A worthwhile effort by DOC
An effort underway for the next few weeks is intended to give soon-to-be-released nonviolent inmates a better chance of succeeding once they're out of prison.
The Department of Corrections is holding “transition fairs” at 28 of its facilities. The first was held Thursday at the DOC's minimum-security prisons for men and women in Taft.
Inmates are being put in touch with organizations that help with housing, transportation, employment, health care, mentoring and other resources.
Several state agencies are involved, as are volunteer groups and community partners.
This effort ties back to voter approval in 2016 of a state question that reclassified most drug possession crimes and some property crimes as misdemeanors instead of felonies. During the 2019 legislative session, lawmakers approved a bill that makes the provisions of the state question retroactive.
That bill directed the state Pardon and Parole Board to create an accelerated, single-stage commutation docket for those serving felony sentences for crimes that are now misdemeanors. Hundreds of inmates will be eligible for release under the new law.
Scott Crow, interim DOC director, says the aim is to give eligible inmates every chance to “ensure their successful re-entry and become productive citizens wherever they go.”
It's a worthwhile pursuit. The DOC notes that volunteers and groups who want to help can email transitionfair@doc.ok.gov.
No `Horns Down' during OU-Texas? Really?
Last season, University of Texas football coach Tom Herman got worked up over opposing players turning the familiar “Hook 'em Horns” hand sign upside-down. Opponents and their fans have been doing it to the Longhorns forever, with nary a peep. But Herman complained that it showed a lack of class. Next thing you know, the Big 12 Conference's coordinator of officials was answering questions this summer from the media about whether refs would be penalizing players for flashing the “Horns Down.” The gesture is now referred to as “controversial” by some. And Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said flatly this week that, like last year, OU's players “won't do it” during Saturday's game against the Longhorns. It's a sad state of affairs when something so benign gets this sort of treatment.
A laudable rebuttal by Ellen DeGeneres
Kudos to TV personality Ellen DeGeneres for standing up to those who criticized her for — no kidding — watching a football game with former President George W. Bush. DeGeneres and Bush were among those invited to the suite of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers. Clips of DeGeneres and Bush side-by-side prompted scorn from the Twitterati. “People were upset,” DeGeneres said on her program Monday. “They thought, why is a gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative Republican president?” She explained that she and Bush are friends. “In fact, I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs that I have. … When I say, `Be kind to one another,' I don't mean only the people that think the same way that you do. I mean be kind to everyone. Doesn't matter.” Well said.
A cross country race to remember
The Carl Albert Invitational attracts many of the best cross country teams and runners in Oklahoma. This year's meet featured one of the best stories, that of Newcastle senior Caleb Freeman. In December 2017, Freeman was in an automobile accident that caused a traumatic brain injury and left him in a coma for two months. A year ago at this time, Freeman was getting around in a wheelchair and occasionally a walker. On Tuesday at Carl Albert, he ran the 3.1-mile race — his first competition since the accident. He finished in just under 52 minutes, beating his goal of 1 hour. Freeman was accompanied much of the way by his teammates and by runners from other teams. “It's such an incredible day,” Freeman's father, Jeremy, told The Oklahoman's Cameron Jourdan. “For him to be out here, it's a miracle.” The human spirit is a powerful thing indeed.