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| Senate panel OKs bill to curb inmate population |
| By durantdemocrat.com- Sean Murphy |
| Published: 04/07/2016 |
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma Senate panel approved several proposals Wednesday designed to ease the explosive growth in the state’s prison population, signaling potential willingness by the Republican-controlled Legislature to embrace a new approach to criminal justice reform. The Senate Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly approved all of the measures, several of which are endorsed by Gov. Mary Fallin, who has long raised concerns about Oklahoma’s incarceration rate being one of the highest in the nation. One of the bills would eliminate the current two-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for drug possession and reduce other drug possession penalties, which are among the strictest in the nation. About 7,300, or more than 26 percent, of Oklahoma offenders are in prison because of a drug crime, according to the Department of Corrections’ most recent annual report. Another bill would increase the felony threshold for more than a dozen property crimes from $500 to $1,000, including such offenses as shoplifting, larceny, forgery and embezzlement. The limit for a bogus check to be considered a felony would be raised from $1,000 to $2,000. Read More. |
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