prison system

For many convicted felons leaving Oklahoma prisons, repaying their debt to society means paying down a mountain of actual debt from court costs, fines and fees.

As OPMX’s Kate Carlton Greer reports in the final part of a collaboration between KOSU and Oklahoma Watch’s called Prisoners of Debt, keeping former inmates from re-offending and returning to prison often depends on help available when they’re released.

Men and women clutch binders and sack lunches as they shuffle into a cafeteria and catch up before the day begins.

They’re all participants at TEEM, The Employment and Education Ministry, in Oklahoma City. It’s a non-violent prisoner re-entry program that helps offenders find jobs and get plugged back into society.

For more than two decades, Oklahoma has turned to fines and fees instead of state appropriations to fund the court system.

In the second part of a three-part series with Oklahoma Watch, OPMX’s Kate Carlton Greer says the debt former prisoners now face has becoming increasingly burdensome as the state has grown more and more reluctant to raise taxes.

The roots of Oklahoma’s crime-funded court system start back in 1992 with State Question 640.

The public was mad about tax hikes, so they passed a referendum making it nearly impossible for lawmakers to raise taxes.

Legislators then began turning to other ways to pad the state budget, like fines and fees.

Over the years, Oklahoma has increasingly turned to fines and fees from court cases to pay for the court system itself.

But a joint investigation with Oklahoma Watch reveals that as many inmates regain their freedom, they’re still imprisoned by mountains of debt.

As the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange’s Kate Carlton Greer reports in the first of a series, the cost shift is leading some to question the long-term sustainability of a crime-funded judicial branch.

Robin Wertz left prison back in 2007 facing nearly 25-thousand dollars worth of fines and fees related to multiple drug offenses. Without any real job prospects, Wertz knew she could make a phone call out west and earn some quick money to help her with her savings account while she found a job.