OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor has asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to prevent two Pardon and Parole Board members from participating in the clemency hearings of Oklahoma County death-row inmates Julius Jones and Bigler Jobe Stouffer.
He alleges member Kelly Doyle and Chairman Adam Luck are biased and have a conflict of interest in both cases.
“Allowing either Adam Luck or Kelly Doyle to participate in or take any action in matters related to Bigler Stouffer is a violation of the essential meaning of avoiding an appearance of impropriety, or conflict of interest, or actual or implied bias on the part of the decision maker,” according to the court filing.
The legal filing said Luck uses social media to solicit information about people who might be eligible to appear for the board and to arrange private conversations about matter that might come before the board.
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“He believes himself to be bound by the Bible to release people from prison,” according to the filing. “Chairman Luck does not appear to be able to set aside his religious and political beliefs in his role as a Board member. And he has business relationships which create a conflict of interest.”
The filing said Doyle had similar financial conflicts of interest and beliefs.
“She is openly hostile towards prosecutors,” the filing said. “She has stated that people come before the Board with a presumption of release.”
The Pardon and Parole Board declined to comment.
The action comes as the Oklahoma Supreme Court declined to take similar action on Doyle and Luck in Jones' commutation hearing at the request of Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater.
Stouffer is set to die Dec. 9 for the 1984 killing of Linda Reaves. He has a Wednesday clemency hearing before the Pardon and Parole Board.
Jones is set to die Nov. 18 for the 1999 killing of Paul Howell. Jones has a Oct. 27 clemency hearing.
The board previously voted 3-1 to recommend commutation to life with the possibility for parole for Jones, but Gov. Kevin Stitt declined to act on it, saying clemency was the better procedure.
Doyle and Luck both declined to recuse from participating in the commutation hearing and both voted to recommend commutation.
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Richard Rojem
Name: Richard Rojem Jr.
Birthdate: 12/19/1957
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Washington
Conviction date: 07/15/1985
On death row since: 07/15/1985. He has exhausted his court appeals. His execution is set for June 27.
Kendrick Simpson
Name: Kendrick Simpson
Birthdate: 10/02/1980
Offense: First-degree murder, two death sentences
County Convicted: Oklahoma
Conviction date: 10/26/2007
On death row since: 11/5/2007.
Emmanuel Littlejohn
Name: Emmanuel Littlejohn
Birthdate: 11/09/1971
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Oklahoma
Conviction date: 11/23/1994
On death row since: 11/30/1994. He has exhausted his court appeals.
Kevin Underwood
Name: Kevin Underwood
Birthdate: 12/19/1979
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Cleveland
Conviction date: 04/03/2008
On death row since: 04/07/2008.
Wendell Grissom
Name: Wendell Grissom
Birthdate: 10/11/1968
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Blaine
Conviction date: 06/17/2008
On death row since: 06/30/2008.
Termane Wood
Name: Termane Wood
Birthdate: 10/09/1979
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Oklahoma
Conviction date: 05/07/2004
On death row since: 05/17/2004. He has exhausted his appeals.
James Ryder
Name: James Ryder
Birthdate: 03/30/1962
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Pittsburg
Conviction date: 06/21/2000
On death row since: 6/23/2000. He has exhausted his court appeals. A stay has been granted in his execution.
John Fitzgerald Hanson
Name: John Fitzgerald Hanson
Offense: First-degree murder
County convicted: Tulsa
Conviction date: 05/23/2001, 01/24/2006
On death row since: 2002. He has exhausted his court appeals and has an execution date set for Dec. 15, 2022. Because he remains in federal custody, and the current administration has established a moratorium on the death penalty, the Bureau of Prisons has said it will not release Hanson to the state for execution.
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Richard Glossip
Name: Richard Glossip
Birthdate: 02/09/1953
Offense: First-degree murder, two death sentences
County Convicted: Oklahoma
Conviction date: 06/01/1998, 08/27/2004
On death row since: 08/31/1998. He has exhausted his court appeals and has had his execution date moved multiple times to allow time for the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to address pending legal proceedings. Glossip was set to be executed May 18, 2023, before a Supreme Court stay was put in place.
Alfred Mitchell
Name: Alfred Mitchell
Birthdate: 12/23/1972
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Oklahoma
Conviction date: 07/10/1992
On death row since: 7/15/1992. Click here to read more. He has exhausted his court appeals. His execution is set for Oct. 3, 2024.
Marlon Harmon
Name: Marlon Harmon
Birthdate: 07/12/1980
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Oklahoma
Conviction date: 07/02/2008
On death row since: 07/14/2008. Click here to read more. He has exhausted his court appeals. His execution is set for Dec. 5, 2024.
Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez
Name: Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez
Birthdate: 10/04/1955
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Oklahoma
Conviction date: 08/15/2007
On death row since: 8/20/2007. He has exhausted his court appeals. His execution is set for June 6, 2024.
Clarence Goode Jr.
Name: Clarence Goode Jr.
Birthdate: 04/22/1976
Offense: First-degree murder, three death sentences
County Convicted: Tulsa
Conviction date: 12/10/2007
On death row since: 1/14/2008. He has exhausted his appeals. His execution is set for June 6, 2024.
James Pavatt
Name: James Pavatt
Birthdate: 11/10/1953
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Oklahoma
Conviction date: 10/21/2003
Death row rulings: Put on death row in 2003, Pavatt had his death sentence overturned in 2017. A federal court overturned that ruling, reinstating Pavatt's death sentence on June 27, 2019. His appeals have been exhausted. His execution is set for July 11, 2024.
Raymond E. Johnson
Name: Raymond Johnson
Birthdate: 03/25/1974
Offense: First-degree murder, two death sentences
County Convicted: Tulsa
Conviction date: 07/28/2009
On death row since: 08/10/2009. His execution is set for May 2, 2024.
Ricky Malone
Name: Ricky Malone
Birthdate: 06/10/1974
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Comanche
Conviction date: 06/16/2005
On death row since: 06/20/2005. SCOTUS denied certiorari 10/7/2019.
Ronson Bush
Name: Ronson Bush
Birthdate: 05/15/1977
Offense: First-degree murder
County Convicted: Grady
Conviction date: 10/29/2009
On death row since: 11/13/2009. Click here to read more. His execution is set for Sept. 5, 2024.
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Attorney General John O'Connor has ask the state Supreme Court to prevent two Pardon and Parole Board members from participating in upcoming clemency hearings for two death-row inmates.
Barbara Hoberock
Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer
