Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board

Last updated
Oklahoma Pardon & Parole Board
Agency overview
FormedJuly 11, 1944
Headquarters Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Employees30 classified
3 unclassified
Annual budget$2,333,000 (FY-2019)
Ministers responsible
Agency executive
  • Tom Bates, Executive director
Website www.ppb.ok.gov

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is the parole board of the state of Oklahoma. The board was created by an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution in 1944. [1] The Board has the authority to empower the Governor of Oklahoma to grant pardons, paroles, and commutations to people convicted of offenses against the state of Oklahoma.

Contents

The board meets each month at one of the State penal institutions.

The mission of the Pardon and Parole Board as a vital part of the criminal justice system is to determine the best possible decision, through a case-by-case investigative process and to protect the public while recommending the supervised released of adult felons. [1] Although, in recent years the board has been mandated to assist with alleviating prison overcrowding, it remains a goal to maintain a low revocation and recidivism rate for the State of Oklahoma.[ citation needed ]

Composition

The board is composed of five appointed members. Three are appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma, one by the Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and one by the Presiding Judge of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Board members serve four year terms that run concurrent with the term of the governor.

Any member of the board who is a licensed attorney is prohibited from representing in any Oklahoma court any persons charged with felony offenses.

Board membership

[2]

NameAppointee typeTerm expiration
H. Calvin Prince IIIGovernor AppointeeJanuary 2027
Edward J. Konieczny Governor appointeeJanuary 2027
Hon. Richard A. Miller Oklahoma Criminal Court of Appeals appointeeJanuary 2027
VacantSupreme Court of Oklahoma appointeeJanuary 2027
Kevin Buchanan Governor appointeeJanuary 2027

Powers and responsibilities

The constitution grants the governor the power to grant commutations, pardons, and paroles for all offenses against the state upon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as they may deem appropriate. However, the governor can not exercise these powers unless he submits the name of the individual to the board. The board will then review the applicant for clemency. The board is responsible for making an impartial investigation and study of applicants for clemency.

If a majority of the board votes in favor of the clemency, the governor is empowered to make such acts of clemency for the individual as he deems necessary. Oklahoma is one of only 8 states where the "governor must receive a recommendation from an independent parole board before granting clemency." [3] In the entire history of the state, up to 2021, only 4 clemencies have ever been granted. [4] The board can only make recommendations to the governor regarding parole in the case of convicts sentenced to death or life imprisonment without parole. However, the board may recommend commutations and pardons for such offenses. The board's recommendations for parole for non-violent offenses do not require the approval of the Oklahoma governor, and it becomes final. This is not the case for crimes defined as violent. [5] The board's authority, however, can not limit the governor's power to grant, after conviction, reprieves, or leaves of absence not to exceed sixty days without the consent of the goard. In 2015, 4,000 inmates were eligible for parole but the board at the time only recommended 28 offenders for parole and Governor Mary Fallin approved only 6 of those. The board has been sued unsuccessfully in the past for "apparent bias against murderers." [6]

The Oklahoma Legislature's passage of HB 1269 in 2019, marked an update to the board's authority on commutation actions. [7] HB1269 created authority for the board to establish accelerated, single-stage dockets to consider and recommend commutations to the governor, provided certain criteria are met. Accelerated dockets are to be composed of cases in which applicants were serving time for felony convictions that had been subsequently reclassified as misdemeanors, and could be considered in mass, rather than solely on an individual basis.

Commutations under HB1269 authority

The Pardon and Parole Board considered 814 inmates' cases on November 1, 2019, the first day HB1269 became effective. [8] The board unanimously voted to recommend commutation for 527 Department of Corrections inmates to Governor Kevin Stitt. [8] The action represented the largest number of single-day commutations in the history of the state, nationally according to press reports. [9] [10] [11] After, "more than 200 have been arrested again since then, according to a list kept by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation" as of April 2022. It was the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board that "recommended the commutations." However, around "35 were arrested solely because they still had outstanding bench warrants on old cases and not because of any new crimes. One of the old cases dating to 1999." [12]

Criticism and news

Conflicts with district attorneys and attorney general

In 2014, DAs such as Tim Harris, David Prater, and Mike Fields accused the board of being mismanaged, saying that the current interim director, Tracy George, "is in over her head." Prater, the Oklahoma County DA, had "charged Pardon and Parole Board members with a violation of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act but dropped the charges after the board acknowledged that it needed to give better public notice when it is considering certain actions." [13] In 2021 Prater filed a lawsuit against the board and governor, implying that two of its members appointed by the governor were biased and too pro-release of inmates. [14] One aspect of the claim was board member Adam Luck's retweet of Kim Kardashian with a tweet of his own that seemed in favor of Julius Jones. [15] This came after previous claims of conflicts of interest for the same two board members, Kelly Doyle and Adam Luck. The previous chair of the board, Steven Bickley, who later resigned, defended his fellow board members. He informed Public Radio Tulsa that "DA Laura Austin Thomas made a blanket request based on Adam Luck and Kelly Doyle’s previous work with organizations that help inmates transition to life outside of prison." [16] Bickley resigned from the pardon and parole board in July 2020 "after board member and retired judge Allen McCall sent him an email accusing him of trying to force an anti-death penalty view on the board." [17] [18] The NAACP has also called for previous board member Allen McCall's resignation. [19] On July 7, 2021, Allen McCall resigned from the board citing he would look for opportunities elsewhere, possibly coaching. He was replaced by Richard Smothermon, a former District Attorney. [20]

In September 2021, the Supreme Court denied District Attorney David Prater's request to remove board members Adam Luck and Kelley Doyle from the board. He made the request before the Julius Jones commutation hearing. [21] David Prater blamed Hollywood and George Soros in a news conference for how the board voted to commute Jones. [22]

David Prater is also behind the first grand jury seated for the first time "in more than two decades" to investigate the Oklahoma County jail and the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole board in late 2021. Those "grand jurors include an Amazon employee, retirees, a real estate worker, a restaurant manager, a utility coordinator and a director at an international ministry." Prater called for an investigation "because inmates have been released from prison by mistake" against Governor Kevin Stitt's criticism, calling it "the latest political stunt to intimidate the Pardon and Parole Board and obstruct the Constitutional process as high-profile cases that his office prosecuted are being considered." [23]

Kelly Doyle was "the target of identical back-to-back lawsuits filed by both Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and Attorney General John O'Connor. The pair alleged that Doyle makes money off the release of prisoners because she works at an organization that helps people recently released from prison find jobs." [24] Prater and O’Connor sued and "attempted to remove specific members who voted in favor of Julius Jones." Doyle has requested the costs and attorney's fees associated be covered in response. [25] Kelly Doyle's attorney said that AG O'Connor "knew his application to the Supreme Court was both 'untimely' and 'frivolous', and used the same arguments that Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater used in a Supreme Court hearing that was held 7 days prior." [26] In March 2022, Kelly Doyle resigned due to the harassment, [27] making the board have entirely new members in the span of less than a year, except for Larry Morris. This came after Adam Luck was asked by Governor Stitt to resign in January 2022. Luck was replaced by Edward Konieczny [28]

Before Luck and Doyle were pressured to resign, Republican Governor Kevin Stitt had expressed full confidence in the board over criticisms from DAs like Steve Kunzweiler who want the board to be more conservative in their considerations for parole and commutation. In the Tulsa World, the DAs were also blamed for taking an increasingly more political role that has "to some degree weakened" the board's influence. [29] This came at the same time that dark money conservative attack ads targeting Stitt as not tough enough on crime began to air, [30] despite Oklahoma incarcerating a "higher percentage of its people than any democracy on earth." [31] According to Prison Policy Initiative, Oklahoma as a state has the third highest incarceration rate in 2021 and in 2018 numbers show it incarcerates the most women per capita. [32] [33] The dark money groups are "spending millions of dollars" that accuse the Republican Governor as "being soft on crime." [12]

In April 2022, Cathy Stocker was chosen to replace Kelly Doyle. Stocker, like Smothermon, is a former DA and also appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt. [34] Stitt's "choice of a former district attorney comes in an election year as Stitt is being accused in TV attack ads of being soft on crime. Many of the ads focus on how many prisoners have been released through commutations recommended by the parole board." [35] Stocker was the only woman on the board, [36] but did not vote at the first meeting she attended. In that same first meeting of April 2022 Smothermon and Konieczny questioned the administrative parole process. Administrative "parole saves Oklahoma $16.7 million a year due to lower incarceration costs" but Konieczny was "critical" and "said the board’s role as a rubber stamp opens it up to litigation. [37]

In August 2022, the board was criticized in a Mother Jones piece for rejecting all mothers with similar cases to Tondalo Hall, who had been wrongfully convicted after being sentenced more harshly than her children's abuser under failure to protect laws. [38] [39] [40] Since Hall's release, the "board has rejected all the other mothers with similar cases who applied for a commutation. Other potential avenues for relief have also closed." [41]

In early 2023, former judge and Assistant District Attorney was appointed by the court to replace Larry Morris. [42] He makes the third member and a majority on the board with associations to DAs. In the past, Miller was charged with a domestic-related misdemeanor, being arrested in 1995 and being accused of bias in domestic cases he oversaw. [43]

2021-2022 board recommendation controversies

In March 2021, a special counsel was hired to investigate complaints about Oklahoma's parole board "in an effort to restore public confidence in its operations." [44] This came after Governor Stitt signed the commutation for Lawrence Paul Anderson, who was released and later confessed to cannibalism, when a previous vote from the board to deny him was meant to end further consideration. This sparked an investigation of the board already feuding "between advocates pushing for criminal justice reform to reduce Oklahoma's high incarceration rates and prosecutors who contend the efforts have gone too far and endanger the public." [45] On July 7, 2021, Allen McCall resigned from the board, replaced by Richard Smothermon, a former district attorney. [20] In November 2022, a new lawsuit Governor Stitt and the board was filed by the families of Anderson's victims, claiming that in an "effort to save money by reducing the incarceration rate, Governor Stitt 'planned to push as many prisoners through the pardon, parole, and commutation process so as to release as many as possible, as quickly as possible.'" [46]

In March 2022, a then all-male board recommended Jimmie Stohler, the Crossbow Killer, a white man, for parole that Stitt at first agreed to but later rescinded. [47] Their recommendation came in the same meeting where they denied a woman, April Wilkens, a hearing. [48] Video shows Larry Morris was the only member to vote for Wilkens to have a 2022 parole hearing, [49] and he had previously worked with federal judge Clare Eagan, [50] who wrote a 2005 affidavit in support of April Wilkens. [51] It was later uncovered that the current Tulsa District Attorney's office under Steve Kunzweiler protested Wilkens's parole. [52] Steve Kunzewiler's wife donated to the previous Tim Harris DA campaign, who originally prosecuted the case against Wilkens, and Kunzweiler worked under Tim Harris. [53] [54] Wilkens has since filed for another attempt at post conviction relief, seeking to have her "conviction vacated, her sentence modified to time served, or a new trial" due to new evidence. [55] Representative Toni Hasenbeck authored and filed HB 1639 in January 2023—a bill that "would allow a survivor to enter into a lesser sentencing range when evidence of abuse has been substantiated." [56] It "offers nuance in sentencing." [57] and the bill was originally called the Universal Defense Act. [58] Over 100 women at Mabel Bassett have written "letters claiming to have experienced intimate partner violence at the time their crime was committed." [59] Colleen McCarty, who has also worked on the bill, says that legislation is necessary because the parole process has not helped April Wilkens and other women. [60] Wilkens, for example, has never been able to "use the evidence of her domestic abuse in her appeal for early release." [61] Wilkens has been denied parole 4 times and commutation twice, and one former juror thought she would be out by now or would have given her a shorter sentence if it were offered. [62] [63] [64] [65] However, Hasenbeck was forced to remove retroactivity from the bill before it moved to the senate, to "make the bill more palatable to other Republicans" because the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council is "a powerful lobbying group of local prosecutors" that "reportedly opposes retroactive relief." [66]

2022 grand jury investigation findings

In May 2022, findings from a grand jury criticized Governor Kevin Stitt for being grossly improper. The board members "met as a group with the governor before their appointment and taking office. At the time, decisions were made about upcoming votes of those members." Such "action violated the spirit of the Open Meetings Act and rendered the future board less than independent." [67] State "law requires the Pardon and Parole Board to publish and distribute to the Legislature annual reports regarding its activities, but jurors found that no such report has been provided since 2018. One Pardon and Parole Board member allegedly objected to the form of the reports." Prater also "used the investigative body to continue working a case that he had begun in front of the state’s multi-county grand jury earlier in 2021. Rep. Terry O’Donnell (R-Catoosa) and his wife, Teresa, were indicted Dec. 17 on a combined seven criminal counts related to his authorship of a bill that legalized her ability to become a state-appointed tag agent in Catoosa." The "investigation into the Pardon and Parole Board began in October," but Prater "was the second prosecutor to be involved in the matter." [68] The jury stated that the board lacks "transparency, objectivity, and for several years, procedures designed as safeguards were ignored in order to speed up the commutation process and to increase the number of commutations that were being heard and recommended." [69] The grand jury also focused on the case of Lawrence Anderson, "who applied for commutation on Jan. 17, 2019, and was denied. He applied seven months later, despite a requirement that he wait three years, and was approved." It was found that at least "one high-level administrator at the Pardon and Parole Board was aware that Anderson had erroneously been approved for a second commutation chance." That Thursday evening that the report came out, Stitt’s office issued a statement saying: "'This is the latest in a string of unfounded hit jobs by the Oklahoma County District Attorney and other political insiders.'" [70] Charlie Hannema, a spokesman for Stitt, said that “Oklahoma law explicitly prohibits grand juries from making allegations that public officials have engaged in misconduct, and it is clear the outgoing prosecutor took advantage of the citizens who served on this grand jury to unwittingly carry out his partisan feud against Governor Stitt and the Pardon and Parole Board.” [71] The report noted that the jury "had no legal authority to accuse the governor of official misconduct, which can only be done in impeachment proceedings." The grand jury pointed out that the board "lacks objective criteria that would guide their commutation decisions and recommended 'a panel of citizens be convened to discuss and promulgate objective criteria that should be considered in the commutation process.'" [72]

Appeals attorney Debbie Hampton stated that, in response to the jury's findings, "It’' just a mess on how the board looks at the offense rather than what an individual has done over the years." [73]

2023 board controversies

In 2023, the board denied clemency for Richard Glossip when it had a tied vote because one recused themselves. Instead of a tie weighing in favor of the convicted, it weighs in favor of the state. Randy Bauman, a board member of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, wrote that it was unfair Glossip did not have all 5 members in his case and pushed back against the idea that the board is a "safety valve" for an unjust and fallible criminal justice system. [74]

In June 2023, former board member Adam Luck spoke out about how he was pressured to not vote the way he wanted to by District Attorneys and those who wanted to maintain their power. [75]

Continuing with the history of high turnover, in July 2023 Cathy Stoker resigned from the board saying that her role was not a "good fit" and Kevin Buchanan, another former district attorney for Washington County and Nowata County from Bartlesville, was appointed by Governor Stitt to replace her. [76] [77] She resigned just before Richard Smothermon did in August 2023 after criticism from Representative Kevin McDugle criticized the board and Smothermon specifically for not giving Richard Glossip five full board votes. [78] Smothermon gave no direct reason for why he resigned, but the Pardon and Parole Board is "currently the target of a lawsuit brought by death-row inmate Richard Glossip after he was denied a clemency recommendation." [79] McDugle said that he would like to see the pardon and parole board "have seven members instead of five and he’s going to work during the next legislative session" toward that goal. [80]

2024 controversies

The first ever commutation hearing for someone with a life without parole sentence was for Cathy Lamb. Despite the prosecuting district attorney even advocating for her release, the board has not granted her commutation. [81]

In 2024, Oklahoma state Representative Kevin McDugle said he "believes that members of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council had improper communications with the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board prior to Glossip’s clemency hearing in April 2023." District Attorney Jason Hicks criticized AG Drummond for sharing his views on the case. In other communications revealed, district attorneys referred to Drummond as a “douche” and "complained among themselves that the attorney general had turned Glossip’s clemency hearing into a 'circus'" and that Drummond was vying for a run for governor. [82] [83]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board - Agency History". www.ok.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  2. ↑ "Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board - Board Members". www.ok.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  3. ↑ Ross, Keaton (September 23, 2021). "Rights of the Condemned: What Oklahoma Death Row Prisoners Can and Can't Do In Their Final Hours". Oklahoma Watch . Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "Grants of Clemency by State". Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "Parole Process". Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  6. ↑ Palmer, Jennifer (January 19, 2016). "Parole is not likely for violent offenders in Oklahoma". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "Bill Information". www.oklegislature.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  8. 1 2 "Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommends largest single-day commutation in U.S. history | Welcome to Governor Stitt". www.governor.ok.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  9. ↑ "Hundreds Of Oklahoma Inmates Freed In Country's Largest Single-Day Commutation". www.kosu.org. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  10. ↑ "Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to vote on hundreds of cases in what could be largest commutation in U.S. history". Oklahoman.com. 2019-11-01. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  11. ↑ Bellware, Kim. "Oklahoma approves largest single-day commutation in U.S. history". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  12. 1 2 "Arrests follow released convicts". Tulsa World. 14 April 2022.
  13. ↑ Hoberock, Barbara (17 July 2014). "Pardon and Parole Board criticized". Tulsa World. pp. A4.
  14. ↑ Querry-Thompson, K. (March 12, 2021). "Oklahoma County DA files lawsuit against Pardon and Parole Board, Gov. Stitt". Oklahoma News 4. KFOR. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  15. ↑ "District Attorney asking Pardon and Parole Board member to recuse himself, calls tweets 'biased'". Oklahoma News 4. March 5, 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  16. ↑ Trotter, Matt (June 8, 2020). "Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board Denies DA's Request to Disqualify Two Members". Public Radio Tulsa. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  17. ↑ Trotter, Matt (July 31, 2020). "Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board Executive Director Resigns Following Threat by Member". Public Radio Tulsa. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Hoberock, Barbara (July 31, 2020). "Oklahoma Pardon and Parole chief resigns after alleged threat from board member". Tulsa World. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  19. ↑ "NAACP calls for resignation of parole board member". readfrontier. July 2, 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  20. 1 2 Hoberock, Barbara (9 July 2021). "State Pardon and Parole Board member resigns, citing other opportunities | Latest Headlines | tulsaworld.com". Tulsa World. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  21. ↑ "Okla. Co. DA Prater Responds To State Supreme Court's Denial To Remove Pardon And Parole Board Members". News 9. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  22. ↑ K., Querry-Thompson (Sep 13, 2021). "Oklahoma County District Attorney speaks out after board recommends commutation for Julius Jones". Oklahoma News 4. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  23. ↑ Clay, Nolan (October 19, 2021). "Grand jury seated to look at jail, parole board". The Oklahoman.
  24. ↑ "'Now they'll have one more arrow in their quiver': attorney predicts attempts to oust parole board member will continue". Public Radio Tulsa. November 15, 2021.
  25. ↑ "PAROLE BOARD MEMBERS ASK COURT TO SANCTION AG O'CONNOR FOR TRYING TO "DELAY AND DISRUPT" PROCEEDINGS". Black Wallstreet Times. November 11, 2021.
  26. ↑ Wilson, Colleen. "Pardon & Parole Board member asks Oklahoma Supreme Court to sanction Attorney General". News Channel 8.
  27. ↑ Clay, Nolan (3 March 2022). "Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board member Kelly Doyle resigns unexpectedly". The Oklahoman.
  28. ↑ Savage, Tres (14 January 2022). "Non Doc". Adam Luck resigns from Pardon and Parole Board, Stitt appoints Edward Konieczny.
  29. ↑ "Stitt expresses confidence in Pardon and Parole Board". Tulsa World. 5 December 2021.
  30. ↑ "Dark money group targets Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt with Fox News attack ads". Tulsa World. 2 December 2021.
  31. ↑ "Oklahoma profile". Prison Policy Initiative.
  32. ↑ "States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2021". Prison Policy.
  33. ↑ Kajstura, Aleks. "States of Women's Incarceration: The Global Context 2018".
  34. ↑ "Stitt Appoints Former District Attorney To State Pardon & Parole Board". News 9.
  35. ↑ Clay, Nolan (1 April 2022). "Former District Attorney Cathy Stocker appointed to Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board". The Oklahoman.
  36. ↑ Pope, Anna. "Former state prosecutor appointed to Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board". KOSU.
  37. ↑ "As makeup of parole board shifts, members question policy". Tulsa Public Radio. 11 April 2022.
  38. ↑ Michaels, Samantha (9 August 2022). "She Never Hurt Her Kids. So Why Is a Mother Serving More Time Than the Man Who Abused Her Daughter?". Mother Jones.
  39. ↑ "The racist law targeting America's mothers". YouTube. 9 August 2022.
  40. ↑ "An Obscure Law Is Sending Oklahoma Mothers to Prison in Droves. We Reviewed 1.5 Million Cases to Learn More". Mother Jones. 9 August 2022.
  41. ↑ Helenowski, Mark. "How a reporter documented the failure of "failure-to-protect" laws". Nieman Storyboard. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  42. ↑ Hoberock, Barbara (5 January 2023). "Miller appointed to the Pardon and Parole Board". Tulsa World.
  43. ↑ Hutchison, Mark (30 July 1995). "Madill Lawyer Wants Judge Barred From Domestic Cases". The Oklahoman.
  44. ↑ Clay, Nolan (March 22, 2021). "Special counsel to investigate complaints about Oklahoma's parole board". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  45. ↑ Clay, Nolan (March 3, 2021). "Why a cannibalism case led to an investigation of Oklahoma's parole board". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  46. ↑ Kay, Kaitor (2022). "Lawsuit filed against Oklahoma Governor, Pardon and Parole Board for 2021 triple homicide". KFOR.
  47. ↑ "Ex-Tulsa officer convicted in crossbow, poison arrow murder gets parole revoked". KJRH. 2022.
  48. ↑ "Oklahoma Pardon & Parole Board Votes To Recommends Parole For 'Crossbow Killer'". News On 6.
  49. ↑ Rose, Brenna (1 October 2022). "Lawyers claim evidence was 'suppressed' in 1998 Oklahoma murder trial". Channel 8.
  50. ↑ "Larry Morris's goal is not being in other's life". Tulsa World. Mar 15, 2011.
  51. ↑ "On Larry Morris of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board". 18 December 2021.
  52. ↑ "#AprilsStory The Lone Crusaders". VNN. 22 March 2022.
  53. ↑ "Family and personal". Archived from the original on 23 March 2022.
  54. ↑ "DA's race among most moneyed". Tulsa World. 21 July 2006. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021.
  55. ↑ Brenna, Rose (4 October 2022). "Court documents claim prosecution failed to turn over evidence in Oklahoma murder trial". Channel 8.
  56. ↑ Harlow, Brittany (18 February 2023). "Legislation to help criminalized survivors get justice filed in Oklahoma". VNN.
  57. ↑ Marshall, Paula (18 February 2023). "Opinion: Domestic violence is at root of why many women are sent to Oklahoma prisons". Tulsa World.
  58. ↑ Rose, Brenna (17 February 2023). "Oklahoma Domestic Abuse Survivorship Act introduced in House".
  59. ↑ Rose, Brenna (2022). "Survived and Sentenced: Are Oklahoma's laws failing domestic violence survivors?". KTUL.
  60. ↑ "Survivor Justice Days: OK Appleseed advocating for 'Daughters of Okla.'". Fox 23. 1 March 2023.
  61. ↑ Felder, Ben (1 March 2023). "She killed her abuser. An Oklahoma House committee passed a bill that could set her free". The Oklahoman.
  62. ↑ Wilkens, April (7 March 2023). "I shot my abuser to escape. Why are so many domestic violence survivors like me in prison?". USA Today.
  63. ↑ Wilkens, April (26 February 2023). "Guest: I am one of many domestic violence victims incarcerated in Oklahoma, but there's hope". The Oklahoman.
  64. ↑ "These are the stories of Oklahoma's criminalized survivors". 2023.
  65. ↑ "The Survivor Voices Project: Listen to their courageous stories". Fox 23. 3 March 2023.
  66. ↑ Michaels, Samantha (2023). "Oklahoma Lawmakers Are Watering Down a Bill That's Supposed to Help Domestic Violence Survivors". Mother Jones.
  67. ↑ "Grand jury criticizes Pardon and Parole Board, governor over commutations". KPVI.
  68. ↑ "Governor, legislative leaders in crosshairs of Oklahoma County grand jury report". 12 May 2022.
  69. ↑ "Grand jury report criticizes Pardon and Parole board members, state leaders". 2 News Oklahoma.
  70. ↑ "Grand jury criticizes Pardon and Parole Board, governor over commutations". Tulsa World. 12 May 2022.
  71. ↑ "Grand jury report criticizes Oklahoma governor, parole board". Washington Post. 13 May 2022.
  72. ↑ "Grand Jury Criticizes Gov. Kevin Stitt, Pardon and Parole Board Over Commutation Processes". Oklahoma Watch . 12 May 2022.
  73. ↑ "Oklahoma County grand jury finds multiple issues with Pardon and Parole Board". KOCO.
  74. ↑ "Our judicial system is fallible. The safety valve of the Pardon & Parole Board is failing". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  75. ↑ https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/people/elizabeth-caldwell (2023-06-30). "Former parole board chairman speaks publicly for first time about service, resignation". Public Radio Tulsa. Retrieved 2023-07-04.{{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)
  76. ↑ https://www.kjrh.com/jennifer-maupin (2023-08-11). "2 OK Pardon and Parole Board members resign amid Glossip lawsuit". 2 News Oklahoma KJRH Tulsa. Retrieved 2023-08-12.{{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)
  77. ↑ "Bartlesville Radio » News » Buchanan Appointed to Pardon, Parole Board". Bartlesville Radio. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
  78. ↑ "Two of five Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board members resign". KFOR.com Oklahoma City. 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
  79. ↑ World, Barbara Hoberock Tulsa (2023-08-10). "Two former prosecutors resign from five-member Pardon and Parole Board". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
  80. ↑ "Two Pardon and Parole Board members resign amid Glossip lawsuit". www.fox23.com. 2023-08-11. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
  81. ↑ "The prosecutor who put her away says she should be free, but she's still in prison in Oklahoma". Public Radio Tulsa. 2024-03-15. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  82. ↑ World, Steve Metzer Tulsa (2024-03-22). "Lawmakers chime in after DA's comments surface about Drummond, Glossip clemency". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  83. ↑ Clay, Nolan. "AG slammed in texts for stance on death row inmate". The Oklahoman.
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