Topic: Criminal Justice Reform

Joint Statement: Actions to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 in Oklahoma’s Criminal Justice System

By: Dave Hamby
March 27, 2020 // Updated: August 21, 2025
Nine Oklahoma organizations have come together to urge elected officials and state officials to take urgent action to manage the serious threat of a COVID-19 outbreak in Oklahoma Corrections facilities.  [More...]

The Governor’s justice task force gives lawmakers a chance to address the scale of Oklahoma’s prison crisis

By: Damion Shade
December 13, 2019 // Updated: January 12, 2020
The RESTORE task force could bring greater justice to the state’s prison system by strengthening investments in alternatives to incarceration and treatment, reducing fines and fees, lowering the impact of cash bail on the poorest Oklahomans, and creating a dedicated re-entry system.  [More...]

Fixing Oklahoma’s outdated criminal code could be a great step forward but policymakers should be wary of risks.

By: Damion Shade
October 16, 2019 // Updated: October 21, 2019
Reform of the state's criminal code is long overdue — as the code is a major driver of Oklahoma’s expensive incarceration crisis. [More...]

To minimize disruption to youths’ lives, Oklahoma must continue to reduce juvenile incarceration

By: Ashley Harvey
October 9, 2019 // Updated: October 12, 2019
For justice-involved youth, current systems can remove them from educational opportunities, family, and community during a critical time in their lives, often severing their link to meaningful relationships and inadvertently further embedding them into a life of crime. [More...]

Justice reinvestment offers a model to support vulnerable Oklahoma youth

By: Ashley Harvey
September 18, 2019 // Updated: October 12, 2019
Oklahoma should take advantage of declining youth incarceration to reinvest in services  — such as therapy, substance use treatment, education, and family supports — for justice-involved youth. [More...]

Don’t Believe the Hype: Recent justice reforms are working

By: Damion Shade
August 29, 2019 // Updated: August 30, 2019
Anecdotal stories about crime should not be the basis of policy, and Oklahoma should continue to pursue evidence-based criminal justice reform to reduce our state’s expensive incarceration crisis. [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 See all of our end of session round-ups: Taxes | Budget | Economic Opportunity | Health Care | Education | Criminal Justice Oklahoma incarcerates its citizens at a higher rate than any other place on Earth. If Oklahoma does not… Read more [More...]

HB 1269 makes 780 retroactive but leaves issues unresolved

By: Damion Shade
May 23, 2019 // Updated: May 28, 2019
HB 1269 is a positive step for justice reform in Oklahoma, but a recent amendment will complicate the bill’s resentencing process and create financial hurdles that will lessen the positive impact of retroactivity. [More...]

Bail reform: Living in a different county shouldn’t mean different access to justice

By: Damion Shade
April 2, 2019 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Thousands of Oklahomans who have not been convicted of a crime are locked in county jails across the state because they can’t afford to buy their freedom from a bondsman. How long you stay in jail often depends on where… Read more [More...]

Opportunities this session to bend Oklahoma’s justice system toward justice (Capitol Update)

By: Steve Lewis
March 18, 2019 // Updated: March 18, 2019
Prison Visit A defining issue for this legislature and Governor Stitt's leadership in his first session could be a remarkable advancement in criminal justice reform. [More...]