Okla. Stat. tit. 57, § 57-332.2

commutation - Notice of dockets and recommendations.

A. The Pardon and Parole Board, which shall meet only on the

call of the Chair, is authorized, if and when an application made to

the Governor for a reprieve, commutation, parole, pardon, or other

act of clemency is certified thereto by the Governor, to examine

into the merits of said application and make recommendations to the

Governor in relation thereto, said recommendation being advisory to

the Governor and not binding thereon.

B. Any consideration for commutation shall be made only after

application is made to the Pardon and Parole Board pursuant to the

procedures set forth in this section. The Pardon and Parole Board

shall provide a copy of the application to the district attorney,

the victim or representative of the victim and the Office of the

Attorney General within ten (10) business days of receipt of such

application.

C. An application for commutation, other than those provided

for in subsection F of this section, must be sent to the trial

officials, who shall have twenty (20) business days to provide a

written recommendation or protest prior to consideration of the

application. Trial officials shall include:

1. The current elected judge of the court where the conviction

was had;

2. The current elected district attorney of the jurisdiction

where the conviction was had; or

3. The chief or head administrative officer of the arresting

law enforcement agency.

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D. In cases resolved prior to the tenure of the present

officeholders, the recommendation or protest of persons holding such

offices at the time of conviction may also be considered by the

Board.

E. The recommendation for commutation of a sentence by a trial

official may include the following:

1. A statement that the penalty now appears to be excessive;

2. A recommendation of a definite term now considered by the

official as just and proper; and

3. A statement of the reasons for the recommendation based upon

facts directly related to the case which were not available to the

court or jury at the time of the trial or based upon there having

been a statutory change in penalty for the crime which makes the

original penalty appear excessive.

F. The Pardon and Parole Board shall establish an accelerated,

single-stage commutation docket for any applicant who has been

convicted of a crime that has been reclassified from a felony to a

misdemeanor under Oklahoma law. The Pardon and Parole Board shall

be empowered to recommend to the Governor for commutation, by

majority vote, any commutation application placed on the

accelerated, single-stage commutation docket that meets the

eligibility criteria provided above. The Department of Corrections

shall certify a list of potentially eligible inmates to the Pardon

and Parole Board within thirty (30) days of the effective date of

this act.

G. The Pardon and Parole Board shall schedule the application

on a commutation docket in compliance with the notice requirements

set forth herein. The Board shall provide the victim or

representative of the victim at least twenty (20) days to offer

recommendations or protests before consideration of the application.

H. Applications for commutation shall be given impartial review

as required in Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma

Constitution.

I. Any consideration for pardon shall be made only after

application is made to the Pardon and Parole Board. Upon receipt of

an application for pardon, the Board shall provide a copy of the

application to the district attorney, the victim or representative

of the victim and the Office of the Attorney General within twenty
as required in Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma

Constitution.

I. Any consideration for pardon shall be made only after

application is made to the Pardon and Parole Board. Upon receipt of

an application for pardon, the Board shall provide a copy of the

application to the district attorney, the victim or representative

of the victim and the Office of the Attorney General within twenty

(20) business days of receipt of such application. The district

attorney and the victim or representative of the victim shall have

twenty (20) business days to provide written recommendation or

protest prior to the consideration of the application. The Board

shall schedule the application on a pardon docket in compliance with

the notice requirements set forth herein.

J. In accordance with Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma

Constitution, the Board shall communicate to the Legislature, at

each regular session, by providing a summary of the activities of

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the Board. This summary shall include, but not be limited to, the

following Board activity:

1. The approval or recommendation rates of the Board for both

violent and nonviolent offenses;

2. The parole approval rates for each individual Board member

for both violent and nonviolent offenses; and

3. The percentage of public comments to and personal

appearances before the Board including victim protests and personal

appearances, district attorney protests and personal appearances,

and delegate recommendations and personal appearances on behalf of

the offender.

This summary shall be made available to the public through

publication on the website of the Pardon and Parole Board.

K. The Pardon and Parole Board shall provide a copy of their

regular docket and administrative parole docket to each district

attorney in this state at least twenty (20) days before such docket

is considered by the Board, or in the case of a supplemental,

addendum or special docket, at least ten (10) days before such

docket is considered by the Board, and shall notify the district

attorney of any recommendations for commutations or paroles no later

than twenty (20) days after the docket is considered by the Board.

L. The Pardon and Parole Board shall notify all victims or

representatives of the victim in writing at least twenty (20) days

before an inmate is considered by the Board provided the Board has

received a request from the victim or representatives of the victim

for notice. The Board shall provide all victims or representatives

of the victim with the date, time and place of the scheduled meeting

and rules for attendance and providing information or input to the

Board regarding the inmate or the crime. If requested by the victim

or representatives of the victim, the Board shall allow the victim

or representatives of the victim to testify at the parole hearing of

the inmate for at least five (5) minutes.

M. The Pardon and Parole Board shall notify all victims or

representatives of the victim in writing of the decision of the

Board no later than twenty (20) days after the inmate is considered

by the Board.

N. Any notice required to be provided to the victims or the

representatives of the victim shall be mailed by first-class mail to

the last-known address of the victim or representatives of the

victim. It is the responsibility of the victims or representatives

of the victim to provide the Pardon and Parole Board a current

mailing address. The victim-witness coordinator of the district

attorney shall assist the victims or representatives of the victim

with supplying their address to the Board if they wish to be

notified. Upon failure of the Pardon and Parole Board to notify a

victim who has requested notification and has provided a current

mailing address, the final decision of the Board may be voidable,

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trict

attorney shall assist the victims or representatives of the victim

with supplying their address to the Board if they wish to be

notified. Upon failure of the Pardon and Parole Board to notify a

victim who has requested notification and has provided a current

mailing address, the final decision of the Board may be voidable,

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provided, the victim who failed to receive notification requests a

reconsideration hearing within thirty (30) days of the

recommendation by the Board for parole. The Pardon and Parole Board

may reconsider previous action and may rescind a recommendation if

deemed appropriate as determined by the Board.

O. For purposes of this section, "victim" shall mean all

persons who have suffered direct or threatened physical or emotional

harm, or financial loss as the result of the commission or attempted

commission of criminally injurious conduct, and "representatives of

the victim" shall mean those persons who are members of the

immediate family of the victim, including stepparents, stepbrothers,

stepsisters, and stepchildren.

P. All meetings of the Pardon and Parole Board shall comply

with Section 301 et seq. of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

provided that the Board shall have the authority to limit the number

of persons attending in support of, or in opposition to, any inmate

being considered for parole and shall have the authority to exclude

persons from attendance in accordance with prison security

regulations and the capacity of the meeting room. Persons excluded

from attending the meeting under this provision shall be informed of

their right to be informed of the vote of the Board in accordance

with Section 312 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Provided

further, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any

member of the press or any public official from attending any

meeting of the Pardon and Parole Board, except as provided by the

Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.

Q. All victim information maintained by the Department of

Corrections and the Pardon and Parole Board shall be confidential

and shall not be released.

R. When a commutation is granted or denied, the Secretary of

State shall give notice of that fact to the district attorney and

clerk of the court in the county where the sentence was originally

obtained within thirty (30) business days. Said notice may be given

by either first-class mail or email. Upon receipt of said notice,

the clerk of the court shall file the notice. The district attorney

shall confirm that the clerk of the court has filed said notice.

The notice shall include the following information:

1. The month and year in which the commutation was recommended

by the Pardon and Parole Board;

2. The decision of the Governor to grant or deny commutation;

and

3. If commutation is granted, the new term of sentence,

including conditions thereof, if any, for each charged count.

S. The district attorney in the district where the sentence was

originally obtained shall ensure that all victims or representatives

of the victim are given notice of the decision regarding

commutation.

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