Oklahoma prisons director Scott Crow to retire in October

Scott Crow, the director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, announced Monday he is stepping down.

Crow will retire Oct. 31. His departure was announced as the state prepares for 25 scheduled executions, expected to last through the end of 2024.

Crow, who was appointed director by Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2019 following nearly 25 years with the agency, helped oversee the state’s return to carrying out lethal injections. In 2020, he joined Stitt and then-Attorney General Mike Hunter in announcing that the state had secured a source for the lethal injection drugs and planned to move forward with executions that were put on hold following a series of death-chamber mishaps.

He was inside the death chamber for the last four lethal injections in Oklahoma, including the October 2021 execution of John Marion Grant who convulsed and vomited on the gurney as he was executed.

Crow was named director of the corrections department in 2019, after former director Joe Allbaugh left the role.

"The decision to leave the agency I have served for more than a quarter of a century is one that required a tremendous amount of reflection, and is one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever encountered," Crow said in a statement Monday. "For three years, I have been fortunate enough to lead the thousands of talented professionals in this agency, and it has been the highest honor of my law enforcement career."

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Crow served 26 years with the corrections department in multiple capacities. His three-year tenure as director saw him lead more than 4,000 employees and tens of thousands of offenders through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before joining the corrections department, Crow served a variety of roles in law enforcement, including as a captain for the Comanche County Sheriff's Department and the assistant police chief for Cache, a small town near Lawton in southwest Oklahoma.

In addition to the implementation of pandemic response plans, Crow oversaw the largest mass commutation in U.S. history in 2019, as well as an extensive across-the-board pay increase designed to retain correctional staff.

Other reforms enacted during Crow's tenure included equipping inmates with tablets for better program outcomes, establishing a modern offender management system and implementing a number of cost-saving measures under a flat budget.

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"Crow has led the Department of Corrections with professionalism and has been an outstanding partner in executing our vision to run state government more efficiently and reform criminal justice in Oklahoma," Stitt said Monday. "Since 2019 when he became director, our state has improved in recidivism to number one in the nation, we closed three full-size prisons to save taxpayer resources, and we have over 4,500 fewer inmates in our prisons, all while ensuring public safety."

"After more than three decades of devoted state service, Director Crow has earned a restful and enjoyable retirement," Stitt said. "I am grateful for his willingness to take on the challenge of leading a state agency and I wish him and his family the best."

Because the role is a governor-appointed position, Stitt will select Crow's successor.

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"I take pride in knowing I am leaving the agency in better shape than it was when I became director, and the staff should receive all of the credit for that," Crow said. "And I know even better days are ahead for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Director of Oklahoma prisons announces retirement as executions loom