Oklahoma Makes A Big Change With Mass Prison Release

via Wikimedia

William Anderson
November 15, 2019

Oklahoma voters did something major in 2016. 

They approved a measure that reclassified low-level offenses as misdemeanors instead of felonies. But then lawmakers took things a step further… They voted to allow those changes to apply to people who are currently incarcerated. 

That translated to HUNDREDS of people having their sentences cut and people even being freed from prison. So far, it’s been a major victory for people fighting to end mass incarceration in a state known for the ghastly number of people it locks up.

Mother Jones notes that Oklahoma has “the dubious honor of being the ‘world’s prison capital’—locking up a higher proportion of its residents than any other state or country” and it attributes the boom to “tough on crime policies” that started in the ’80s.

For those who’ve been released in Oklahoma, the changes are a dream come true. Black people are overrepresented in Oklahoma’s prisons and jails. Just like in any other state, this happens because of the disgusting relationship between anti-Blackness and the criminal justice system. 

While Oklahoma still has a long way to go, holding the largest single-day commutation in U.S. history is a good step forward. 

ALL STATES need policies like this because people deserve their lives back - especially since a racist system that decides who is and isn’t punished stole their freedom in the first place.

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