Criminal Justice Disparities Archives - Oklahoma Policy Institute

State Question 820: Recreational Marijuana Legalization Initiative

By: David Gateley
February 13, 2023 // Updated: February 28, 2023

NOTE: This version corrects the amount of marijuana that an individual would be allowed to posses. [2-28-23] State Question 820 will be on the ballot on March 7, 2023. Click below to jump to section: The Gist Background Information Ballot… Read more [More...]

Reducing Oklahoma’s court fines and fees is police reform

By: Damion Shade
December 9, 2020 // Updated: December 10, 2020

While much of this conversation has been focused on municipal budgets and inadequate funding for mental health and social services, it’s also critical that lawmakers consider how the system of court fines and fees contributes to racial disparities in both policing and incarceration. [More...]

All Oklahoma children deserve a fair and equal juvenile justice system

By: Ashley Harvey
October 2, 2019 // Updated: October 12, 2019

The justice system will continue to be unfair to people of color unless lawmakers take deliberate steps to fix it. Closing the gap in these disparities for youth is necessary for long-term justice reform in our state. [More...]

Oklahoma’s juvenile crime and incarceration rates plummet, but we must address deep racial disparities

By: Ryan Gentzler
September 11, 2019 // Updated: October 12, 2019

Despite these promising developments, black and brown youth are still disproportionately represented in Oklahoma’s juvenile justice system. [More...]

End of Session Round-Up: Criminal justice reform was not enough of a legislative priority in 2019

By: Damion Shade
June 4, 2019 // Updated: June 19, 2019

Oklahoma’s fines and fees system worsening the economic crisis for families and courts

2019 Priority: Add racial impact statements on criminal justice legislation to reduce disparities in the justice system

By: Oklahoma Policy Institute
January 24, 2019 // Updated: May 2, 2019

Download this fact sheet as a printable pdf here. Read about the rest of OK Policy’s 2019 Legislative Policy Priorities here. Communities of color are disproportionately affected by incarceration in Oklahoma. One in every 15 adult Black men in Oklahoma… Read more [More...]

Millions of dollars in court debt hang over residents of Oklahoma’s poorest neighborhoods

By: Ryan Gentzler
August 23, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019

Earlier this year, we released a report detailing the growth of fees attached to criminal court cases in Oklahoma. We found that as legislators attempt to prop up falling state revenues, fees have risen for every type of crime. When… Read more [More...]

Lawmakers must confront racial disparities head-on as they reform the justice system

By: Ryan Gentzler
February 15, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019

The need for criminal justice reform is well illustrated by outrageous top-level statistics showing Oklahoma’s imprisonment rate among the highest in the nation (about 700 in prison per 100,000 residents), and a need to bring down spending on corrections (nearly half… Read more [More...]

We must move from angst to action in the wake of Brown and Garner deaths (Guest post: Hannibal B. Johnson)

By: Guest
December 22, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019

Hannibal B. Johnson is a Harvard Law School graduate who teaches at Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma. His several books include Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District, Black Wall Street, Up from the Ashes, and Acres of Aspiration. A… Read more [More...]

No Exit: The School-to-Prison pipeline (Neglected Oklahoma)

By: Camille Landry
August 27, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019

Camille Landry is a writer, activist, and social justice advocate who lives in Oklahoma City. This post is part of our “Neglected Oklahoma” series, which tells the stories of Oklahomans in situations where the basic necessities of life are hard… Read more [More...]