EDMOND —
Q: Since the State Question passed that removes the governor from the parole process, I am wondering what the benefits of that change will be.
A: Before the recent amendment, the governor considered inmates for parole only if parole was first recommended by the Pardon and Parole Board. The amendment now allows parole for a limited category of non-violent offenders, based solely on the board’s recommendation, without involvement of the governor.
For each offender considered for parole, Parole Board members receive an extensive investigative report, and review letters or receive comments from persons protesting or supporting parole, including victims and district attorneys. The board also personally interviews some offenders. Additionally, board members regularly receive training, both at their meetings and at national meetings, regarding factors to consider in deciding whether an offender should be paroled.
Governors have many important time demands, and may not have the time or resources to duplicate the board’s training, or its detailed investigation of each offender. Moreover, there is the potential for significant delay between the time the board considers an offender for parole and the time the governor approves or denies it.
Since the state pays between just under $2,000 to more than $4,000 dollars per month to incarcerate each offender, and during any given year, hundreds of offenders will be recommended for parole, even a one-month delay while the governor reviews each recommendation represents a significant cost to the state. Removing the governor from the process will free up space in crowded prisons, and save the state money.
Accelerating the time when an offender returns to the community results in other significant financial benefits to the state. Most offenders were employed when they were arrested. Incarceration results in lost income tax and sales tax revenue to local, state and the federal government; lost productivity; delay in paying victim restitution or court costs and fines; and uninsured, sometimes extensive medical care. Perhaps most important, incarcerated parents can’t financially support or care for dependent children or other family members, often resulting in increased need for public assistance for offenders’ families.
Most offenders will eventually be released from prison. For some offenders, the Constitutional amendment will allow the state to conserve limited resources by decreasing delay in releasing parole-eligible offenders who have modified their behavior and gained the skills necessary to be successful on the streets.
SUSAN B. LOVING is an attorney for Lester, Loving & Davies P.C. More information is available at lldlaw.com. Send questions to questions@lldlaw.com.
Local News
ASK A LAWYER: New parole process should have benefits
- Local News
-
-
OG&E works to replace Edmond power poles
“Oh my God, it’s the tornado,” Betsy Herring thought as she and her husband, Lee, took shelter in their laundry room as Sunday’s tornado roared toward their Forest Oaks home in Edmond.
-
Equine center aids Orr Family Farm horses
Connie Yearwood, a third-year veterinary student at Oklahoma State University, had been job shadowing at Equine Medical Association in Edmond when the call came to help rescue horses that were injured during Monday’s tornado in Moore and Oklahoma City.
-
Lincoln County Emergency Management calls for help
Carney is a city of about 649 residents and following the recent tornado outbreak 20 homes were destroyed there and an additional 18 homes in the county were leveled.
Wednesday, a press release from Lincoln County, along with Wellston Emergency Management Office and the City of Carney, stated that at this time the needs have changed for the city. -
Oklahoma National Guard coordinates tornado relief support
Oklahoma National Guard members, who work side-by-side with local responders to aid in recovery efforts during domestic operations such as the May 20 tornado that tore through Oklahoma City and Moore, are given their tasks through the Guard's Joint Operations Center.
The JOC, located in the Guard's Joint Force Headquarters in Oklahoma City, is primarily responsible for the collection, dissemination and tracking of information to increase the situational awareness for leadership as well as the National Guard Bureau, said Lt. Col. Hiram Tabler, the director of military support for Oklahoma's Joint Force Headquarters. -
UPDATE: Businesses, groups offer free relief to tornado victims
Listed is information on free services offered to victims of the recent tornadoes.
-
House approves $45M aid package for tornado victims
As rain poured this morning on disaster relief workers in the Moore and Oklahoma City areas, the Oklahoma House of Representatives unanimously approved a $45 million aid package to provide relief to those impacted by Monday’s EF-5 tornado.
-
TIMELAPSE: Take a tour through the damage in Moore
Take a driving tour of the damage in Moore caused by Monday's tornado.
-
Moore mayor wants tornado shelters in new homes
Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis wants tornado shelters in all new homes in his city, where an EF-5 tornado damaged or destroyed more than 12,500 homes Monday afternoon. A proposed ordinance would require a shelter inside or outside each new residence.
-
Rescue workers, tornado victims find respite in college dorms
Monday’s tornado put an estimated 20,000 people out of their houses, which were damaged or destroyed. Some of those victims — and the rescue workers who’ve come to help them — are staying a few miles south, in dormitories at the University of Oklahoma.
More than 300 individuals and families left homeless by the storm are staying at OU, where the university is providing beds, hot water and meals, often delivered by a familiar face. The university also housed 287 first-responders from Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and Tennessee. -
Mom delivered baby as tornado struck
Shayla Taylor’s second child was moments from birth as an EF-5 tornado bore down on Moore Medical Center on Monday afternoon.
Her labor was too far along to move her to safety with the rest of those in the hospital, her nurses decided. So as her husband, Jerome, and their 4-year-old son, Shaiden, went downstairs with the others, she and four nurses stayed upstairs and braced for the worst. - More Local News Headlines
-
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
