|
|
| OK Female Prisoners Examined |
| By tulsaworld.com |
| Published: 01/31/2011 |
|
In 1908, Kate Barnard, Oklahoma's feisty first commissioner of charities and corrections, traveled to Kansas to investigate the alleged torture and mistreatment of Oklahoma prisoners. Oklahoma federal prisoners - and Oklahoma Territory's felons before them - were incarcerated in the state penitentiary in Lansing, Kan., because the new state had no prison. Barnard, elected to her state post before women had the right to vote, had been instrumental in lobbying the first Legislature to adopt prison laws that were then among the most progressive in the nation. "In Oklahoma," she had said, "we would do differently." When Barnard eventually had the Lansing prisoners brought back to Oklahoma in 1909, 16 women were among them. It's ironic that the state history of Oklahoma's female prisoners begins with a reproach to the Kansas penal system. Although corrections officials say that rates of crimes by women and convictions in both states are comparable, today Oklahoma women end up in prison approximately three times as often as women in Kansas. And while Kansas lawmakers are earning accolades for prison reforms that have reduced prison populations by creating alternatives for some offenders, in Oklahoma, the number of incarcerated women is at a historic high. Read More. |
Comments:
Login to let us know what you think
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Read answers from leadership expert Hamilton Lindley on quora where Mr. Lindley answers questions about leadership principles.