State Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, has spent a lot of the summer season sounding the alarm over Oklahoma’s jail understaffing downside.
On June 18 he requested Gov. Kevin Stitt to declare a state of emergency, arguing that low staffing numbers have elevated the chance of riots and violence in state prisons. He’s appeared on weekly Fb Dwell broadcasts with Bobby Cleveland, director of the Oklahoma Corrections Professionals group, to offer updates on what he’s listening to from jail staff.
Humphrey’s work will proceed this fall when he hosts an interim research on jail staffing and different areas of enchancment to the Division of Corrections. He mentioned his purpose is to convey legal justice reform advocates, corrections division staff and different stakeholders collectively to brainstorm potential options.
“It’s simply unbelievable, these guys are working like loopy,” mentioned Humphrey, a former Division of Corrections worker who chairs the Home Felony Justice and Corrections Committee. “I checked out one [timesheet] and out of 96 hours this man had labored 60 hours.”
On June 21 Oklahoma Watch printed an in-depth report on the state’s battle to rent and retain jail staff. Two former corrections officers quoted within the article mentioned they discovered their job fulfilling however extreme hours took a toll on their bodily and psychological wellbeing. Two others mentioned they may deal with the time beyond regulation however turned pissed off with administration and determined to depart.
The state paid $19.4 million in time beyond regulation wages to corrections division staff in 2023, up 46% from 2017. Corrections officers say hiring and retaining staff will be difficult as a result of tough nature of the job and since most prisons are situated in sparsely populated areas. The beginning hourly wage for a correctional officer recruit is $15.74 an hour.
The company has not launched an official depend of corrections officers. As of mid-June, the corrections division had 314 fully-funded, vacant positions.
The Legislature permitted H.B. 2908, a line-item price range merchandise final session that mandates the Division of Corrections spend $8 million yearly to enhance its correctional officer to prisoner ratio.
Humphrey says he’ll search solutions on how the corrections division plans to spend these funds whereas addressing different transparency-related points. The company has confronted criticism from a number of lawmakers over its determination to shut the William S. Key Correctional Heart with out legislative enter. Throughout a June 29 Senate listening to, corrections officers mentioned they deliberate to tell lawmakers of their determination however an unique report by the Woodward Information thwarted that plan.
Seventeen different interim research on legal justice points happen from August by way of early November. These research, requested by members of the Home and Senate and permitted by chamber management, don’t normally generate official reviews or suggestions however usually assist information future laws. Official assembly instances and areas shall be posted on the Home and Senate web sites.
Listed below are 5 different research price monitoring:
Therapy of Prisoners and Corrections Employees
Requested by: Reps. Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma Metropolis and Justin Humphrey, R-Lane
This research will discover methods to enhance the security, wellbeing and remedy of prisoners and correctional officers.
Final fall and winter, state prisoners and their members of the family complained that corrections workers weren’t following pandemic protocols and that prisoners have been receiving small, carbohydrate-heavy meals. In the meantime, correctional officers fear that persistent understaffing might trigger a spike in prisoner-on-staff violence.
Advocates have additionally raised considerations over circumstances on the Oklahoma County Detention Heart. Throughout a February inspection, state well being division investigators found mildew, bedbugs and cockroaches in a number of housing models. Jail directors who submitted a corrective motion report in early June say they’ve ramped up efforts to rent extra workers and maintain housing models clear.
Former prisoners and correctional officers shall be invited to take part within the assembly, in accordance with the research proposal.
Felony Sentencing Reform
Requested by: Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa
This research (IS-2021-13) will have a look at felony classification techniques in different states and the way sentencing reform might assist cut back Oklahoma’s jail inhabitants.
Oklahoma is among the many few states that don’t group felony offenses by severity. For instance, in Texas essentially the most critical non-capital offenses are categorized as first-degree felonies punishable by 5 years to life in jail. Every crime in Oklahoma has a novel sentencing vary decided by the legislature.
Felony justice reform advocates say implementing a statewide felony classification system might assist standardize sentencing practices, get rid of antiquated legal guidelines and in the end cut back Oklahoma’s incarceration charge.
In 2018 the legislature voted to create the Lawyer Common’s Felony Justice Reclassification Coordination Council, a bunch of twenty-two district attorneys, retired judges, legislators and corrections division officers tasked with analyzing the state’s legal sentencing code and providing reform proposals.
In March the council launched a draft of sentencing reform suggestions. FWD.US, a Washington, D.C.-based jail advocacy group, has criticized the proposal, saying it might really improve the state’s jail inhabitants by 1,000 over the subsequent decade if applied.
Rader launched Senate Invoice 704, a measure much like State Query 805 that might have prohibited courts from imposing sentence enhancements on defendants who’ve by no means been convicted of a violent felony, outlined as any offense listed in Part 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes. It handed by way of the Senate Public Security Committee however stalled final session within the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Jail Closure Choices
Requested by: Sens. Casey Murdock, R-Felt and Roger Thompson, R-Okemah
This research will study how the Division of Corrections decides which prisons to shut.
Northwest Oklahoma lawmakers have been caught off guard by the company’s June 16 announcement that it might shut the William S. Key Correctional Heart in Fort Provide by the top of 2023. The minimum-security males’s jail housed about 900 prisoners and employed 140 workers.
Jail officers admit the announcement was botched however have stood by their determination, saying it might value greater than $40 million to restore its leaking roof and antiquated heating and cooling system. Murdock questioned why the company didn’t repair these upkeep issues sooner.
Whereas the company doesn’t want legislative or board approval to shut a jail, Murdock and different lawmakers have argued they must be extra clear when deciding whether or not or to not shut a jail as a result of their selections impression rural economies. A lot of Fort Provide’s 330 residents labored on the jail.
Extra jail closures might come as Oklahoma’s jail inhabitants continues to drop. There have been 21,641 prisoners in state custody on July 26, down from 26,544 three years in the past. Specialists say a mix of justice reforms taking impact and the COVID-19 pandemic’s impression on district courts are contributing to the decline.
Oklahoma Courtroom System Funding
Requested by: Eight Republican representatives
Lawmakers will study the state legislature’s position in funding district courts.
Oklahoma’s 77 district courts rely closely on tremendous and charge collections to fund primary operations. In 2014, 49% of the $152 million in fines collected by district courts was used on facility upkeep and to pay courtroom staff. From 2007 to 2019, lower than 1 / 4 of district courtroom funding got here from state appropriations.
Boosting state funding to district courts might assist alleviate the burden on justice-involved folks, who are sometimes arrested and thrown in jail for failing to pay a courtroom tremendous, advocates say.
Expungement Reform
Requested by: Rep. Nicole Miller, R-Edmond
Legislators concerned in IS-2021-54 will consider Oklahoma’s legal report expungement regulation and analyze reforms that different states have adopted to streamline the method.
Below present state regulation, most misdemeanor and nonviolent felony convictions are eligible for expungement 5 years after the completion of a sentence if the defendant has not been charged with or convicted of a brand new crime. Expungement could make it simpler for these with a legal report to seek out housing and employment, but it surely’s sometimes a time-consuming and costly course of.
Lawmakers in Utah and Pennsylvania have enacted legal guidelines granting computerized report expungement to most misdemeanor defendants after a sure period of time has handed. Researchers say these “clear slate” legal guidelines take away monetary limitations to expungement and profit people who find themselves not a risk to public security.
Remaining Felony Justice Interim Research
- “Incarceration Results on Household,” requested by Rep. Mark Lawson, R-Sapulpa
- “Neighborhood Corrections Addressing S.Q. 780,” requested by Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane
- “GPS monitoring in Oklahoma’s Felony Justice Programs,” requested by Rep. Garry Mize, R-Guthrie
- “Oklahoma Ex-Offender Reentry Applications,” requested by Rep. Ajay Pittman, D-Oklahoma Metropolis
- “The style and methodology by which District Attorneys conduct inside investigations,” requested by Rep. Collin Walke, D-Oklahoma Metropolis
- “An Interim Research on non-violent legal habits “punishment” options to incarceration,” requested by Reps. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa and Mark Lawson, R-Sapulpa
- “Whether or not psychological well being diagnoses are being thought-about throughout sentencing hearings,” Sen. Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan
- “Research whether or not jury or non-jury trials are handiest in figuring out the result of kid welfare circumstances,” Sen. Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan
- “Nursing lodging for incarcerated moms,” Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma Metropolis
- “Legislation enforcement use of pressure and de-escalation methods,” Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa
- “Housing and jobs for previously incarcerated or justice concerned,” Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa
- “Psychological well being and substance abuse greatest practices to scale back suicide and incarceration ranges,” Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa
Keaton Ross is a Report for America corps member who covers jail circumstances and legal justice points for Oklahoma Watch. Contact him at (405) 831-9753 or [email protected]. Comply with him on Twitter at @_KeatonRoss
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