The COVID-19 crisis is having a terrible impact on prisons and jails across the nation, and Oklahoma’s corrections system desperately needs resources to stave off the risk of an outbreak here as well. Because social distancing is impossible in prisons and jails, those administering these facilities should develop immediate plans for the compassionate release for as many people as possible.
[More...]
The Oklahoma Court Tracker, a tool by OK Policy’s Open Justice Oklahoma program, displays information on who is filing eviction and foreclosure cases and where those cases have been filed. As of April 1, plaintiffs have filed 1,116 evictions and 131 foreclosures since Oklahoma’s emergency declaration on March 15.
[More...]
By:
Dave Hamby
March 27, 2020 // Updated: March 27, 2020
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...]
Eviction hearings are postponed across the state and that means Oklahomans cannot be forced from their homes by an eviction or foreclosure until April 15 at the earliest.
[More...]
Because Oklahoma still has one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation, this problem will require more comprehensive solutions than those offered so far.
[More...]
Oklahoma’s county courts, which handle all civil and most criminal cases across the state, have suspended most of their activities until April 15 at the earliest. There has been no official guidance about the collection of criminal fines and fees while court activity is suspended
[More...]
Oklahoma courts remain overly reliant on fine and fee revenue to provide funding for basic functions of government. This system creates a dynamic where millions of dollars each year are funneled out of Oklahoma’s poorest communities to fund the agencies that should be focused solely on doing justice.
[More...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
OKPOLICY.ORG
