Funding for Prisons

During the last decade, spending on corrections has expanded by over 240%. At current trends, appropriations for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections join health care and education as the leading State expenditures. This generation of Oklahomans (since 1960) has seen its incarceration rate increase almost six-fold, from 4000 to roughly 23,000, even though our State population has increased by only a third. Oklahoma’s incarceration rate annually places among the top five, and our crime rate is significantly above the national average (14th overall). We have the highest per capita incarceration rate for women in the entire country.

One of the significant factors explaining Oklahoma’s incarceration rate is the number of inmates entering the state prison for non-violent offenses. Since 1980, for example, the number of inmates sent to prison for substance abuse has increased from approximately 100 a year to nearly 3,000 a year. Currently, there are 3,650 non-violent drug offenders in prison (excluding drug traffickers), and they cost Oklahoma taxpayers $60 million a year. These are the same offenders that other States send for treatment at far less cost. We also spend millions – no one is sure just how much – incarcerating the severely mentally ill for the commission of non-violent misdemeanors.

My Record

First and foremost, I favor keeping violent felons behind bars for the full length of their sentence. I suspect that some violent criminals receive early parole due to overcrowding, and that is wrong. I also favor, however, rethinking the prosecution and incarceration of non-violent offenders.

That's why I worked with Republican and Democrat senators alike to expand the number of mental health courts and drug courts in Oklahoma. Oklahoma now offers drug courts in nearly all 77 counties, and the number of mental health courts has more than tripled. These courts offer an alternative to incarceration for those charged with non-violent misdemeanors.

We have to look again at the burgeoning Department of Corrections budget. With the 3rd highest incarceration rate in the country and a crime rate well above the national average, our approach to crime appears hard to defend, especially when compared to those States that imprison less, spend less and enjoy greater public safety.