By:
Damion Shade
February 20, 2019 // Updated: March 29, 2019
This legislative session, leaders of both parties, the governor, the Oklahoma business community and the public at large have expressed a clear desire to work towards ending Oklahoma’s incarceration crisis. Some of these legislative initiatives build on the progress of Gov. Fallin’s Criminal Justice Task Force, but many proposals represent new attempts to lower Oklahoma’s highest-in-the-world incarceration rate.
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Gov. Stitt’s State of the State address signaled a serious desire to make criminal justice reform a signature piece of his agenda. He’s made positive comments regarding several bipartisan bills filed this legislative session aimed at stemming Oklahoma’s incarceration crisis. However, there are…
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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…
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Download this fact sheet as a printable pdf here.
Read about the rest of OK Policy’s 2019 Legislative Policy Priorities here.
Since 2000, the Legislature has added dozens of new fines and fees for criminal defendants to finance our underfunded…
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Download this fact sheet as a printable pdf here.
Read about the rest of OK Policy’s 2019 Legislative Policy Priorities here.
Economic opportunities are sharply limited for Oklahomans who have been involved in the criminal justice system. These Oklahomans face…
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Download this fact sheet as a printable pdf here.
Read about the rest of OK Policy’s 2019 Legislative Policy Priorities here.
Public defenders play a critical role in our justice system, serving as legal representation to the vast majority of…
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Download this fact sheet as a printable pdf here.
Read about the rest of OK Policy’s 2019 Legislative Policy Priorities here.
In 2016, voters approved two major justice reform initiatives, State Questions 780 and 781. SQ 780 reclassified simple drug…
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We are offering proven solutions to poverty and the lack of opportunity that holds Oklahoma back from becoming a truly prosperous state. With this agenda and with all of you, we may finally fulfill the Oklahoma Standard and rebuild an economy and society that works for all.
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By:
Steve Lewis
January 7, 2019 // Updated: June 17, 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.
“We’re not going to build any more prisons.” I remember House Speaker Dan Draper making that declarative…
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Incarceration is expensive in Oklahoma. The cost of our overcrowded prisons is projected to skyrocket in the next decade. The Department of Corrections requested $1.5 billion next year to address long-neglected repairs and to build a new prison to keep up with the…
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