Grand jury report criticizes Oklahoma governor, parole board

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board was so focused on releasing inmates that it cut corners and ignored internal processes that ultimately led to the release of an inmate who was later charged with three counts of first-degree murder, according to a grand jury report released this week.

The final report released Thursday by the Oklahoma County Grand Jury, which was requested in October by Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater, covered several investigations, including a probe into a Catoosa tag agency that led to felony charges against a sitting state lawmaker and his wife.

The grand jury also described as “grossly improper” a meeting Gov. Kevin Stitt had with a group of people he ultimately appointed to the board during which decisions were made about upcoming votes and about dismissing the agency’s former director. The governor appoints three of the five members of the Pardon and Parole Board.

“At the time of this conversation, the individuals had not taken their seats yet, nor had any taken the required oath of office,” the grand jury report states. “However, such a meeting clearly violates the spirit of the Open Meetings Act, and clearly rendered the future board less than the independent authority contemplated by the Oklahoma Constitution.”

Charlie Hannema, a spokesman for Stitt, said there was nothing improper about the governor ensuring that his appointees are aligned with his vision and described the grand jury process as a “sham” orchestrated by Prater, who chose not to run for reelection.

“The grand jury process was a sham from the beginning and culminated with a report verifying this was little more than an outgoing prosecutor’s latest abuse of the public’s trust to target his…