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| House Speaker says jail overcrowding is a result of previous failed leadership |
| By normantranscript.com - Andy Rieger |
| Published: 12/16/2013 |
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The backlog of sentenced state prisoners in county jails like Cleveland County’s is a result of failed past leadership in the Department of Corrections, House Speaker T.W. Shannon told a Norman civic club audience Thursday. The Lawton legislator, who will preside over his second legislative session in February, said private prisons could hold another 2,400 prisoners. Cleveland County’s F. DeWayne Beggs Detention Center had 492 inmates Thursday, with 156 of them awaiting a state prison bed. He said the Department of Corrections leadership is changing and a new director will be named. Past director Justin Jones has expressed concern about over-reliance on private prisons in the state. Shannon said private prisons can help the state solve temporary overcrowding issues, but long term, the state needs to look at doing a better job of preventing and treating drug addictions. “We’ve got too many people addicted to illicit and prescription drugs,” Shannon told the Norman Rotary Club. He said the notion that first-time offenders are being sent to prison is simply not true. Read More. |
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