Kevin Ray Underwood, a 44-year-old inmate in Oklahoma, is facing execution for the brutal murder of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin in 2006. During a hearing before the state’s Pardon and Parole Board, Underwood admitted to deserving death for his actions, acknowledging the “deeply evil” nature of his crime. Despite his statement of remorse, the board voted unanimously to deny his clemency request, signaling that justice would be served for the victim.
Underwood’s crime was horrific. He lured the young girl, who was his neighbor, into his Purcell apartment, where he brutally attacked her. He beat her with a cutting board, suffocated her, and then nearly decapitated her in a bathtub. Underwood later admitted that the murder was part of a twisted cannibalistic and sexual fantasy, although he did not go so far as to consume the girl’s body. He also revealed that he attempted to sexually assault her corpse as part of his depraved desires.
Oklahoma Inmate Kevin Ray Underwood Faces Execution for 2006 Murder of Jamie Rose Bolin
During the clemency hearing, Underwood expressed deep regret, stating that while he did not want to die, he believed he deserved to for what he had done. He apologized to both Jamie’s family and his own, claiming that the person he was at the time of the crime was not the same person he had become. His statement came across as an acknowledgment of the horrific nature of his actions, though it did little to sway the board’s decision.
Underwood’s defense team argued against the death penalty, citing his history of severe mental health issues, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and PTSD, as well as deviant sexual paraphilias. They suggested that his mental health played a role in his behavior, but an assistant attorney general rejected the notion that mental illness should excuse such a heinous crime. The assistant attorney general emphasized that Underwood’s premeditated actions were driven by his choice to target a vulnerable child, not solely by his mental health conditions.
Underwood is set to be executed on December 21, 2024, marking the final execution in the United States for the year. His execution will occur just one day after another lethal injection in Indiana, where Joseph Corcoran was put to death for the murders of four people in 1997. Underwood’s execution will be carried out using a three-drug lethal injection, which will bring an end to the legal process for a man whose crime shocked and appalled the public.
