Pubdate: Fri, 31 Jan 2003
Source: Shawnee News-Star (OK)
Copyright: 2003 The Shawnee News-Star
Contact:  http://www.onlineshawnee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/412
Author: Associated Press

COMMISSION CONSIDERS CHANGE OF SENTENCING OKLAHOMA CITY

Reduced sentences for drug possession and better substance abuse programs 
are among recommendations from a commission that is trying to find ways to 
save money by reducing Oklahoma's skyrocketing prison population. "Because 
we've always done things a certain way doesn't mean we can't do it a better 
way or a more efficient way," Sen. Dick Wilkerson, a member of the Oklahoma 
Sentencing Commission, said Thursday. The Atwood Democrat is a former 
deputy director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

"We want justice as cheaply as we can get it," Wilkerson said.

The commission's co-chairman, Rep. Terry Ingmire, R-Stillwater, said 
cost-cutting reforms can not jeopardize public safety.

"Punishment has to be there somewhere or the system breaks down," said 
First Deputy Attorney General Tom Gruber.

The 33 recommendations released Thursday mirror proposals in 
truth-in-sentencing legislation that was passed in 1997 and repealed in 
1999. The law, which stiffened penalties for violent criminals while easing 
penalties for others, was opposed by many state prosecutors.

Statistics produced by the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center 
indicate the state's rate of incarceration is the nation's fourth highest 
and that drug and alcohol offenses are the leading causes of prison 
sentences, accounting for 44 percent of all receptions in 2001.

Oklahoma's prison population has risen 108 percent in the last 14 years and 
stood at 22,849 on Thursday. The agency took in a total of 8,200 new 
inmates in the 2002 fiscal year.

The Department of Corrections' budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30 
stands at $372 million and the agency needs another $15 million to pay all 
expenses.

The commission agreed to study the recommendations as the state prepares 
for another round of budget cuts due to a revenue shortfall. Lawmakers will 
have $592 million less to appropriate in the fiscal year that begins July 1 
than they did in 2002.
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