Oklahoma has executed a child killer who admitted to sexually assaulting and killing the girl as part of a cannibalistic fantasy, despite his lawyers attempting to petition for clemency by blaming his horrific crime on autism and mental health issues.
On Thursday, which just so happened to be his birthday, 45-year-old Kevin Ray Underwood was executed via lethal injection — becoming the first legal execution of 2024. He was pronounced dead shortly after 10 a.m. local time.
Underwood had confessed to luring 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin to his home in 2006 on her way home after school — where he beat, suffocated, and sexually assaulted her. He had planned this as part of a cannibalistic fantasy, but “told investigators that he nearly beheaded the girl in his bathtub before abandoning his plans to eat her,” according to CBS News.
NEW: Oklahoma 'cannibal' who k*lled then r*ped a 10-year-old girl, executed on his birthday after crying during his clemency hearing.
Good.
Kevin Ray Underwood was pronounced de*d at 10;14 am on his 45th birthday.
Last week, Underwood tried crying during his clemency hearing… pic.twitter.com/QbhVhe7RMH
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 19, 2024
He was quickly found guilty by a jury and sentenced to death by the judge.
Underwood’s attorneys begged for him to be spared from the death penalty because of his supposed autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and several other mental health issues.
The anti-death penalty group Death Penalty Action created a petition to stop Underwood’s execution, which claimed that “state-sanctioned murder of someone like Kevin, a mentally ill individual on the autism spectrum, is irreversible and takes us further away from what we want most: a fair, effective, and rehabilitative justice system.”
Despite the best efforts of Underwood’s lawyers and the petition, which received nearly 6,000 signatures, the members of the Oklahoma clemency board rejected their pleas and confirmed that Underwood would face lethal injection in a ruling last week.
“Whatever deviance of the mind led Underwood to abduct, beat, suffocate, sexually abuse and nearly decapitate Jamie cannot be laid at the feet of depression, anxiety or (autism),” the prosecutors wrote in their opposition to the killer’s request for clemency, which was obtained by CBS.
“Underwood is dangerous because he is smart, organized and driven by deviant sexual desires rooted in the harm and abuse of others,” prosecutors added.
Underwood previously apologized to Jamie’s family in a statement made in front of the parole board, stating: “I would like to apologize to the victim’s family, to my own family and to everyone in that room today that had to hear the horrible details of what I did.”
Kevin Underwood, convicted of murdering 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin in #Purcell #Oklahoma in 2006, was denied clemency at a recent hearing. Underwood, who faces the death penalty, pleaded for his life through tears
Jamie's sister, Lori Pate, delivered a scathing response to… pic.twitter.com/AlYCKcsdwf
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) December 15, 2024
Meanwhile, Jamie’s sister, Lori Pate, was grateful after Underwood was executed — but was still mourning that the execution “does not bring our Jamie back.”
“On behalf of Jamie’s family, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Office of the Attorney General and the work and the determination demonstrated by the prosecutors and the investigators and all involved who have not only held the responsible party accountable but have also provided a sense of closure for our grieving family,” Pate said. “We would also like to send out a heartfelt thanks to Greg Mashburn, who has been with us since the beginning. This does not bring our Jamie back, but it does allow the space in our hearts to focus on her and allow the healing process to begin.”
