Pubdate: Fri, 23 Aug 2002
Source: Shawnee News-Star (OK)
Copyright: 2002 The Shawnee News-Star
Contact:  http://www.onlineshawnee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/412
Author: The Tulsa World

EDITOR COMMENTS ON OKLAHOMA'S INCARCERATION RATE

The Tulsa World On Prisons: A new federal study underscores what Oklahomans 
already know but have done little to change: The state has one of the 
highest incarceration rates in the nation.

The U.S. Department of Justice study had one bright spot: Oklahoma is one 
of a few states reporting recent declines in inmate populations.

... Only Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas have higher incarceration rates.

And the state still has the highest female incarceration rate in the country.

Oklahoma is well known for its strong law-and-order attitudes. But it's 
likely that not everyone in prison should be there. Many nonviolent drug 
offenders should be treated rather than punished.

There are moves in that direction. There are some new drug courts, for 
example. The thousands of women in prison, many of them mothers, might 
benefit from rehabilitation programs.

But until the lock-'em-up-and-throw-away-the-key philosophy changes, 
Oklahoma will continue to throw hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars a 
year into corrections -- money better spent on countless other needs.
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