Oklahoma to execute death row inmate after Supreme Court denied last-minute appeal
The 57-year-old was sentenced to death for the 2002 murder of his infant daughter
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a last-minute appeal filed by Oklahoma death row inmate Benjamin Cole.
On Thursday, Cole will receive the death penalty by lethal injection.
Cole was charged with the first-degree murder of his 9-month-old daughter, Brianna, who died Dec. 20, 2002, in Rogers County.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General Tessa Henry said Cole was infuriated that her crying from her crib interrupted his playing of a video game.
He reportedly killed his daughter by pushing her forcefully by the ankles, causing her to flip over on to her back, which resulted in her fatal injuries.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This undated photo provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Corrections shows Benjamin Robert Cole Sr. (Oklahoma State Department of Corrections via AP)
The prosecution initially offered Cole a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. If he had pleaded guilty, he would have received a life sentence without parole
Cole rejected the deal, and the case went to trial in late 2004. He was convicted as charged and sentenced to death.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cole's attorneys argued that he is severely mentally ill, and his brain damage had worsened while he was 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.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cole’s execution would be the sixth since Oklahoma resumed carrying out the death penalty in October 2021.