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 cases of people in state prisons. The five-member board reviews hundreds of pardons, parole and commutation cases each month and is also responsible for hearing clemency cases for prisoners on Oklahoma’s death row. 

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 burdens board members who are already responsible for reviewing hundreds of pages of letters and case histories before each meeting. 

“I don’t think they can get a fair hearing when you have so many files to review for one meeting,” Hinton said. 

In a normal month, Hinton estimates the board can only realistically spend a few minutes reviewing each person’s case because of the amount of content they have to work through on a part-time salary. She said the backlog will exacerbate the board members’ fight against the clock. 

Among the cases up for review at the next meeting is Wayne Thompson, 57, who has spent more than 40 years behind bars for a crime 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 make his case. 

Thompson’s sister Cindy Welch was 12 years old when Thompson went to prison in 1984 and is now a grandmother. She’s been trying to help her brother win release from prison for most of her life. She believes Thompson will do well outside of prison if he wins parole. 

“It’s really upsetting that we have to wait another month, but if in another month we get our freedom, then it’s alright,” Welch said.

Gov. Kevin Stitt is responsible for appointing two new members to the Pardon and Parole Board to fill two open spots after the recent resignations of Edward Konieczny and Calvin Prince. 

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Abegail Cave, a spokesperson for Stitt’s office, said appointments will be made in a “timely manner” but did not provide any 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 for the Pardon and Parole Board, said he anticipates both slots will 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 that we will be able to get folks prepared for the meeting.” 

Madison Boone, an attorney from Project Commutation, an Oklahoma-based nonprofit that provides legal representation to people at the Pardon and Parole Board, said the resignations have created uncertainty for people in prison waiting for a hearing. 

“It’s just really unfortunate because … this is one more month these people will have to spend in prison, regardless of what’s going to happen,” 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 gets a video conference interview with the board. 

With their resignations, Thompson has lost two people who helped push his case forward. There’s no way to anticipate how the newly appointed members will vote. 

Thompson said he’s disappointed but “at the end of the day” he’s “just glad to still have the opportunity to continue the conversation.”

Additional reading

Still Waiting: Oklahoma rarely paroles violent offenders

Convicted of murder as a teenager, Wayne Thompson hopes for a second chance at freedom

After decades in prison, Wayne Thompson inches closer to parole