PANEL SUGGESTS WAYS TO EASE PRISON CROWDING

The Oklahoma Sentencing Commission approved strategies Thursday that
include broader use of probation and cutting mandatory minimums for minor
drug possession to reduce Oklahoma's prison population. Recommendations
were sent to state lawmakers who likely will try to attach the proposals to
measures being considered this legislative session.

The report is "an effort to help balance the demands on the prison system
while maximizing the protection of the public," commissioners said.

Oklahoma has some of the toughest sentencing laws in the nation and also
has one of the highest incarceration rates. Statewide felony sentencing
data indicate the number of offenders projected to be in prison in the next
few years will surpass the prison beds the Corrections Department budget
can support.

According to a 2001 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Oklahoma
uses probation at a rate 35 percent below the national average. Probation
strategies included repealing statutory prohibitions against suspended
sentences; making judges gatekeepers for community sentencing; and using
short jail stints, day reporting, community service and program attendance
instead of revoking probation.

Some commission members objected to the changes allowing suspended sentences.

"The law was changed in the last year that included input from the judge
and the district attorney," Assistant Attorney General Tom Gruber said.
"This just serves to remove the DAs (district attorneys) from the process,
and there's no need for that. They need to be a part of sentencing."

Oklahoma Criminal Justice Center findings show the top-ranked felony
offense in Oklahoma for the past five years has been drug possession. Drug
possessions accounted for 4,186, or 23 percent, of the 18,777 felony
convictions in 2001.

The commission recommended modifying minor drug possession sentences. One
recommendation is marijuana possession of 1 ounce or less should be
considered a misdemeanor. If the recommended change in statute is adopted
by the Legislature, people with less than 1 ounce of marijuana would not be
taken to jail. The recommendation was supported by the Public Safety
Department.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Van Guillotte, legislation liaison for the
Public Safety Department, said officers often spend three to four hours
booking a suspect regardless of the amount of marijuana in possession. The
time could be better spent attending to other duties, Guillotte said.

"This would not affect someone we stopped who was driving under the
influence of marijuana," he said. "The only difference is that it would be
treated like a traffic citation, something that would take 15 to 20 minutes
as opposed to three to four hours."

People cited for drug possession still would be subject to fines, community
service, mandatory treatment and jail time.

The commission also recommended eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for
drug possession.

"I think it's more important overall to giving flexibility to judges and
district attorneys," said Scott Meacham, Office of State Finance director
and a member of the sentencing commission. "When we try to legislate what
sentence they have to hand down, it doesn't give them flexibility."

Cutting the number of drug offenders who enter the prison system will save
money for the financially strapped Corrections Department, Meacham said.

Another commission member, Jackson County District Attorney John Wampler,
objected to some of the drug possession changes. He has argued that many
first-time drug offenders come to court with several charges, only to plead
down to single counts of drug possession.

Other recommendations approved were eliminating the threshold difference
between crack and powder cocaine; applying a uniform felony amount to
low-level theft and property crimes; and modifying the governor's role in
the parole process.

The Sentencing Commission also recommended split sentences for predatory
sex offenders. Under the proposal, a prison term would be followed by a
period of supervised probation instead of releasing sex offenders without
supervision.