OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board on Friday declined to recommend mercy for a child killer facing a Dec. 19 execution.

The board voted 3-0 against recommending clemency for Kevin Ray Underwood for the 2006 murder of Jamie Rose Bolin, 10, in Purcell. 

One member was absent. Another post is vacant due to a resignation.

“Although I do not want to die, I recognize that I deserve to die for what I did,” Underwood said via video conference. “If my death could change what I did, I would gladly die.”
Underwood confessed to suffocating Bolin, his neighbor. Her partially decapitated body was found in a plastic tub in his apartment. He had planned to rape her and cannibalize the body, according to public documents.

Underwood apologized to Bolin’s family, his family and those in the hearing room who had to listen to the details of the crime.

Underwood said he has blocked out most of his memory of that day.

“But when I do think about it, it causes me great pain,” Underwood said. “I cannot believe that I did those things.”

Underwood’s attorney, Brendan Van Winkle, said his client suffered from several serious mental health issues and was abused and bullied as a child.

Another Underwood attorney, Emma Rolls, read a statement from his mental health expert Kim Spence. Spence said Underwood was obsessed with pornography and sexual gratification. He never got treatment for his disorders, Spence said.

“With the proper care, Kevin could have made it,” Van Winkle said.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Aspen Layman said the crime was one of the most “notorious and depraved” in state history.

Bolin was chosen because she was small, defenseless and easy prey, Layman said.

Bolin was a child who loved spaghetti, her Girl Scout troop and the color green, Layman said.

Portions of Underwood’s detailed confession were played for the panel in which he described the details of the murder and Bolin’s last moments alive.

Underwood is a skilled manipulator who showed no mercy to Bolin as she apologized and begged to be freed, Layman said.

Assistant Attorney General Sheri Johnson said Underwood was far from being severely mentally ill. He came from a two-parent home where his needs were met and there was no abuse, she said.

“Had he not been caught, he would have done it again,” Layman said.

Had the board recommended clemency, Gov. Kevin Stitt would have made the final decision.

“I am pleased the board voted to deny clemency for this deeply evil monster and ensured that justice will be delivered for Jamie Rose Bolin,” said Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. “Jamie’s family has waited 18 excruciating years for justice that will finally be carried out when this murderer is executed.”

Underwood’s hearing had been twice delayed.

His attorneys waged an unsuccessful legal battle seeking to have all five members of the board hear his clemency request.

The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy is teaming up with the state Department of Human Services to ensure children in foster care have gifts to open on Christmas morning.

DHS provides $150 gift cards for each child in state custody to foster parents. With nearly 6,000 children in foster care across Oklahoma, the agency recently sought additional help to provide an extra 200 gift cards this year.

The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy has been able to secure most of the cards but is still about 20 short.

Joe Dorman, CEO of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, says it can be a traumatic experience for children when they are placed into foster care, so this program helps to provide some hope and comfort to children in need.

“Unless somebody has actually been in foster care themselves and endured that traumatic experience of being removed from home, you cannot imagine what it’s like,” Dorman said. “These kids are going through the worst experience of their life, and for some of them, it’s right before the holidays.”

The deadline to donate gift cards is Dec. 22 to ensure they arrive in time for Christmas. Any remaining funds will be used to purchase backpacks and school supplies for foster children next summer.

Those interested in contributing can visit the organization’s website HERE.

A former Oklahoma defensive back has found a new home. 

Jayden Rowe, who entered the portal having concluded his redshirt sophomore season, announced his commitment to Kansas State on X. 

A former Union High School star in Tulsa, injuries prevented Rowe from carving out a role in Norman. 

He appeared in three games as a true freshman in 2022, but a dislocated knee cap cost him the 2023 season. 

Rowe didn’t play in 2024 for Oklahoma. 

Before arriving in Norman, Rowe was rated a 4-star prospect by 247Sports. 

He’s one of many Sooners who have entered the portal, though a vast majority of those entries hav come from the offensive side of the ball. 

Rowe is one of four defensive backs who has entered the portal along with Kani Walker, Erik McCarty and Makari Vickers. 

Linebackers Dasan McCullough and Phil Picciotti have also entered the transfer portal since it opened up for the winter window on Monday.