TULSA, Okla. — Ten days before an Oklahoma inmate is set to die by lethal injection, his clemency hearing is delayed again.
It’s the second time this month that Kevin Underwood’s chance for mercy has been delayed.
In 2006, Underwood told investigators he killed Jamie Rose Bolin, 10, in Purcell as part of a cannibalistic fantasy. Her body, with nearly a severed head, was found in a plastic bin in his apartment.
Underwood’s execution date is set for December 19, but state law requires he first be allowed a clemency hearing. It is unclear when that hearing will take place.
A federal appeals court granted Underwood’s request to delay the clemency hearing until judges decide whether it is constitutional without two recently resigned pardon and parole board members.
One member is reportedly moving. The second member, Calvin Prince, resigned amid an OSBI investigation for possibly offering a pardon for sexual favors.
Meanwhile, criminal justice groups like Oklahoma Appleseed called on legislators to reform the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.
During an interim study in October, Collen McCarty, Appleseed’s Executive Director, told lawmakers the board needs alternates in case of a tie, recusal, absence—or, in this case, unforeseen resignations.
She also recommended moving the board from part-time to full-time, allowing members to consider cases fully.
“We have so many people incarcerated and so many people coming up before the board regularly that… they may not have the time to dig into the cases,” she said.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office sent a statement on the delay:
“The stay is frustrating but we are proceeding with all legal avenues to allow the hearing to take place this week and to keep the execution on schedule.”
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