Grand jury report criticizes Oklahoma governor, parole board

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A newly released grand jury report is highly critical of Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

There are no new indictments in the report from the grand jury, which was requested by Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater last year. The report says the parole board was so focused on releasing inmates that it cut corners and ignored internal processes. It says that ultimately led to the release of an inmate later charged with killing three people.

The panel also criticized Gov. Kevin Stitt for meeting with several members of the board to discuss specific cases before he appointed them.

A spokesman for Stitt called the grand jury process a “sham” orchestrated by Prater.