Bubbaworld

Here in Oklahoma we are tough on criminals. Well, actually tougher on some criminals than we should be. This is the case far too frequently with those convicted of non-violent offenses such as drug possession, hot checks, larceny and similar offenses. We are so tough on criminals that our prisons are usually full to the brim and on the verge of hanging out the ‘No Vacancy’ sign. This while those convicted of murder, rape, armed robbery and other violent crimes accumulate in county jails awaiting ‘bed space’ in the state’s prisons. Sure enough we are tough on criminals, we just don’t like paying the costs of locking them up.

Currently Oklahoma’s prisons, both state owned and private, are at their occupancy limit and the Department of Corrections is implementing its crisis plan which includes putting prisoners into “alternative bed space” which could mean putting beds in such areas as dayrooms or gymnasiums. That might work for a while, but it is at best a stop-gap measure that will work only for a short time.

Meanwhile 1,514 convicted prisoners are waiting in country jails around the state for ‘beds space’ to open in order that they can be moved to either a Department of Corrections or private prison. Each day the waiting list grows as defendants are sentenced in courthouses around the state. Many of Oklahoma’s county jails are already over-crowed and are facing the threat of closure owing to being outdated, unsafe, inadequate or otherwise unable to handle the inmate load being placed upon them. Yet each day they get more inmates.

A big factor in Oklahoma’s prison population crisis centers on the Oklahoma Legislature’s repeal in 2001 of a controversial prison cap law that triggered the early release of nonviolent inmates when prisons topped their capacities. Now there is no mechanism to kick out a non-violent offender early to make room for a murder, a rapist or robber. This fact coupled with a reduction on the number of inmates being released by the Pardon and Parole Board has resulted in the ‘prisoner glut’ we are now seeing and the huge backlog of convicts accumulating in county jails.

So what is the solution?

There are several possible solutions, none of which will appeal to the majority of Oklahomans.

The easiest but costliest answer is build more prisons, hire more prison guards, pay them a decent salary to attract and retain them and keep doing so as our prison population continues to grow. Of course this means greatly increasing funding for the Department of Corrections, something most Oklahomans and certainly the Legislature is not keen on doing, otherwise they would have already done so.

Another alternative is to stop locking up so many non-violent offenders. Establish ‘drug courts’ that focus on treatment rather than punishment for illicit drug use. Create community treatment programs to deal with hot-check writers and other non-violent offenders and focus upon restitution, community service and addressing the root causes of why people offend. Of course this will strike some as being ‘soft of crime’ but it sure would save a lot of taxpayer money and reduce prison populations.

And then there’s the ‘Okie Approach’, one which entails doing nothing as the situation continues to get worse with our prison system. Eventually the federal government will come in take over and mandate a massive prison upgrade program which will cost the taxpayers far more than doing the job right ourselves. This very scenario took place once before and Oklahoma’s prisons were under a ‘consent decree’ for years. Oddly enough, our prisons actually functioned as they were supposed to during that time. It was only after federal oversight ended that we lapsed back into our old ways and have come to the crisis we currently face.

Maybe that is the best approach after all for a state that lacks the courage to do what is right…