OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – FWD.us released a new video today outlining how five proposed reforms currently before the state legislature would help shed Oklahoma’s ranking as the worst-incarcerating state in the entire nation. The reforms would help reunite families, make communities safer, and boost the state’s economy by safely reducing the number of Oklahomans behind bars and helping them better reintegrate into their communities.
“As the highest incarcerator in the nation and the world, Oklahoma has a long way to go before it can be seen as a leader on criminal justice, and there’s no time to waste,” said Shanna Gong, FWD.us Oklahoma State Director. “We urge the state legislature to pass these five evidence-based reform bills as written to help stem this crisis, shed Oklahoma’s #1 ranking, and keep families together.”
These five critical reforms will safely reduce Oklahoma’s incarcerated population and keep more people out of jail and prison so that they can support their families, continue working, and help make Oklahoma a safer, freer place:
- HB 1269 allows individuals with long and outdated sentences to be resentenced under current law.
- HB 2273 & HB 2218 improve Oklahoma’s supervision practices.
- SB 421/HB 1100 reforms the state’s unnecessarily harsh drug laws.
- SB 287/HB 2009 limits powerful sentence enhancements.
- SB 252 eliminates cash bail for low-level crimes.
If Oklahoma’s legislature does not pass these reforms as written, Oklahoma will remain the #1 incarcerator in the nation, and in the world. We urge Oklahoma lawmakers to pass all five reforms swiftly and continue to change the trajectory of our state’s incarceration rate.
