The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board's upcoming clemency hearing for death-row inmate Kevin Underwood has been pushed back following the unexpected resignations of two of its members, Oklahoma Voice reported. The hearing, initially set for yesterday, is now scheduled for Dec. 9, just ten days before Underwood's execution date. Chairman Calvin Prince III and member Edward Konieczny both resigned without public explanation for their departures, as their resignation letters did not outline specific reasons.
The sudden void in the board's roster led to a delay that has roused the intervention of Attorney General Gentner Drummond who, according to court documents McAlester News-Capital obtained, is earnest in his quest to propel Underwood's clemency hearing forward without failure. Drummond's office has pressured the board to proceed, asserting that to do otherwise would dishonor the victim's family who has awaited justice for 18 long years, their sentiments echoed from Oklahoma Voice, which detailed Drummond's description of Underwood as "a deeply evil monster."
The Pardon and Parole Board, which ideally operates with a full five-member committee when deliberating clemency requests, possesses the minimum three to conduct business for now, as reported by OKC FOX. The board generally prefers as full a roster as possible for such weighty judgements, a preference challenged by both the Attorney General's insistence on urgency and the law, which dictates that a clemency hearing be held within a rather narrow time frame before an execution.
The Attorney General's Office contends that the Board's postponement potentially violates the state's Open Meetings Act, highlighting, as McAlester News-Capital details a mandate for a 10-day notice before meeting cancellations and underscoring the lack of any true emergency that would prevent the quorum-bearing board from convening as scheduled. It implies insistence that the governance of end-of-life considerations cannot afford delays, surely not for Kevin Underwood on the threshold of December 19, nor for the memory of Jamie Rose Bolin.
