Editor’s note: Tulsa attorney Susan H. Stava was appointed Thursday by Gov. Kevin Stitt to fill a seat on the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board left vacant by the resignation of former board member H. Calvin Prince III, who resigned on November 29.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is facing a backlog and could be forced to review as many as 550 parole cases in January after this month’s meeting was canceled when two members resigned.
The delay means the part-time board will have even less time to review the parole of people in state prisons. The five-member board reviews hundreds of pardon, parole and commutation cases each month and is also responsible for hearing clemency cases for Oklahoma death row inmates.
Sue Hinton, a retired journalism professor, has been advocating for people behind bars at the Pardon and Parole Board for the past five years. She said the backlog is a burden on board members, who are already responsible for reviewing hundreds of pages of letters and case studies before each meeting.
“I don’t think they can get a fair trial when you have to review so many files for one meeting,” Hinton said.
Hinton estimates that in a normal month the board can only spend a few minutes reviewing everyone’s case because of the amount of content they have to process on a part-time salary. She said the backlog will exacerbate board members’ battle against the clock.
Among the cases to be reviewed at the next meeting is 57-year-old Wayne Thompson, who spent more than 40 years behind bars for a crime he committed when he was 15. He has waited years for a personal interview with the parole board. Now another month will pass before he can plead his case.
Thompson’s sister, Cindy Welch, was 12 years old when Thompson went to prison in 1984 and is now a grandmother. She spends most of her life trying to help her brother get out of prison. She believes Thompson will do well out of prison if he is released on parole.
“It’s really upsetting that we have to wait another month, but if we get our freedom in a month, that won’t be a problem,” Welch said.
Governor Kevin Stitt is responsible for appointing two new members to the Pardon and Parole Board to fill two open positions following the recent resignations of Edward Konieczny and Calvin Prince.
Abegail Cave, a spokesperson for Stitt’s office, said the arrangements will be made “in a timely manner” but did not provide additional details.
Appointees must have a college degree and experience in a related field. At least two board members are required to have five years of training or experience in mental health, substance abuse services or social work.
Tom Bates, executive director of the Pardon and Parole Board, said he expects both slots to be filled in time for the January meeting. He said board members will be ready.
“The governor is working on these appointments,” Bates said. “I trust we can prepare people for the meeting.”
Madison Boone, an attorney for Project Commutation, an Oklahoma-based nonprofit that provides legal representation to people before the Pardon and Parole Board, said the dismissal has created uncertainty for people in jail awaiting a hearing.
“It’s just a real shame because … this is another month that these people are going to have to spend in jail no matter what happens,” Boone said.
The uncertainty extends to Thompson’s case.
Former board members Prince and Konieczny voted in October to advance Thompson to the next phase of the parole process, where he will have a video conference interview with the board.
With their resignations, Thompson has lost two people who helped advance his cause. There is no way to predict how the newly appointed members will vote.
Thompson said he was disappointed, but “ultimately” he is “just glad he still has the opportunity to continue the conversation.”
The Frontier is a nonprofit newsroom producing fearless journalism with impact in Oklahoma. Read more at www.readfrontier.org.
The Frontier is a nonprofit newsroom producing fearless journalism with impact in Oklahoma. Read more at www.readfrontier.org.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board face backlog after resignations
