

It tells his story, written in his own words with minor editing from his lawyers.

Sketching Jemaine Cannon’s Story

As a child, Jemaine Cannon was emotionally and physically abused by both his mother and father, his document details.

He suffers from Sarcoidosis Stage III, which affects his eyes, lungs, liver, spleen bones and skin; asthma, severe keratoconus, uveitis and audio impairment.

He was diagnosed with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in 1995, which is a treatable condition.

On death row since 1996, Mr. Cannon has shown no suggestion of violence, substance abuse, or any action putting others at risk.

He continues to have a meaningful relationship with his mother, grandmother, and other friends and relatives.

Mr. Jermaine Cannon seeks a commutation based on actual evidence through self-defense and a commutation to a sentence of time served.

According to his attorney, Jermaine’s previous trial teams “failed to present the affirmative defense, either by permitting him his absolute right to testify or by bolstering his statement to law enforcement with a forensic deconstruction of the government’s case.”

“Jemaine Cannon has endured unspeakable cruelty from those caregivers who were responsible for caring for him,” Henricksen stated.

“Instead, they tortured him. In prison today, he suffers from an untreatable autoimmune disorder that is rendering his hearing impaired and has essentially left him blind. To the extent life is a matter of luck, Jemaine has had the worst luck possible. The proposed execution of this human being is obscene.”

Rev. Don Heath, OK-CADP chair said, “Cannon should be allowed to live out his remaining days in peace. The State has neither given him any treatment for his PTSD nor offered him any assistance for being blind and nearly deaf. Instead, the State seeks to compound the tragedies of his life with another tragedy.”

Cannon’s clemency hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 7, at 9 a.m. at Kate Barnard Community Corrections Center, Ted R. Logan Meeting Center, 3300 N. Martin Luther King Avenue, in Oklahoma City. It will also be available for viewing via Zoom.