Benjamin Cole executed in Oklahoma for the murder of his infant daughter

Oklahoma executes Benjamin Cole.

He was convicted of murdering his baby daughter.

Lawyers argued that he suffered from a mental illness.

Oklahoma executed Benjamin Cole Thursday morning despite his lawyers claiming that he suffered a serious mental illness. He was convicted of murdering his nine-month-old daughter and died by lethal injection, according to the AP and USA TODAY.

Benjamin Cole was pronounced dead at 10:22 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. He was the sixth inmate executed in Oklahoma since the state reinstated capital punishment in October 2021. There are another 23 executions scheduled until the end of 2024.

WHAT DID HIS LAWYERS DO?

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Cole’s attorneys did not deny that he killed his infant daughter, Brianna Cole, by forcibly bending her backwards until he snapped her spine and tore her aorta. However, they maintained that Cole suffered from serious mental illness and brain damage that had worsened in recent years.

Cole was refusing medical care and neglecting his personal hygiene, hoarding food and living in a dark cell with little or no communication with staff or other inmates, his lawyers told the board of pardons and parole at a hearing last month. «His condition has continued to worsen throughout this year,» attorney Katrina Conrad-Legler said of the Benjamin Cole case.

HE WAS NOT GRANTED CLEMENCY

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The board voted 4-1 to reject the clemency request and a judge ruled weeks ago that Cole was fit to be executed. The Supreme Court and a court of appeals refused to intervene in the case.

“Few murders are as shocking as this one,” assistants to Attorney General John O’Connor told the Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Paroles. This crime happened on December 20, 2002 at Cole’s house in Claremore. The victim, Brianna Cole, was almost nine months old. Filed Under: Benjamin Cole

WHAT WERE BENJAMIN COLE’S LAST WORDS?

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Cole’s last words were were a rambling prayer which ended up circulating on social media. Despite the fact that Cole apparently suffered from a mental illness, his words were focused on his religious beliefs and he expressed sorrow for what he had done.

He said as his last words: “The Lord Jesus is my personal lord and savior. Choose Jesus while you still can. I pray you receive my spirit. Keep your eyes peeled for Jesus. Be ready at all times. The day of the Lord is at hand. I forgive everyone that I have done wrong.» This was posted by the Twitter user Death Row Watcher. Filed Under: Benjamin Cole

WHAT WAS HIS LAST MEAL?

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The Oklahoma Department of Corrections reported that Benjamin Cole’s last meal was served yesterday at 7:30 p.m. CDT. Cole ordered vegetarian lasagna, salad with dressing, an omelette, and a packet of fruit drink.

Nearly a month ago, it was reported that the Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 4-1 to reject a clemency request from Cole who was sentenced to death for the 2002 murder of his nine-month-old daughter. Filed Under: Benjamin Cole