GOP forum shows new justice approach

FOR too long, Republicans in Oklahoma embraced a tough-on-crime approach to criminal justice and rejected efforts to try something different. Those days are changing, thank goodness, and that’s reflected in the viewpoints of six men seeking the GOP nomination for governor.

During a forum last week in Oklahoma City, the candidates were asked what steps they would take as governor to reduce the number of people incarcerated in Oklahoma. That total, which has been growing for decades, stands at roughly 27,000. On a per capita basis, the state’s incarceration rate ranks No. 2 nationally; we lead the country in female incarceration rate.

All the candidates mentioned the need to find innovative ways to deal with nonviolent offenders, who make up the majority of those behind bars.

“We are sticking out like a sore thumb,” said Tulsa businessman Kevin Stitt. Stitt said prosecutors must be provided “the sticks they need” to keep violent offenders behind bars, but that Oklahoma should “look at what the market is. Market to me is what the states around us are doing, and come up with those types of fair sentencing (practices) across all counties …”

Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones said the Legislature has ignored most of the reform recommendations included in two outside audits conducted in the past decade. Investments are needed, Jones said, for programs to help keep offenders with drug and alcohol issues out of prison, and to provide training programs for those incarcerated “so they come out with a profession that’s different than what got them in there.”

Tulsa attorney Gary Richardson noted it costs the state about $23,000 per year to house an inmate, while alternative programs for those suffering from poor mental health or addiction cost about $5,000 annually. “We’ve got to get smart with how we deal with these problems,” he said.

Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb touched on costs as well, saying it costs $47 per day to keep a person in prison. “We expect to be national champions in athletics,” he said. “We do not want or need to be national champs in incarceration of the nonviolent offender.”

Former state Rep. Dan Fisher said the state “cannot continue to lock up nonviolent criminals with violent criminals. All we do is make more violent criminals.” He suggested creating restitution-restoration programs in which nonviolent offenders literally pay back their debt to society while getting assistance in leading productive lives.

Former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett shared that view. Cornett said improving the state’s recidivism rate would do much to drive down incarceration totals.

“It hurts me to admit that if a person drops out of an Oklahoma high school, chances are they won’t be going back, but if a person gets out of an Oklahoma prison, chances are they will be going back,” he said. “We do a very poor job of offering a person a better chance, a better path coming out.”

However, Cornett said he believes criminal justice reform is an area where headway can be made, “because I see support on the left side of the aisle and the right side of the aisle.” As longtime proponents of moving away from policies of the past, we’re glad to see that support coming from Republicans seeking to become Oklahoma’s next governor.