James Coddington biography: 14 things about Oklahoma man who killed US Navy veteran Albert Troy Hale

Who was James Coddington? 

James Allen Coddington was an American criminal who grew up in Mulligan Flats, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. He is second youngest of the combined nine children of Bill Coddington and Gayla Hood.

Both of Bill and Hood experienced drug addiction. While James was young, Hood was in and out jail, leaving Bill to run the household.

As a child, James suffered numerous head injuries. Throughout his childhood, he was physically abused by Bill, who had his own run-ins with the law.

James was 49 years younger than his friend and co-worker Albert Troy Hale. For about three years, they worked together at Honda Auto Parts in Choctaw, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. 

Hale loaned James money and helped him get drug treatment. While receiving financial assistance from the former, the latter was spending up to $1,000 per day to support his cocaine habit.

Many of James’ siblings also struggled with drug abuse. Here are 14 more things about him:

1. At around 5:00 p.m. on March 5, 1997, while high on cocaine, went to Hale’s house in Choctaw to borrow $50 to buy more drugs. Hale refused and told him to get treatment. Before leaving, he grabbed a hammer off a dishwasher in the kitchen, hit Hale in the head five times and took $525 out of Hale’s front pants pocket. Right after killing Hale, he committed at least six armed robberies at gas stations and convenience stores across Oklahoma City.
2. On March 7, 1997, Oklahoma City police detectives arrested him outside his apartment in Oklahoma City. On the way to the police department, he tried to choke himself by wrapping the seat belt around his neck.
3. In 1998, a psychiatric evaluation of him showed that he suffered from mild neuropsychological impairment.
4. In 2002, he earned his general education diploma (GED) in prison.
5. On April 28, 2003, a jury in Oklahoma County found him guilty of first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
6. In August 2003, he was sentenced to death.
7. In 2005, his death sentenced was overturned on appeal. Hood, Kathy Johnson, Mike Hood, Ricky Coddington, Tommy Coddington and Walter “Duffy” Coddington were listed as his family witnesses in court.
8. In 2008, his death sentence was reinstated.
9. On August 25, 2021, the state of Oklahoma filed a notice with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, notifying the court that it was appropriate to set an execution date for him.
10. On December 23, 2021, the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Oklahoma ordered a stay of execution for him. He was to be put to death on March 10, 2022.
11. On March 22, 2022, he turned 50.
12. On August 3, 2022, the Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole voted 3-2 to recommend clemency for him. Represented by Emma Rolls, he spoke by video, told the board that he is a different man today and apologized to Hale’s family.
13. On August 24, 2022, 28th Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt, then 49, rejected clemency for him. For his traditional last meal that day, he requested two cheeseburgers, two crunchy fish sandwiches, two large fries and a large cola.
14. On August 25, 2022, he was executed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma. At 10:16 a.m., he was pronounced dead.