House Bill 2131 was passed in Oklahoma on March 15, allowing the state to make major chances to its sentencing policy, if the Senate also agrees. Under the current policy, sentences must be served consecutively. As an example, a person who was convicted of hitting another individual, and was found in possession of drugs, could be sentenced to two years for the assault, and one year for possession. Under the default law that is now in place, a person would first have to serve his or her two year sentence, and when completed, begin the one year sentence. The new law allows that same person to serve both sentences concurrently, rather than consecutively, saving the state a considerable amount of money.
With Senate approval, the new law would also allow for more community sentencing. Those convicted of a nonviolent offense could be fitted with an “ankle bracelet,” a GPS monitoring device that would track the wearer’s movement in the community, and free bed space in prison, another cost-effective solution.
Oklahoma is now the only state in America that mandates that the Governor must approve every decision by the Pardon and Parole Board before an individual is released on parole. This current process is not an effective use of Governor Mary Fallin’s time, and she indicated that she is supportive of the measure that would give the Board the authority to parole those deemed to be low risk without her approval.
Source: The Oklahoman
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