Mental Health in Oklahoma Prisons and Jails | Interim Study, October 2024

OK Policy's Criminal Justice Policy Analyst Cole Allen spoke with lawmakers about how to improve mental health treatment in Oklahoma jails during an Oct. 28, 2024, interim study. [More...]

Reducing our incarceration population is a matter of public safety — and public health

The state should continue reducing the number of people incarcerated in Oklahoma across the board by extending the early pandemic efforts, like expanding commutations and making permanent efforts that reduce arrests for certain non-violent offenses. These efforts are not only good for Oklahomans and public safety, but they serve the needs of public health as well.  [More...]

COVID-19 in Oklahoma prisons is a moral emergency

Numerous prisons in this state are battling growing outbreaks, but Oklahoma’s policymakers still have time to act. [More...]

Parole reform was crucial in ending Oklahoma’s status as the world’s prison capital

As a result of parole reform, Oklahoma is no longer the prison capital of the world. The state now has the nation’s third highest per capita incarceration rate behind Louisiana and Mississippi. [More...]

Medical parole is necessary to help protect Oklahoma prisons and hospitals from COVID-19 

Spread of the virus within Oklahoma’s incarceration system will remain an ongoing threat to vulnerable inmates, corrections staff and rural hospitals. Without decisive action from state leaders to reduce its transmission, the virus has very real potential to make both prisons and our communities less safe in the long run.  [More...]

County jails in Oklahoma face immense risk from COVID-19

As the state grapples with this pandemic, overcrowded and under-resourced jails present enormous risk to rural hospitals and to the state’s most vulnerable communities who are typically jailed at disproportionate rates. [More...]

Oklahoma’s prisons and jails require executive action to combat COVID-19

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...]

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

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...]

Oklahoma prisons at risk during COVID-19 health emergency

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...]

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

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...]