Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt weighed in Friday on the controversy surrounding the state Pardon and Parole Board.
In August, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater accused the board of operating a secret docket to release inmates before they served their mandatory sentences.
In a written opinion, Pruitt found the governor's constitutionally granted authority to commute sentences is not limited by a state law requiring certain offender's to serve 85 percent of their sentence.
Pruitt's opinion does not address whether the parole board misused its power, or violated the state's Open Meetings Act.