State’s Parole Grant Rate On the Rise

By Keaton Ross, Oklahoma Watch

Oklahoma’s parole grant rate increased in 2024 after years of decline, an Oklahoma Watch analysis found.

Nearly 29% of state prisoners seeking parole from January through November received a favorable recommendation, up from 24% in 2023. The parole board has the authority to grant parole for nonviolent offenders and recommend the conditional release of violent offenders to the governor.

The December docket meeting was moved to mid-January after former Vice Chairman Calvin Prince, who is under investigation for improper behavior with a woman he supervised in a Pontotoc County Drug Court class, abruptly resigned on Nov. 29.Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Tulsa attorney Susan Stava to fill Prince’s seat on Dec. 4, but one vacancy remains following chairman Ed Koniezcky’s resignation on Nov. 6.

Parole denials increased significantly in 2022 and 2023, correlating with an uptick in the state’s prison population as the COVID-19 pandemic waned. Several other states saw a similar decline in parole grant rates, according to analysis by the Prison Policy Initiative.

Justice reform advocates have argued that a full-time parole board would be better equipped to review cases and have confidence in recommending parole, particularly for violent offenders. Lawmakers heard testimony on this issue at an Oct. 30 interim study on sentencing reform and could consider changes during the 2025 legislative session.

Violent offenders remained the least likely to receive a favorable recommendation, with about 20% making it past the first review stage. That was a significant uptick from 2023, when approximately one in 10 offenders were granted a more intensive stage two review. Most prisoners who receive a stage two hearing are recommended for parole.

The board is set to consider about 550 cases when it meets at its next meeting on Jan. 13. Executive director Tom Bates said he expects all vacancies to be filled by then.