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| Report: Rethink policies or risk federal bout |
| By The Journal Record |
| Published: 01/14/2009 |
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OKLAHOMA - Oklahoma’s swelling inmate population shows the need to rethink corrections policies to avoid another bout with federal-court oversight of the prison system or a state budget where corrections needs crowd out funding for others, members of the Oklahoma Academy were told Tuesday. In the organization’s report “Oklahoma’s Criminal Justice System: Can We be Just as Tough but Twice as Smart?” a key recommendation is a hard look at a state law that requires those convicted of certain serious crimes to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before being considered for parole. Report Co-Chairman Marc Edwards, an Oklahoma City attorney, said the “85-percent rule” was initially adopted in 1996 along with a new sentencing matrix, which was jettisoned while the 85-percent requirement remains in place. Neville Massie, executive assistant to the corrections director, said a recent audit showed that most of the growth in the state’s prison population is attributable to the longer sentences required under laws such as the 85-percent rule. Other recommendations include reducing incarceration of women and preventing people from entering the prison system through increased use of alternatives such as drug courts, more regional and community alternatives and addressing addiction and mental health issues. Academy Chairman Howard Barnett said the report is the result of work that began at a three-day town-hall conference in Ardmore last October. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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