No state agency has escaped budget cuts unscathed. For many Oklahomans, the effects are most visible in their schools and communities, as their children lose teachers and their friends and neighbors lose needed health care services.
Less visible is the…
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Add this to the list of potential fallout from the state’s unprecedented budget disaster: Oklahoma may soon be forced to release people accused of violent crimes because the state can’t afford to pay for their legal representation.
This nearly came…
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If you steal a smartphone in Oklahoma, you could be charged with a felony that stays on your record for your whole life, with all the consequences that come with it. That’s because Oklahoma’s felony theft threshold is set at…
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The connection between mental health and Oklahoma’s sky-high incarceration rate isn’t lost on Oklahoma lawmakers. As Sen. A.J. Griffin recently said, “We spend less money on mental health services, and we have a very high frequency of mental health patients…
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By:
Ethan Rex
March 16, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Ethan Rex is an OK Policy intern. He is a sociology senior at the University of Tulsa and a research assistant with Women in Recovery, an alternative to incarceration for eligible women convicted of non-violent, drug-related offenses
If a problem…
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Early last year, Governor Fallin issued an executive order to establish the Oklahoma Justice Reform Steering Committee to develop a comprehensive plan to reduce the prison population and improve public safety. The committee, composed of the Governor, President Pro Tem…
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Dozens of fees are heaped upon people charged with crimes in Oklahoma. They are used to support services like court filings, law libraries, public defenders, and courthouse security. When defendants can’t pay, the consequences are far-reaching; last year a series…
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Civil asset forfeiture is a legal tool that has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. Under the current civil asset forfeiture laws in Oklahoma and several other states, law enforcement can seize and keep property suspected of being used in or…
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Oklahoma has the second highest incarceration rate in the country, up from fourth highest in 2012, with approximately 1,310 out of every 100,000 of our citizens incarcerated in 2014. The state appropriated $485 million to the Department of Corrections in FY…
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By:
Steve Lewis
February 5, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. You can sign up on his website to receive the Capitol Updates newsletter by email.…
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