{"id":754183,"date":"2026-01-02T06:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T12:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/?p=754183"},"modified":"2026-01-05T11:00:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T17:00:53","slug":"attorney-general-only-the-doc-director-can-refer-prisoners-for-medical-parole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2026\/01\/02\/attorney-general-only-the-doc-director-can-refer-prisoners-for-medical-parole\/","title":{"rendered":"Attorney General: Only the DOC Director Can Refer Prisoners For Medical Parole"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-custom-everlit-iframe-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_maqp6tm9LyK?client=wp&amp;client_version=2.6.0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"80px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board can\u2019t sidestep the Department of Corrections in determining medical parole eligibility, the attorney general\u2019s office decided last month.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Parole Board <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/10\/21\/parole-board-seeks-binding-opinion-on-medical-parole-statute\/\">voted 4-0 in October to request an attorney general\u2019s opinion<\/a> on the matter, asking whether its executive director had the statutory authority to place an inmate on the medical parole docket at a request made by any party. The request followed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oscn.net\/dockets\/GetCaseInformation.aspx?db=cleveland&amp;number=CV-2025-592&amp;cmid=2493129\">litigation filed<\/a> by James Havens, a terminally ill Oklahoma prisoner who alleges the Department of Corrections <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/07\/09\/odoc-fights-to-prevent-medical-parole-hearing-for-dying-prisoner\/\">did not adequately <\/a>advance his medical parole application as his health deteriorated.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>State law <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/oklahoma\/title-57\/section-57-332-18\/\">stipulates<\/a> that the Department of Corrections director has the authority to recommend medical parole. But as the number of <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/03\/06\/the-state-expanded-medical-parole-four-years-ago-but-the-number-of-medical-paroles-has-plummeted\/\">medical parole referrals plummeted<\/a>, the Board says it received several requests to adopt an expansive view of medical parole and take docketing requests from additional parties.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe state\u2019s exposure to litigation will increase as long as the question remains outstanding, and the status quo unquestioned,\u201d former Pardon and Parole Board Executive Director Tom Bates, who retired last month, <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/179KRDKWV4xZq9Yw3BBwOHsPVq__rhoPP\/view?usp=sharing\">wrote to Attorney General Gentner Drummond<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just 12 prisoners have been referred to a medical parole docket since the Legislature modified the statute in 2021, with half of them ultimately securing release. In 2020 alone, a dozen prisoners were granted medical parole.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/03\/24\/aging-prison-population-strains-corrections-budget\/\">aging prison population has doubled<\/a> since 2009.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Department of Corrections adopted a multi-step bureaucratic process for medical parole after <a href=\"https:\/\/oksenate.gov\/press-releases\/governor-signs-medical-parole-reform\">Senate Bill 320<\/a> became law.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The agency\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahoma.gov\/content\/dam\/ok\/en\/doc\/documents\/policy\/section-06\/op060205.pdf\">policy<\/a>, adopted in July 2022, requires a comprehensive public safety assessment after medical staff deems a prisoner eligible for medical parole. While other prisoners seeking parole face similar evaluations, they are not a prerequisite for securing a hearing before the Pardon and Parole Board.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The policy also does not stipulate a timeline for the agency director to act on recommendations from medical and security staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a Dec. 19 opinion, the Attorney General\u2019s office concluded that the Legislature had the authority to grant such discretion to the Department of Corrections director. The Pardon and Parole Board\u2019s role in the medical process may begin only \u201con receipt of the DOC Director\u2019s request.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe choice to initiate the medical parole process by requiring a request from the DOC Director falls within the Legislature\u2019s power,\u201d the opinion reads. \u201cUltimately, the PPB still has authority to recommend parole, and the Governor still has the final decision to grant parole.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pardon and Parole Board Executive Director Kyle Counts said the opinion provides clear confirmation that the board is in compliance with the 2021 law change.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At least one change to the statute has been proposed ahead of the 2026 legislative session, which begins Feb. 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oklegislature.gov\/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=SB1255&amp;Session=2600\">Senate Bill 1255<\/a> by Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, proposes transferring authority to recommend medical parole from the Department of Corrections director to the agency\u2019s medical director. Jech <a href=\"https:\/\/oksenate.gov\/publications\/senate-interim-studies\/pardon-parole-process\">organized an interim study<\/a> on improving Oklahoma\u2019s pardon and parole processes in October.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chris Garinger, an Oklahoma City-based attorney representing Havens, said giving the Department of Corrections discretionary authority over medical parole decisions defeats the purpose of having a parole board.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen a finding is made that somebody qualifies medically, it\u2019s not DOC\u2019s role to deny that person parole or approve that person\u2019s parole,\u201d he said in an October interview. \u201cIt\u2019s their job to place them in front of the Parole Board to make that determination.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"771\" height=\"771\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?resize=771%2C771&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-700099\" style=\"width:193px;height:193px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?resize=771%2C771&amp;ssl=1 771w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?resize=336%2C336&amp;ssl=1 336w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?resize=140%2C140&amp;ssl=1 140w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?resize=706%2C706&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274.jpg?w=801&amp;ssl=1 801w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/StaffHeadshots2022_5274-771x771.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>Keaton Ross covers democracy and criminal justice for Oklahoma Watch. Contact him at (405) 831-9753 or <a href=\"mailto:Kross@Oklahomawatch.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kross@Oklahomawatch.org<\/a>.\u00a0Follow him on Twitter at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_KeatonRoss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">@_KeatonRoss<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:17px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles is-style-default wpnbha is-grid columns-3 colgap-1 show-image image-aligntop ts-3 is-3 is-landscape is-style-default\" style=\"\">\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"699114\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-section-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>MORE FROM keaton ross <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"754183\" class=\"tag-attorney-general-gentner-drummond tag-corrections-2 tag-criminal-justice tag-darcy-jech tag-department-of-corrections tag-james-havens tag-kyle-counts tag-medical-parole tag-oklahoma-news tag-oklahoma-pardon-and-parole-board tag-senate-bill-320 tag-tom-bates category-corrections category-criminaljustice type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2026\/01\/02\/attorney-general-only-the-doc-director-can-refer-prisoners-for-medical-parole\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Prison-Visit-Keaton-23-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Attorney General: Only the DOC Director Can Refer Prisoners For Medical Parole\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Prison-Visit-Keaton-23-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Prison-Visit-Keaton-23-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Prison-Visit-Keaton-23-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Prison-Visit-Keaton-23-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Prison-Visit-Keaton-23-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Prison-Visit-Keaton-23-scaled.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 2400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Prison-Visit-Keaton-23-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 782px) 400px, (min-width: 600px) 42.5vw, 90vw\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2026\/01\/02\/attorney-general-only-the-doc-director-can-refer-prisoners-for-medical-parole\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Attorney General: Only the DOC Director Can Refer Prisoners For Medical Parole<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-01-02T06:01:00-06:00\">January 2, 2026<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2026-01-05T11:00:53-06:00\">January 5, 2026<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"754011\" class=\"tag-criminal-justice tag-department-of-corrections tag-jails tag-medical-parole tag-michael-olson tag-oklahoma-legislature tag-oklahoma-news tag-oklahoma-pardon-and-parole-board tag-oklahomans-for-criminal-justice-reform tag-prisons tag-state-question-780 tag-state-sen-dave-rader category-corrections category-criminaljustice type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/23\/oklahomas-prison-population-climbed-in-2025\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2024_1010_5D4B1944-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Oklahoma\u2019s Prison Population Climbed in 2025\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2024_1010_5D4B1944-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2024_1010_5D4B1944-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2024_1010_5D4B1944-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2024_1010_5D4B1944-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2024_1010_5D4B1944-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2024_1010_5D4B1944-scaled.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 2400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2024_1010_5D4B1944-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 782px) 400px, (min-width: 600px) 42.5vw, 90vw\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/23\/oklahomas-prison-population-climbed-in-2025\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Oklahoma\u2019s Prison Population Climbed in 2025<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-12-23T06:01:00-06:00\">December 23, 2025<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2025-12-26T09:48:59-06:00\">December 26, 2025<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"753965\" class=\"tag-attorney-general-gentner-drummond tag-campaign-finance tag-elections tag-legislature tag-oklahoma-ethics-commission tag-oklahoma-news tag-transparency category-democracy category-democracy-democracy category-government category-publicmoney category-transparency type-post post-has-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/19\/oklahomas-campaign-finance-database-is-back-online\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TED_8259-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Oklahoma\u2019s Campaign Finance Database is Back Online\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TED_8259-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TED_8259-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TED_8259-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TED_8259-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TED_8259-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TED_8259-scaled.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1 2400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oklahomawatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TED_8259-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 782px) 400px, (min-width: 600px) 42.5vw, 90vw\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2025\/12\/19\/oklahomas-campaign-finance-database-is-back-online\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Oklahoma\u2019s Campaign Finance Database is Back Online<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-12-19T13:30:00-06:00\">December 19, 2025<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2025-12-22T08:59:30-06:00\">December 22, 2025<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pardon and Parole Board may only consider medical parole if the Department of Corrections director requests it. Pending legislation could change that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2625206,"featured_media":754184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"gigafact_has_fact_brief":false,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"everlit_article_id":"artl_maqp6tm9LyK","everlit_hide_embed":false,"everlit_embed_size":"","everlit_generation_settings":{"primary_voice":"65","guest_voice":"48","default_sonic_optimization":false,"default_conversation_mode":false,"default_read_alt_text":false,"default_read_urls":false,"default_read_author_byline":false,"default_publication":"pblc_lV8RK9ULW4x","language":"en-US","intro_mixable":3,"outro_mixable":3,"intro_duration":15,"outro_duration":15,"intro_padding":3,"outro_padding":4,"default_skip_article_image":false,"skip_auto_generation":false,"disable_music":false,"disclaimer":"","disclaimer_voice":"","is_for_subscriber":false,"embed_ui_cover_art":true,"embed_ui_title_intro":"","embed_ui_title_icon":""},"_everlit_article_id":"","_everlit_hide_embed":false,"_everlit_embed_size":"","_everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_content_hash":"","_everlit_metadata_hash":"ca8487d1d3a6b8c960896d7b49c3ebd7","_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[55,37],"tags":[20087,82,376,20072,18896,20752,21573,10078,556,8581,10077,12803],"series":[],"coauthors":[2919],"class_list":["post-754183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-corrections","category-criminaljustice","tag-attorney-general-gentner-drummond","tag-corrections-2","tag-criminal-justice","tag-darcy-jech","tag-department-of-corrections","tag-james-havens","tag-kyle-counts","tag-medical-parole","tag-oklahoma-news","tag-oklahoma-pardon-and-parole-board","tag-senate-bill-320","tag-tom-bates","entry"],"fact_brief":null,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Attorney General: Only the DOC Director Can Refer Prisoners For Medical Parole - Oklahoma Watch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oklahomawatch.org\/2026\/01\/02\/attorney-general-only-the-doc-director-can-refer-prisoners-for-medical-parole\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Attorney General: Only the DOC Director Can Refer Prisoners For Medical Parole - Oklahoma Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Pardon and Parole Board may only consider medical parole if the Department of Corrections director requests it. 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