In a press conference on Tuesday, Democratic State Senators Nikki Nice and Mary Boren joined the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty in asking the State Pardon and Parole Board to recommend clemency for death row inmate Kendrick Simpson at his clemency hearing on January 14th.
Simpson was found guilty of shooting and killing two men, Glen Palmer and Anthony Jones, in 2006. While they do not deny his guilt, supporters of Simpson, including his attorney, Emma Rolls, ask for Simpson’s actions to be viewed in the context of his background.
“Based on years of chronic and repeated traumas inflicted on a once innocent child, most of which Kendrick’s jury never heard about, multiple mental health experts have diagnosed Kendrick with post-traumatic stress disorder,” Rolls said.
In addition to clemency for Simpson, Senator Nice called for the passage of Senate Bill 601, which would place a moratorium on the death penalty in Oklahoma.
Pending both the decisions of the Pardon and Parole Board and of Governor Kevin Stitt, Simpson is scheduled to be executed on February 12.
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