Oklahoma City – The Oklahoma Pardon & Parole Board is set to hold a clemency hearing on Monday, June 17, concerning death row prisoner Richard Norman Rojem Jr., who is scheduled to face the Ultimate Sanction on June 27 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond encouraged the Board to deny clemency, pointing to the nature of the underlying crime to support his recommendation.
An officer of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP) supports clemency, stressing well-docmented and continued problems in Oklahoma’s executions.
Rojem was sentenced to death after being convicted for a July 1984 kidnapping, rape and murder
in Washita County. The victim was Layla Dawn Cummings, Rojem’s former step-daughter, who was seven-years old when she was murdered.
In a statement sent to CityNews, Dr. Elizabeth Overman, vice-chair for OK-CADP, said, “The 2017 Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission, following a year-long intensive study, made 45 specific recommendations, none of which have been carried out. The state’s case against Mr. Rojem exemplifies these problems making clemency relief imperative.”
A.G. Drummond said, in a press release sent to CityNews, “The family of Layla Cummings has waited 40 years for justice to be done. Her killer is a real-life monster who deserves the same absence of mercy he showed to the child he savagely murdered. I urge the Pardon and Parole Board to reject the inmate’s absurd request for clemency and ensure justice is done for Layla.”
The press release narrative from the attorney general’s office noted, “Prior to the murder, Rojem had served only four years in a Michigan prison for the rape of two teen-aged girls.”
The aforementioned Death Penalty Review Commission, on which both Democrats and Republicans served, made a wide range of recommendations for reforms needed in Oklahoma’s process. These included matters of best-use of and review of forensics such as finger prints and DNA, and legal counsel’s opportunity to review case files in a timely manner early in the process.
That report's executive summary noted: “Unfortunately, a review of the evidence demonstrates that the death penalty … has not always been imposed and carried out fairly, consistently, and humanely, as required by the federal and state constitutions. The shortcomings have severe consequences for the accused and their families, for victims and their families, and for all citizens of Oklahoma.”
And, “It is undeniable that innocent people have been sentenced to death in Oklahoma. And the burden of wrongful convictions alone requires the systemic corrections recommended in this report.”
( https://www.citynewsokc.com/community/analysis-death-penalty-review-commission-issues-sweeping-transformative-recommendations/article_7a535b0f-f76c-5f63-8c34-2fa436113b8f.html )
The commission recommended steps to assure accurate and timely “best practices” in use of biological and other forensics evidence in the criminal justice system.
One specific recommendation read: “Oklahoma should provide an avenue for post-conviction relief based on changing science that casts doubt on either the accuracy of an inmate’s conviction or the evidence used to obtain a sentence of death.”
The sweeping final report encouraged reforms and improvement concerning prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges and juries in the capital crime process.
( https://www.citynewsokc.com/government-opinion/commentary-oklahoma-death-penalty-review-commission-read-the-report/article_51df9b42-8c19-5e29-ad48-0d3d5ae79333.html )
In her recent statement, Dr. Overton said, “The Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty … calls upon the citizens of Oklahoma to condemn the death penalty because the state is exercising a right that no state has – the taking of lives."
A.G. Drummond has repeatedly affirmed his support for capital punishment, but has joined legislators (both Democrats and Republicans) in supporting some steps (centered around the Richard Glossip case) that would bring the Oklahoma process closer to the procedural and legal reforms advanced in the Commission’s analysis.
In 2020, an historic Oklahoma legislative 'interim study" identified events in the Glossip case that echoed the Commission's findings about executions in general.
( https://www.citynewsokc.com/criminal_justice/house-interim-study-members-examine-multiple-concerns-about-oklahoma-s-death-penalty-processes-and-practices/article_93cedf22-2309-5322-bb5f-0c2d7159801e.html )
In the most recent regular session of the State Legislature, one House committee approved a proposed five-year moratorium on executions.
( https://www.citynewsokc.com/criminal_justice/oklahoma-house-committee-sends-forward-proposed-five-year-moratorium-on-executions/article_9c96e416-d773-11ee-b89c-f71818d671a2.html )
Majorities in both the House and Senate have seemed on the verge of sending to the governor a proposal to restore a moratorium on executions, but reforms along that line were “stalled out” by legislative leaders.
Notes and Disclosure: Pat McGuigan is a dues-paying member of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP). He is the author of hundreds of articles – both news and commentary -- on capital punishment issues nationwide, with a particular focus on Oklahoma.
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