Kevin Buchanan (attorney) should not be confused with Kevin Buchanan.
Kevin Buchanan is an American former district attorney for Washington County and Nowata County, Oklahoma from Bartlesville and an Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board member appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt on August 3, 2023.[1] His term on the board will expire in January 2027.[2]
He held his role of district attorney for over a decade.[3] Before that, he was a defense attorney.[4]
In July 2023, Cathy Stoker resigned from the board saying that her role was not a "good fit" and Kevin Buchanan was appointed by Governor Stitt to replace her.[5] Stocker had been chosen to replace Kelly Doyle, who resigned unexpectedly from the board in 2022 around the same time as Adam Luck. The Governor's choice of Stocker came "in an election year as Stitt is being accused in TV attack ads of being soft on crime. Many of the ads focus on how many prisoners have been released through commutations recommended by the parole board."[6] Stocker was the only woman on the board.[7] She resigned just before Richard Smothermon did in August 2023 after criticism from Representative Kevin McDugle criticized the board and Smothermon specifically for not giving Richard Glossip's case five full board votes.[8] Smothermon gave no direct reason for why he resigned, but Buchanan comes to the Pardon and Parole Board when it is "currently the target of a lawsuit brought by death-row inmate Richard Glossip after he was denied a clemency recommendation."[9] McDugle said that he would like to see the pardon and parole board "have seven members instead of five and he’s going to work during the next legislative session" toward that goal.[10]
He has criticized the McGirt v. Oklahoma decision.[11]