Today at the capitol we got hit with the numbers.
Oklahoma was #1.
That’s usually a good thing – Something Oklahoma University prides itself on. You’ll see OU fans holding up their ONE finger as a sign of Oklahoma’s longstanding football tradition.
But in this case it wasn’t about football, although it’s pretty longstanding as well… This was about our criminal justice system.
We are #1 in the country in incarceration rates.
Now just let that sink in… Does that mean Oklahomans are committing crimes more than our fellow Americans? No, actually. We have similar CRIME RATES to those of all our neighboring states: Texas, Arkansas, etc.
So WHY are we incarcerating so many more… It’s that old saying: “when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” And we have had the same hammers in power a LONG time. Here in Oklahoma, we think the only solution to crime is locking people up… When it turns out, that’s not only extremely costly, but it’s not the case. Other states that focused on rehabilitating their inmates saw dramatic results. Louisiana was recently #1 but due to implementing reform legislation, they have improved and now OK has taken its place.
SO let’s start with the numbers. All of the following data was taken in 2017 and was provided by FWD.us.
Oklahoma admits 33% more men than the national average and 91% more women than the national average.
Research shows that prison can make a non-violent offender more likely to commit a violent crime. And yet 77% of our prison population is there for non-violent crimes.
Oklahoma also incarcerates people 80% longer than the national average for drug and property crimes.
Currently, there are 6,218 people sitting in prison for non-violent crimes who are past their parole date. Last year, the parole board only released 325 people.
If Oklahoma continues at this rate, it will have to open three new prisons in the next 5 years (2 male, 1 female) in order to accommodate the growing prison population and this will cost taxpayers an additional aprox. $1.9 billion (BBBBB BILLION!).
One of the saddest things about this to me, is that I am learning about how much all of this costs while we are in the middle of a budget crisis causing our teachers to be paid second lowest in the nation! Now as Kris Steele put it, “these statistics didn’t happen overnight and the solutions are not going to work overnight” but it would be wonderful for our state to stop ripping families apart, degrading community members, and treating addicts/ the mentally ill like prisoners rather than patients.
DAMITA PRICE – a brave, brave woman stood up in front of a packed room today and told her story. She worked in accounts receivable for Bryant Industries and had health insurance for herself, her two daughters, and her son. When her son turned 8, he was diagnosed with a rare, terminal illness. His condition was categorized as a “pre-existing condition” by the insurance company so he lost his coverage. Damita did everything she could to cover his medical expenses out of pocket but simply could not make ends meet. She eventually turned to selling drugs (without ever having tried drugs in her life) to pay for her son’s treatment. She was convicted a life sentence for her non-violent crime and was thus separated from all three of her children. She stayed there in jail, dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts for 21 years and 3 months until Governor Mary Fallin commuted her sentence.
Damita’s story was widely publicized and helped spread awareness of our outdated criminal justice laws. Here are some key pieces of legislation that are relevant to the conversation:
- State Question 780:
- This went into effect only last year. This law took all drug possession offenses regardless of their details (type of drug, location, etc.) and reduced it to a misdemeanor.
- State Question 781
- This also went into effect only last year. This law took all the tax money saved from State Question 780 and put it towards rehabilitation facilities for mentally ill and addicted inmates.
- Title 22 criminal code
- This is the entire criminal code for the state of Oklahoma that essentially goes over what people can go to jail for and why, how serious the crime is, how long they serve time for etc. Many people want an entire overhaul of this legislation.
- State Senate bill 969
- Essentially, this bill makes it so that people who are in prison for a felony crime that has since been reduced to a misdemeanor crime (making it less serious) or if the crime now legally requires less time spent in jail, the inmate can now have their sentencing changed/ time reduced. This has yet to be voted on.
One of my favorite parts about this cause is that despite the vast polarization that exists in this country, this continues to be a BIPARTISAN issue. Prominent people from both sides of the aisle see more than one important reason for criminal justice reform. Although it’s usually associated with “bleeding hearts,” even the American Conservative Union, who hosts the “Conservative Political Action Committee,” was there today to speak on behalf of their support for this issue. They see many moral and fiscal reasons why our current system doesn’t make sense.
The types of things this organization would like to see put into practice are:
- Limits in sentencing (someone can only serve so long for certain crimes)
- An administrative system for parole (basically an automatic parole granted unless there is a clear and substantial reason it should not be granted)
- Geriatric prisoners being paroled (meaning the elderly inmates, incapable of harming others can be granted parole)
- No more “technical violations” for parole (meaning minor things happening during parole, the person is not automatically sent back)
Unfortunately, it seems many conversations on the topic are taking place behind closed doors. The district attorneys (the only people who financially benefit from the current system) met with Governor Mary Fallin Monday to discuss new legislation. The language, however, has yet to be seen by the public. This puts many activists on alert as lack of transparency is usually a sign that something fishy going down.
Luckily, Larry Nichols, Clay Bennett, and Kris Steele are all well-known members of the Oklahoma community – major business & political leaders – have all signed their names to pledge their commitment to championing this issue. Hopefully their influence can get more people on board. Both Steele & Nichols can be quoted today saying, “we have a failing system.”
If you are interested in hearing more of the details, below you can find a recording of the entire press conference and the Q&A that followed {fast forward the first 2-3 minutes}.
Shoot me your questions! Xx
Antigone