Oklahoma executes inmate as Alabama prepares to do same later today

July 20 (UPI) -- Oklahoma executed death row inmate Jemaine Cannon on Thursday as Alabama prepares to execute James Barber in the evening.

Cannon was put to death Thursday morning after the state's Pardon and Parole Board denied his request for clemency last month in a split 3-2 vote, according to The Death Penalty Information Center.

Barber is set to be executed on Thursday in Alabama, which will end an eight-month moratorium on the death penalty after a review of procedures.

Cannon was placed on death row for the 1995 murder of Sharonda Clark at her apartment in Tulsa. His defenders have cited that Cannon suffered severe abuse as a child, his trial lawyer provided ineffective counsel and Cannon was acting in self-defense. Oklahoma prosecutors disputed all the claims, leading to the Pardon and Parole board's split decision against Cannon last month.

"Justice was finally served this morning for Sharonda Clark with the execution of her murderer," said Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

"My hope is that today's action can bring some measure of peace for Sharonda's two daughters, as well as her other family members and friends who loved her," Drummond continued.

"It's the start of actual healing, to actually grieve in a proper manner, to finally lay my mother to rest even though she was laid to rest 28 years ago," Clark's daughter Yeh-Sehn White of Cannon's upcoming execution. "Now, she officially gets to rest in peace."

Barber, who is on death row for the 2001 murder of Dorothy Epps, an elderly homeowner, said he is skeptical the state has improved its protocols since pausing executions in the fall. Alabama botched two executions last fall where it experiences difficulties inserting IV lines, leading to the stoppage.

"I have a fair amount of trepidation about the process that they obviously haven't perfected -- to be at their hands and be the first one after they didn't do a true review of the protocol and made no real changes," Barber told NBC News.

Although Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ordered a "top-to-bottom" review of the state's protocols after the botched executions, critics have complained that the results of the review have remained secret and they cannot identify any notable changes.