Gov. Mary Fallin on Monday announced a compromise between district attorneys and Republican lawmakers on six bills they say will reduce Oklahoma’s prison population while maintaining public safety.
One criminal justice reform advocacy group is criticizing the timing of the announcement because the bills’ language still hasn’t been made public.
Lawmakers say the measures — House Bill 2281, HB 2286, Senate Bill 649, SB689and SB 786 — would rework punishments for property crime and other non-violent offenses, streamline the state’s parole system. A sixth bill which hasn’t been assigned a bill number will rework punishments for drug crimes.
Five of the six bills were introduced during the 2017 legislative session, but DAs were afraid the measures would hurt public safety. Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater says lawmakers worked with DAs to make changes.
Prater says one big concern was how proposed legislation would classify “nonviolent” offenders and determine their eligibility for early release. He and other DAs wanted to make sure “there truly is a real evaluation and understanding of what these offenders are there for.”
Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, an independent group, said depending on its language, the compromise legislation may only slow prison growth and not reduce the overall population. The group also pointed out lawmakers hadn’t projected how many prison beds the legislation would empty.
The group plans to announce criminal justice reforms it supports later this week.
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