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Meetings
OK-CURE Board Meeting will be Sunday Feb. 5 will
be at the Progressive Baptist Church in Tulsa at 1970
N. Boston. From I-244 take exit 5C to the LL Tisdale Parkway (Osage
Expy) then take the Pine St. Exit and on Pine go till you get to Boston
and take a left and go north until you get to 1970 N. Boston. The meeting
will be from 3-5 PM.
ACLU of Oklahoma completed the survey called for in the grant request. Board member, Dave Hardy is compiling the results of the survey and preparing educational materials to disseminate what has been learned. The material will be used to recruit other organizations and groups to endorse the RTV program and help bring about called for change. In Oklahoma the bill will call for the voting rights be returned upon release from prison. There have been studies that indicate this helps with reentry.
Once this is done OK-CURE members must be ready to do their part in educating others about this as well as other needed changes. DOC has completed a list of legislation it wants enacted in the upcoming session. (See story inside) Future newsletters will keep our members informed about legislation which is actually proposed.
We also remind our readers that active citizens not only vote at election
time but keep in touch with their legislatures on the issues as they arise.
Much legislation that is proposed comes as the results of an involved citizen’s
contact with his/her Representative or Senator
What is it going to take to make changes? To get people involved? The last couple of years we have had bills introduced to lower phone rates, create an Ombudsman, restore voting rights faster and remove the Governor from the parole process and others. But we need help getting the word to the families on the outside to get involved.
Let’s look at getting the Governor out of the parole process. The Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center (OCJRC) has estimated it would save Oklahoma taxpayers $2.5 million a year if we removed the Governor from parole. But the politicians would rather use it against the other party saying they are soft on crime, because the Governor signed a parole. Since it would take a constitutional amendment to make the change, we could try it by an Initiative Petition for Constitutional Change. At this time the requirements would be getting the signatures of over 219,000 registered voters in only 90 days.
For years we have told the inmates that we know where you are, it’s up to you to tell your families and friends on the outside where we are and ask them to get involved. With this newsletter we are attaching our info cards, give them to other inmates, your families, friends and volunteers that want to help make change happen.
For years we have allowed any inmate to join for free if they tell us
they are indigent. We haven’t raised the rates for the families either;
we get by with pennies and volunteers. No one gets paid to do anything,
to answer the phone, write letters, put the newsletter together and mail
it. I pray if only everyone that wants change would just donate a
dollar, I wouldn’t know what to do with all that money. (Yes, I do, we
could do more to get the word out and educate the public.)
If your are a member won’t renew your membership and if not won’t
you join and help spread the word to others to join and get involved
Links will be added as soon as the Info is available
Let me see if I understand what Senate Republican Leader Glen Coffee wants to happen. He believes that Governor Henry is paroling too many violent offenders. Now keep in mind when someone is paroled they must have a home and a job to go to. Most studies would show that these offenders are the least likely to re-offend.
Let’s look at true facts and figures. The Department of Corrections (DOC) released over 8000 inmates in 2004. Of those 1773 were paroled with a home and job to go too. 174 had detainers meaning that other jurisdictions wanted them, most to be deported. 60 died while in custody (includes executions). That still leaves over 6000 released to the streets.
Most of those 6000 are released with no supervision and only $50 in their pockets and a bus ticket home. Almost 300 of those released came from maximum security, meaning they were locked down 24 hours a day.
As OK-CURE brochure says, “Today’s inmate is Tomorrow’s neighbor.” The vast majority of those in prison will be released one day, which would you prefer, with supervision or without?
At a cost of over $2.5 million some politicians want the Oklahoma Governor to remain in the parole process. The question should be why should Oklahoma have the only Governor in the process? Is there a reason other than they want to use it to claim that the Governor is soft on crime?
Wouldn’t it be “smarter” to parole offenders to homes, jobs and supervision rather than to nothing? Wouldn’t it be “smarter” to use more electronic monitoring than to the street with no supervision? Other states do these things even with “Lifers” and they are not being over run by violent offenders. Doesn’t it make better sense to send offenders back by helping them take small steps back to society, rather than throwing them out the prison door and slamming it shut behind them?
A few years ago, the Oklahoma Academy (a private nonpartisan group) found that one of the major changes the public wanted in the state constitution was the Governor removed from the parole process.
My guess is that when given the whole truth and all the figures most Oklahoman’s would rather go with supervision when releasing offenders to the streets than without any supervision. We as a state need to be doing better at reintegration. My guess would be that far more of those released without any help return to prison than those that have help.
Pardon
and Parole Dates for 2005
Here is a list of proposed Pardon and Parole dates. These dates are
subject to change, so please check with parole board before making any
plans. Phone: 405-602-5863. If you need information on how to put together
a Parole Packet click.
Jan 24-27 at LCC
Feb. 21-24 at OSP
March 21-24 at JHCC
April 18-21 at LCC
May 23-26 at OSP
June 13-16 at JHCC
July 11-14 at LCC
Aug. 15-18 at DCF
Sept. 12-15 at JHCC
Oct. 10-13 at LCC
Nov. 7-9 at OSP
Dec. 5-8 at JHCC
Pardon & Parole Docket Results On the Governor's desk
Thur. Jan 26 at 1 PM at Oklahoma
State Capitol Bldg. Rm. 419 C 2300 N Lincoln Blvd. in OKC
Fri. Feb. 24 at 1 PM at JLCC in
Boley
Fri. March 24 at 1 PM at GPCF in
Hinton
Fri. April 21 at 1 PM at MACC in
Stringtown
Fri. May 19 at 1 PM at LCC in Lexington
Thur. June 22 at 1 PM at MBCC in
McLoud
Thur July 27 at 1 PM at NEOCC in
Vinita
Fri. Sept. 1 at 1 PM at JBCC in
McAlester
Thur. Sept. 28 at 1 PM at EWCC
in Taft
Fri. Oct. 27 at 1 PM at OSR in
Granite
Thur. Nov. 30 at 1 PM at MCCC in
Muskogee
Dec. No Meeting
Pardon and Parole Board
Members of the Board are appointed, 3 by the Governor, one by the Chief
Justice of the State Supreme Court, and one by the presiding Judge of the
Court of Criminal Appeals. When corresponding with board members, please
include the name and DOC# of the inmate you are writing about. The Docket
date (month and year) Type of Docket (Parole, Special Review) and any other
pertinent information. (Chairperson) Mr. James M. Brown, Sr. P.O. Box 1814
McAlester, OK 74502, (Vice-Chair) Mr. Clinton Johnson P.O. Box 18594
Oklahoma City, OK 73154. Mr. Richard L Dugger, P.O. Box 20623, Oklahoma
City, OK 73156; Ms. Susan B. Loving P.O. Box 7320 Edmond, OK 73083; Ms.
Lynnell Harkins, P.O. Box 20547, Oklahoma City, OK. 73156. We would
encourage you review the information in the permanent parole file. To do
this, make the request in care of the General Counsel at the Board Office.
Parole
Board Office (The Parole Board members do not have an office there.) First
National Center, 120 N Robinson Ave. #900 W, Oklahoma City Ok 73102. Phone
405-602-5862. If you have something you want filed in your parole
jacket send the information to the same address.
Board of Corrections
The Governor appoints the 7-member panel. The board establishes and
reviews policies for the operation of the department, appoints a director
and confirms appointments of facility and unit heads. Board members can
by reach by mail at: Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Director's Office,
3400 Martin Luther King, Oklahoma City Ok 73111. The members are: Chair
Robert Rainey; Vice Chair W Mark Luttrull; Secretary Ernest Godlove;
and members Beverly Young; Earnest D Ware, Ted Logan and David C Henneke
General Rules on Letter Writing
Personal letters are best. Be Brief and address only one issue. Your
first sentence should explain why you are writing. Be polite. State what
you would like the person to do and why. Your letter should be dated, include
your home address. Be knowledgeable about your issue. Encourage others
to write. The more letters received, the more likely he/she will be influenced.
Please write to the address below and provide as many details as possible, including when and where the assault took place, whether you reported the assault, and what action, if any, was taken by prison, jail, or law enforcement authorities.
Legal representation, if provided, will be free of charge.
PR Project, Craig Cowie, Attorney, ACLU
National Prison Project,
733 15th St. N.W., Suite 620 Washington, DC 20005
Prisoners should send their letters by legal mail.