Okla. court denies appeal of death row inmate convicted of killing a 10-year-old Purcell girl:
Kevin Ray Underwood has had his latest appeal denied by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Underwood was convicted and sentenced to death for the brutal 2006 murder of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin. Underwood kidnapped her then killed her, then raped her before attempting to cut her head off for the purposes of cannibalism. Yes, in that order.
In his latest appeal, Underwood argued that his mental health history wasn’t taken into account at the time of his trial, even going so far as claiming that he has Asperger’s.
Asperger’s is a recurring theme at this site. Defense attorneys have used it to blame everything from murder to child molestation, but cannibalism is a new one.
As I’ve said many times in the past, Asperger’s does not cause people to kill. It does not cloud someone’s judgment between what is right and wrong. For defense attorneys to try to use it as an excuse to get their clients off does a huge disservice to the people who excel in their lives in spite of having Asperger’s.
Underwood knew what exactly what he was doing considering he went to great lengths to keep his actions hidden, even volunteering to assist in the search for Jamie while all the while he knew she was dead.
His execution couldn’t come soon enough.
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 