OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — The Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP) announced it’s holding a “Don’t Kill for Me” vigil here for Kevin Ray Underwood Thursday, Dec. 19.
This is set to start at 9 a.m. and continue through Underwood’s 10 a.m. execution.
The vigil is set to be at the Governor’s Mansion, and, at 10am, participants will stand silent while awaiting news of either a stay of execution or confirmation the execution has been carried out.
If the execution is postponed or canceled, the vigil will be canceled, said OK-CADP, adding if the execution occurs then the gathering will close with a circle of prayer and reflection.
Underwood was denied clemency by a vote of 3-0 last Friday by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, so the execution was set for Dec. 19 for the 2006 murder of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin in Purcell.
According to the OK-CADP Chair Rev. Don Heath, Underwood’s violent actions were a result of “social isolation and mental illness” which the state is trying to counteract by taking his life for retribution.
Underwood’s attorney, Brandan Van Winkle, argued his client’s mental health struggles and traumatic childhood contributed to the violent act and urged the board to take these underlying factors into account.
As reported by KOCO News, Underwood has expressed remorse for his actions and has stated that, although he does not want to die, he understands that he deserves to because of what he did.
OK Assistant Attorney General Layman, who opposed clemency, stated that while those facing mental illness should be treated with relative lenience, “we can still expect them to refrain from planning the murder, rape, torture and cannibalism of 10-year-old little girls,” reported KOCO News.
Conversely, according to Rev. Heath, given the fact that psychologists confirmed that Underwood’s actions were a result of his isolation and emotional trauma, “The vote to deny clemency will only perpetuate and add to the senseless violence.”
If carried out, Underwood’s execution would mark the fourth in Oklahoma in 2024 and 14th since the state resumed executions in October 2021, following a six-year moratorium.
