OKLAHOMA CITY -
More questions are being raised against the Oklahoma
Board of Pardon and Parole, this as an inmate approved for parole and work
release, is suddenly placed on lockdown and suspiciously recommended for a
transfer back to prison.
News 9 first brought you the story of Patricia
Spottedcrow three weeks ago. Spottedcrow says she doesn't understand why her
case is being affected, especially since the Governor and the Pardon and Parole
board have placed a moratorium on her case along with 50 others.
She is just anxious to get back home to her four
children, but has no idea when that will happen.
"I mean nothing about my case has been secret," said Spottedcrow,
in her first interview with News 9. "The day I hit the yard, it's been on the
news since."
8/14/2012
Related Story: Oklahoma DA Faces Off With Pardon And Parole Board
Spottedcrow met with News 9 inside Hillside
Correctional Center, just 48 hours after being yanked from one prison to another.
"It is just really, really stressful, hard to deal
with you know." said Spottedcrow. "I'm so close and to have it just be taken
away."
Spottedcrow was arrested back in 2009 for selling a
$31 bag of pot to a police informant. She entered a blind plea and was
sentenced to 12 years in prison. A judge later reduced her sentence to eight
years, and this year both the Pardon and Parole board and the Governor granted
her parole. But then something happened.
"Friday they called me down here and said that my
parole was withdrawn," Spottedcrow said.
Spottedcrow says she was told she had become a
security risk and was put in lock, or isolation, for the weekend. Then on
Tuesday she was sent from Hillside to another prison, only to be turned around
and brought back. Why, she doesn't know.
8/8/2012
Related Story: Former DOC Board Member 'Not Surprised' By Prater Allegations
Spottedcrow is one of the 51 inmates whose early
release consideration is being questioned, after Oklahoma County District
attorney David Prater sent a letter to the board's executive director, accusing
them of violating the open meetings act.
"I know that I committed a crime and I'm sorry for
that and I'm doing my time," said the anxious mother of four. "I got blessed to
go in front of the parole board early to go up for parole, I made parole, I'm
here doing my stint and I just want to go home."
Even her attorney is baffled by what's happened.
"Whether it was a mistake or intentional I don't
know," said attorney Laura Deskin. "But this is a real mess and it needs to not
happen again."
8/8/2012 Related Story:
Oklahoma County D.A. Accuses Parole Board Of Operating ‘Secret' Docket For
Inmates
The Pardon and Parole Board issued this statement Thursday
afternoon about Spottedcrow's case, calling it an "administrative
error" and says Ms. Spottedcrow's status has not changed since the
moratorium was issued.
According to
Aaron Cooper, press secretary for Gov. Fallin, the governor asked for a
moratorium on early release cases out of an abundance of caution. Cooper states
the implementation of the moratorium was left up to the Pardon and Parole
Board, who determined the parameters of the
Patricia Spottedcrow is one of the 51 inmates whose early release consideration is being questioned, after Oklahoma County District attorney David Prater sent a letter to the board's executive director, accusing them of violating the open meetings act.
