Cases
Gov. Mary Fallin: She has approved 277 cases and denied 38 that Henry approved.
By JACLYN COSGROVE Oklahoma Watch
Published: 4/23/2011 2:24 AM
Last Modified: 4/23/2011 8:25 AM
View a list of people whose paroles were approved by Gov. Brad Henry if they completed certain requirements and then later denied by Gov. Mary Fallin.
Editor's note: Oklahoma Watch is an independent investigative and in-depth reporting team that partners with news organizations, including the Tulsa World, and higher education to produce impact journalism in the public interest. For more, visit tulsaworld.com/okwatch
David Johns thought he was about to be a free man.
After serving 27 years in prison on a first-degree murder charge, Johns, 51, was approved for parole by former Gov. Brad Henry on Jan. 9, with the stipulation that Johns successfully complete a 120-day work release program.
But about 2 1/2 months later, Johns was still at Lexington Correctional Center and hadn't started the program.
His nephew soon called with the news – Gov. Mary Fallin had re-reviewed Johns' parole file and decided not to grant him a parole.
"It was shocking because I don't understand what legal authority one governor has to change what another governor has done," Johns said. "I still have some questions about that."
Johns is one of 38 offenders in Oklahoma prisons whose Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommendation was approved by Henry but later denied by Fallin after she took office Jan. 10.
Rebecca Frazier, deputy general counsel, said Fallin and her staff have reviewed about 330 cases and have 85 cases left to review from Henry's administration.
Fallin has approved 277 cases and denied 38 that Henry approved, Frazier said.
About 32 offenders whom Henry had approved but Fallin denied had recent misconducts. Johns was not one of those offenders.
At least 36 of the offenders denied by Fallin were offenders whose paroles from Henry came with stipulations.
Of the 85 remaining cases, 70 are offenders in custody who are completing stipulations that were placed on their paroles, such as finishing a GED or vo-tech class.
Fallin's staff has 15 cases in its "miscellaneous" category because of various issues they discovered, such as an offender released while Henry was in office but whose parole certificate was never filed.
Alex Weintz, Fallin's communications director, said he did not know a specific reason why Johns' parole recommendation was denied but said it was worth noting the parole board narrowly approved Johns, 3-2.
How the situation with Johns and the other offenders arose stems, in part, from two administrations with differing opinions on when a parole approved by the governor becomes official.
Terry Jenks, the Pardon and Parole Board director, said that once Henry approved a parole, he would tell the parole board it was OK to notify the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to release the offender. Over the next few days, the parole paperwork would be sent to the secretary of state to be processed and filed.
Jenks said Fallin's office has told the parole board it wants the secretary of state to certify the paroles before the Oklahoma Department of Corrections releases the offender.
Once Fallin took office, her secretary of state, Glenn Coffee, determined he could not certify the parole paperwork from Henry because by the time it reached his office, Henry was no longer governor.
Henry told Oklahoma City television station KWTV-Channel 9 that it was his "firm belief" every parole which went in on his last day in office "was properly acted on."
Coffee could not be reached for comment.
Jenks has been with the parole board for about 18 years and said he hasn't seen a situation like this before.
Former Secretary of State Susan Savage said she was in her office over that weekend and in Oklahoma City on call until 12:30 p.m. the day of Fallin's inauguration.
"The interpretation I had was that, when they were delivered to the Secretary of State's Office, that in effect meant they had been received, so there was no reason for them not to be signed on a procedural basis," Savage said.
Oklahoma is the only state that requires the governor to have final say on every parole recommendation submitted by the parole board. A bill under consideration in the Legislature would change parole procedures in some cases.
Under the proposed law, the governor still would have final authority in all paroles and pardons.
But in cases involving paroles of nonviolent, low-risk offenders, if the governor did not take action within the 30-day time frame specified by state law, the recommendation of the Pardon and Parole Board would automatically go into effect.
When Henry first took office, he was reviewing paroles within 14 days, but his average time when he left office was 81 days. Henry approved at least 300 paroles the day before Fallin took office, sending them to the parole board late Sunday night.
Weintz said Fallin and her staff were not changing anything the previous administration had decided.
"Gov. Henry just didn't finish his paroles," Weintz said.
Fallin's staff quoted two legal cases, Jones v. Sneed and Shields v. Sneed, that they say give Fallin legal grounds to deny paroles that were previously approved, primarily because they say the paroles weren't sent to the Secretary of State's Office before Henry left office.
Frazier said in an email that the two cases refer to pardon, rather than parole, but are equally applicable.
Johns was previously recommended for parole in 2004 and 2007 by the parole board but was denied by Henry each time.
The board again recommended Johns in September, and Henry approved Johns for parole on Jan. 9 with the work-release stipulation, said J.D. Daniels, deputy director of the Pardon and Parole Board.
Johns planned to enroll at Tulsa Welding School and sign up for a re-entry program in Tulsa that helps offenders get back on their feet. He is at Lexington Correctional Center, where he works in the mailroom.
Johns was sentenced to life in prison in 1983 along with William "Smokey" Warren, 58, for the first-degree murder of Tom Crossland of Muskogee.
Crossland was a 68-year-old retiree who had owned the K Street Grocery store in Muskogee and lived in Muskogee since 1945, according to Muskogee Phoenix archives. The night he was killed, he had been at horse races at Blue Ribbon Downs and was carrying $2,700, according to the Phoenix archives.
Johns said he has never met any of Crossland's family but would apologize if he did.
"I would tell them that I'm sorry for the things that have happened," he said.
Members of Crossland's family could not be reached for comment.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/items/paroles04202011.pdf www.tulsaworld.com
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