A clemency hearing for a Purcell man sentenced to death for the of murder of a 10-year-old girl is in limbo after the recent resignation of two Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board members. 

Two clemency hearings for Kevin Ray Underwood, 44, have been canceled in the past week after the resignations. His execution is scheduled for Dec. 19.

Underwood’s lawyers had filed a motion in federal court to postpone his execution, arguing the resignations at the Parole Board would put his constitutional right to a fair clemency hearing in jeopardy. 

“The Board’s actions significantly and arbitrarily weaken Underwood’s opportunity to be heard and his chances of obtaining a favorable clemency recommendation,” Underwood’s attorneys argued in a legal brief.

A federal judge on Sunday denied that request. Underwood’s legal team has appealed the ruling. A federal appeals court has granted Underwood a temporary stay of clemency hearing, but not a stay of execution while the court proceedings are ongoing. 

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Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office told The Frontier that it is proceeding with all legal avenues in hopes of having the clemency hearing this week. 

Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed one new member to the Pardon and Parole Board on Friday. 

Underwood’s execution will remain set for Dec. 19, as long as a clemency hearing is scheduled before that date, according to the Attorney General’s office.

Underwood was originally scheduled for a clemency hearing on Dec. 4, which was postponed after Pardon and Parole Board member Calvin Prince resigned while under investigation for sending inappropriate text messages to a woman seeking court-mandated counseling. Pardon and Parole Board Chairman Edward Konieczny also resigned last month. 

The Attorney General’s office filed an emergency petition after the first hearing was canceled, insisting the board had to continue with the hearing regardless of the resignations. 

Drummond has also urged state officials to reject clemency for Underwood, who in 2006 admitted to killing Jamie Rose Bolin to act out his cannibalistic fantasies. Police found Bolin in a plastic tub in Underwood’s closet, two days later. Bolin lived in the same apartment complex as Underwood in Purcell. 

“Kevin Underwood is a deeply evil monster whose execution absolutely should be carried out without further setback,” Drummond said in a press release. “I urge Gov. Stitt to ensure justice is served at last in this hideous case.”

A Cleveland County jury found Underwood guilty of first-degree murder in 2008, and the court sentenced him to death.

Oklahoma executions since 2021
Oct. 28, 2021: John Marion Grant
Dec. 9, 2021: Bigler Jobe Stouffer II
Jan. 27, 2022: Donald Anthony Grant
Feb. 17, 2022: Gilbert Postelle
Aug. 25, 2022: James Allen Coddington
Oct. 20, 2022: Benjamin Cole
Nov. 17, 2022: Richard Fairchild
Jan. 12, 2023: Scott Eizember
July 20, 2023: Jemaine Cannon
Sep. 21, 2023: Anthony Sanchez
Nov. 30, 2023: Phillip Hancock
April 4, 2024: Michael DeWayne Smith
June 27, 2024: Richard Rojem
Sept. 26, 2024: Emmanuel Littlejohn