USA - Oklahoma. Gov. Mary Fallin denied clemency for Brian D. Davis

Gov. Mary Fallin denied clemency for Brian D. Davis despite the Pardon and Parole Board's recommendation (see June 6). Davis, 39, Black, is scheduled to be executed June 25. The board voted 4-1 last week to recommend clemency for Davis, who was convicted of raping and stabbing to death his girlfriend's mother, 52-year-old Josephine Sanford, in 2001. Board members recommended that the death sentence be commuted to life without parole. Fallin's office issued a statement Thursday evening, saying the governor had denied clemency to the killer. Alex Weintz, spokesman for the Governor's office, did not elaborate on Fallin's reasoning for going against the recommendation for clemency. Clemency is rare in Oklahoma death-penalty cases: Only 4 death-row inmates have been granted clemency in Oklahoma since 1976. It has executed 103 people during that time. Fallin has now reviewed 2 clemency recommendations for death row inmates since she took office in January 2011 and has rejected both. The 1st recommendation was for Garry Thomas Allen, 56, who was executed on November 6, 2012 (see). The board recommended clemency after Davis took responsibility for the victim's death and apologized.