Oklahoma governor reverses ex-cop’s parole in murder case
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has reversed his decision that granted parole to a Tulsa police officer convicted of murder. The Tulsa World had reported 69-year-old Jimmie Dean Stohler had been eligible for release as soon as Friday after Stitt’s April 22 decision. In the wake of blowback from the decision, however, Stitt reversed his decision Thursday after the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office provided material Stitt’s staff said was previously unavailable to the governor. Stohler was convicted of first-degree murder and murder solicitation in the 1982 killing of 30-year-old Michele Rae Powers with a poison-tipped crossbow arrow.