Page 71 - State Question News Today

An audio version of this story The top item on criminal justice reform advocates’ agenda has stalled as the Oklahoma legislature passed its first major deadline. Senate Bill 704 would have greatly limited the practice of lengthening prison sentences because of someone’s previous, nonviolent felony convictions. According to Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, enhancements mean Oklahomans end up serving prison sentences 70% longer than the national average for property crimes and 79% long...

Oklahoma Man Back in Jail After Prison Sentence Commuted In 2019 A man is back in jail after being one of more than 400 people whose prison sentences the governor’s office commuted in 2019. Broken Arrow Police arrested Bradley Davenport this week, after officers said he admitted to stealing 50 catalytic converters.   Tulsa County Jail records show Davenport is being held without bond right now and once he gets out, he will be wearing an ankle monitor.  Broken Arrow Police arrested Davenport...

The City Sentinel April 8, 2021 By Darla Shelden By Darla Shelden, City Sentinel Reporter -- OKLAHOMA CITY – The temporary Willard Winter Night Shelter, created to fill a gap in shelter beds caused... By Patrick B. McGuigan Patrick B. McGuigan, Publisher, The City Sentinel Analysis for The Southwest Ledger Pat McGuigan  Oklahoma City, April 1, 2021 – In the public square, each...

After a month of work, state lawmakers have passed the 2021 session’s first major legislative deadline.

Lawmakers: Managed care plan complicates Medicaid funding By: Trevor Brown Oklahoma Watch February 22, 2021 With Oklahoma’s 2021 legislative session underway, lawmakers and the governor will need to simultaneously weigh funding options for an expanding state Medicaid program along with pros and cons of revamping the system that lower-income Oklahomans depend on for health care coverage. (Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash) More than half a year after voters approved a s...

The Enid News and Eagle /The Enid News and Eagle Kris Steele, executive director for Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, talks to State Question 805 supporters. Brianna Bailey / The Frontier Rep. John Pfeiffer was frustrated by what he saw on social media in the days after mostly urban Oklahoma voters approved Medicaid expansion by a razor-thin margin last summer. A barrage of posts criticized, scorned and demeaned rura...

More than half a year after voters approved a state question that will require Oklahoma to offer health coverage to more than 200,000 low-income adults, state officials are still unsure

Green Gold Rush: Medical marijuana becomes Oklahoma's new cash crop

Oklahoma’s jail mortality rate ranks second in nation Keaton Ross Oklahoma Watch Deaths in Oklahoma’s largest county jails have trended upward over the past decade, an indication that some inmates aren’t receiving adequate medical and mental health care.  According to a Reuters News investigation published last October, 148 inmates housed in Oklahoma’s 11 largest county jails died from 2009 through 2019. The jails combined had an average annual mortality rate of 2.16 deaths per 1,000 i...

Criminal justice reform remains on legislative agenda (Photo by Whitney Bryen/Oklahoma Watch) State lawmakers have introduced several dozen bills that could change how law enforcement agencies, courts and corrections systems operate in Oklahoma. Here are a few of the most notable measures: • Senate Bill 704, sponsored by state Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, would prohibit courts from imposing sentence enhancements on certain offenders who have never been convicted of a violent felony. Under curren...