Motion to Change Judge in Bobbi Parker Case Denied
Posted/updated on: October 7, 2011 at 4:52 pm
MANGUM, OKLA. (AP) — A Comanche County judge has denied a motion to disqualify the judge who presided over the trial of a former Oklahoma prison warden’s wife who was convicted of helping an inmate escape. District Judge C. Allen McCall ruled Thursday that removing Greer County District Judge Richard Darby from Bobbi Parker’s case would fall outside the court’s authority. McCall delayed Parker’s formal sentencing until an appeals court considers the issue.
A jury found Parker guilty Sept. 21 of helping convicted killer Randolph Dial escape from the Oklahoma State Reformatory. The couple were later found in Texas on a chicken farm in Shelby County.
Defense attorney Garvin Isaacs argued that Darby should’ve recused himself because his brother, Ken, works for the prosecutor. Assistant District Attorney David Thomas said Ken Darby wasn’t involved in the case, and added the defense knew about him before the trial started.
