Gov. Fallin discusses criminal justice reform

Staff Writer jdulaney@oklahoman.com

In a talk that was part personal and part policy, Gov. Mary Fallin on Wednesday discussed criminal justice reform during an afternoon event centered on incarcerated women.

“The more we talk about this as a nation, the more we can help change the laws and change legislation,” she said.

Fallin’s half-hour talk at Will Rogers Theatre, moderated by The Atlantic’s contributing editor Alison Stewart, was part of an event titled “Defining Justice: The Experience of Women and Children Behind Bars,” convened by the magazine and featuring policy experts, law enforcement officials and representatives of nonprofit groups, among other speakers.

Early in the discussion, Fallin shared how her mother’s career as a social worker shaped her views on women behind bars. Memories of her mother helping neglected and sometimes abandoned children find a safe home helped Fallin see the “effects of broken families,” and the “circle of problems,” that develops when women are incarcerated, often for nonviolent crimes such as drug possession.

Last year, Fallin formed the state’s criminal justice task force, to examine ways to reduce the population of Oklahoma’s bloated prisons and jails. The Sooner State ranks second in the nation when it comes to the overall incarceration rate, and leads the country in female incarceration, about twoand-a-half times national average.

Oklahoma has roughly 61,000 people in its prison system, including more than 26,000 held in state facilities and private prisons, about 1,600 awaiting transfer from county jails, and another 33,000 on some form of probation, parole, community sentencing or GPS monitoring.

The state’s prison population is at 109 percent of capacity, is 78 percent higher than the national average, and is expected to grow by 25 percent in the next decade without major reforms.

That could cost the state an additional $2 billion. Meanwhile, state mental health officials say it costs $2,000 a year, on average, per person for outpatient mental health and substance abuse services, compared to more intensive programs, such as drug court, which costs about $5,000 a year per person.

By comparison, it costs about $19,000 a year to hold someone in prison, according to some policy experts.

Fallin covered familiar ground in discussing criminal justice reform. The state must continue to look at ways to keep low-level offenders out of prison by expanding diversion programs, educational opportunities and job training, she said.

“If you can put someone in a productive job supporting their families, keep those children with the families instead of having them go to prison or be incarcerated, it is about money,” she said. “It is about money for the success of that person to be able to support themselves, be a contributing the member to society. It’s about being wise with your money.”

Fallin lauded Oklahomans for moving the criminal justice discussion beyond mere tough-oncrime talk and into ideas on how to more wisely use taxpayer dollars while keeping violent offenders off the street.

Last November, voters passed two ballot initiatives designed to reduce prison overcrowding. State Question 780 made certain low-level crimes misdemeanors rather than felonies, including simple drug possession and theft of items valued at less than $1,000. State Question 781 aims to use money saved by incarcerating fewer people to help fund drug treatment and mental health programs.

But those state reforms may clash with federal policy. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, tapped by President Donald Trump as the nation’s top law enforcement officer, has signaled a return to increased drug prosecutions and prolonged sentences for low-level offenders.

Fallin, a Republican supporter of Trump, said Wednesday she has not spoken with Sessions, but looks forward to talking with him about criminal justice reform efforts in Oklahoma.

“I need to have a discussion with him,” Fallin said.

The event was the first in a series on how the American criminal justice system affects women and children in cities across the country. The series is underwritten by Google, and is conducted in collaboration with The Center for Investigative Reporting.