SENTENCING REFORMS PROPOSED TO CUT STATE PRISON POPULATION

In a move to cut state Corrections Department costs, the state Sentencing
Commission is reviewing sentencing reforms to stabilize the state's prison
population. Proposals include:

Setting thresholds for common drug crimes such as possession, distribution
and manufacturing.

Lowering the minimum punishment for methamphetamine manufacturing.

Modifying the mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders.

Members stopped short Thursday of approving reform recommendations to
present to the Legislature, but will continue to discuss the proposals.

"I'm reluctant at this stage of the game to vote and put my head out on the
chopping block without specifically knowing the language of any proposed
legislation," said John Wampler, commission member and district attorney
for Kiowa, Tillman and Washita counties.

The commission has the statutory duty to make recommendations to the
Legislature regarding sentencing laws. Budgetary constraints have state
officials scrambling to find ways to cut spending.

The Corrections Department's budget has grown steadily since 1995.
According to a statewide 2001 sentencing report, the department's funding
has almost tripled since 1989 and the inmate population has doubled.

Oklahoma's incarceration rate is the fourth-highest in the nation, 56
percent higher than the national average. The state's female incarceration
rate leads the nation and is 124 percent higher than the national average.

K.C. Moon, director of the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center, said
the state added 8,200 inmates in calendar year 2002.

"The projection is they will continue to grow if things stay the same,"
Moon said.

According to the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center report, drug
crime receptions have grown 471 percent since 1986. Last year, more than 40
percent of the inmate receptions were drug-related.

"Just because we've always done something a certain way, doesn't mean
there's not a better way," said Sen. Dick Wilkerson, D-Atwood. "Every act
does not necessarily require that someone be sent to prison."

Wilkerson, a former law enforcement officer, said programs such as
community sentencing and drug courts cut costs for the state and give
people a chance to get their lives on track.

"People have the misconception that community corrections are a bunch of
people sitting in a circle singing 'Kumbaya,'" Wilkerson said. "The
programs have accountability but give people a chance to succeed."

Members of the commission, which includes state officials, lawmakers,
district attorneys and defense attorneys, did not agree on the proposals.

The commission will meet again Feb. 20.