Campaigners for ‘Yes on 805‘ are out in force in Oklahoma, gathering signatures to get their ballot initiative up for a vote, as I discovered firsthand during a trip to the local Sprouts. As I walked out of the store, a polite young man with a clipboard asked if I would like to sign his petition to get 805 on the ballot. He quickly and clearly explained that State Question 805 would eliminate the “sentence enhancements” that prosecutors can tack on to the sentences of non-violent offenders, which can add up to years, even decades, more behind bars. These sentence enhancements are partly the cause of Oklahoma’s status as “prison capital of the world”, meaning that this state locks up more citizens per capita than anywhere else on the planet. This practice inhumanely and unnecessarily tears apart families and destroys lives. 805 would be a necessary and humane change, and reining in out-of-control prosecutors would be a step in the right direction.
I spoke with the gentleman for several minutes and wondered aloud, “why are non-violent offenders put behind bars at all?” Surely there is another method of punishment that is short of locking them up. Taking away driving privileges, a prohibition on certain financial transactions, surely there is another option that allows them to remain at home with their families and continue to work in some capacity. The signature gatherer agreed with me, attributing the barbaric practice in part on over-zealous prosecutors eager to gain more “victories” in court. That, combined with public apathy has allowed the current state of affairs to continue unrestrained for so long. But the criminal justice reform movement currently underway in Oklahoma will put an end to it once and for all, and it’s just another sign that the world is truly getting better.
