my view, Sand Springs (1/3/2009 6:51:49 AM)

Rita,
If you continue to break the law, whether your a man or woman, you are going find yourself in prison.

They do have programs for first and second time offenders. What do you do with those that don't or won't learn?

droopy, wagoner (1/3/2009 7:00:18 AM)

My View, amen. Rita, you need to listen to this man.

Bville Yellow Dog, Bville (1/3/2009 7:22:28 AM)

OK still follows the Old Testament. 1st two comments are typical regretably.

my view, Sand Springs (1/3/2009 7:33:48 AM)

Ok Yellow Dog,
What is the public to do with them if they continue to prey on the innocent?

Eagle 4, Tulsa (1/3/2009 7:40:09 AM)

OK, we've got the new reforms, listen up! Pot growers and sidewalk spitters will be in Block A, those who voted for Obama will be in Block B...

tbgalileo, Tulsa (1/3/2009 7:46:57 AM)

Yes, here in Oklahoma we are very quick to lock up the bad guys. And, it has made our state SO much safer, right?

It makes me wonder what percentage of our prison capacity is populated by non-violent drug offenders? I would bet all the tea in China that it is a solid majority, if not an overwhelming one. Let's face it, folks, the "war on drugs" as envisioned by Regan has been long lost. He had all the best intentions (and yes, I commend and respect him for trying), but it simply didn't work. Increasing mandatory criminal penalties and removing any judicial discretion from drug cases has, over the course of this "war", done absolutely NOTHING to stop drug use. In fact, it is more prevalent today than ever. If we would just be willing to devote even a portion of our incarceration war chest towards prevention and treatment, perhaps even looking for the real reason our society feels the need to become increasingly intoxicated, then perhaps we could do something about irresponsible drug and alcohol use.

But in fairness to Oklahoma, we are finally catching up with the rest of society with programs such as drug courts. A step in the right direction for sure.

52favoriteteacher, WASHBURN, MO (1/3/2009 7:53:09 AM)

RITA--WAKE EM UP!

#1 for women
#5 overall
Let's see CHANGE about OUR future. What about moving some dollars. Shut off all bonus programs,don't even think about another bailout, take one half of your profit and invest in our future. Focus on clean energy, education and also the race for disease cures.
Pick a project that is going somewhere. Give until it hurts. Then give some more.

Focus not on what is in it for me. Focus on fix the mess we have created here. The money will take care of itself.

Lastly get personal and get real. Make a friend, talk to people you used to think were too different. This is 2009 and time to get on with life.

Truth Patrol, Tulsa (1/3/2009 7:55:00 AM)

Interesting that she whines about alleged non dangerous convicts and women, but fails to provide specifics as to what she means.

Is she advocating a lapse in justice if you are deemed by her, and only her, to be non dangerous? Even worse, is she advocating a double standard for women?

Truth Patrol, Tulsa (1/3/2009 7:59:12 AM)

"If we would just be willing to devote even a portion of our incarceration war chest towards prevention and treatment, perhaps even looking for the real reason our society feels the need to become increasingly intoxicated, then perhaps we could do something about irresponsible drug and alcohol use."

The success rate at treatment for this problem is in the single digits. It's no more successful than incarceration, but incarceration keeps these people off the street longer. If you think that drug offenses are non violent, then you should spend some time observing rehab. Drug offenders are in jail, by the way, for POSSESSION, not for actually using the stuff. Just because the war on drugs hasn't done well doesn't mean it is fundamentally flawed, it just means it isn't being run well. Murder is more prevalent today than ever. Should we just make that legal, too?

Jason L., Tulsa (1/3/2009 8:39:59 AM)

Well, all we can do is sit back and wait for those in charge to acknowledge that going to prison for non-violent offenses is counter-productive. The problem is that this requires an idealogy change. I have no doubt it will happen, it is just taken a little too long because every month that the status quo is maintained is another month that we lose that can be better used for infrastructure and development. I would give it another year or two before the lawmakers start to think outside of the box they have been in the last 30 to 40 years concerning sentences for non violent offenses.

Respighi, (1/3/2009 8:46:41 AM)

I agree with Rita. If people choose to ruin their lives with drugs, why should the state try to play the role of parents? Each person should be responsible for his or her own life and not try to run the lives of others. By decriminalizing drug possession, not only would the state save a lot of money, but the level of violence would decline. I say let's take the profit out of drug sales but making drugs legal.

my view, Sand Springs (1/3/2009 8:56:02 AM)

Respighi,
If you believe that decriminalizing drugs would lead to a safer America, you need to take a look at Amsterdam.

justiceawaits, (1/3/2009 9:12:51 AM)

wishful thinking Jason L. and I hope You are right. While I don`t think all drugs should be decriminalized, I certanly believe pot should be leagle and taxed.Crystal Meth on the other hand is a far more dangerous and addictive drug.I can see locking up repeat offenders.My problem is the length of sentence.If someone is strung out on crank , by all means put them away for a little while and get them some help.30 to 90 should be more than enough time depending on the individuals circumstances.Giving someone mutiple year sentences for simple possession is stupid.It takes up prison space at great expense to the taxpayer and makes them harder to employ.Thet can`t find a job, start using again, and end up right back in prison.We need better treatment programs while they are locked up and better job placement and supervision when they get out.If we spent one 10th of the amount of money hiring more and better trained probation officers to keep them on the strait and narrow, the crime rate would plummet and so would the cost of operating our prison system.

lobeckman, Tulsa (1/3/2009 9:16:40 AM)

If you do the crime, then you do the time. An old adage, but it is the standard for our society. We should all be very glad that Rita is not sitting in our courthouse as a judge.

justiceawaits, (1/3/2009 9:37:03 AM)

my view, Respighi,
If you believe that decriminalizing drugs would lead to a safer America, you need to take a look at Amsterdam. I just did,check it with a comparrison to the USA.I checked 2 different sources.The U.S. is way more violent and crime infested.This makes since because the people who are most likes to commit crimes are also the ones most likely to sit around stoned all the time.While keeping criminals stoned on grass sitting on their butts doing nothing is not the perfect answer,crime statistics of both countries would seem to indicate Amersterdam is more succesful than we are at controling crime.

Jason L., Tulsa (1/3/2009 9:42:03 AM)

Good points justiceawaits. As the incumbent leaderships retires there will come a paradigm shift in the way that society deals with non violent offenders. Prison is meant to protect society from those who will intimidate and harm/kill people. That is definitely something that prison is needed for. But locking up people for other reasons? I think the modes of punishment are outdated. And in fact, why are we punishing? I certainly hope that some of us are not just being this way because it fills them with satisfaction. Yet it seems it does in some measure, even if it costs much more than the crime itself did.

Ben, (1/3/2009 9:42:48 AM)

TP, I suppose you have a source for your comment that the success rate for these programs is in the single digits. I'm curious, because the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and most of the studies I've seen completely contradict this view. If you sequester non-violent drug and alcohol offenders from the general prison population, and provide them with treatment, the recidivism rate will drop dramatically. In some studies the recidivism rate dropped by half. Without those programs you're looking at a 70% recidivism rate. You should read the studies by Dr. Harry Wexler and Dr Steven Martin.

kerugma, Broken Arrow (1/3/2009 10:15:35 AM)

Rita,

RE:"Let's get down to "only average" in incarceration and become No. 1 in taking care of our citizens."

It seems to me that arresting,prosecuting and incarcerating criminals thereby keeping them off the streets is CERTAINLY an effort to "Take care of our Citizens" and protect the general population.

Must everything always be about MONEY with Republicans?

insider9909, Cushing (1/3/2009 10:23:33 AM)

Kerugma, With the republicans, it's always about money. No matter what they say about their religion, MONEY IS THE GOD THEY WORSHIP.

my view, Sand Springs (1/3/2009 10:24:16 AM)

Respighi,
In Amsterdam they are closing alot of the hashstores because they are being controlled by organize crime. Do some checking there's alot of sites out there.

kerugma, Broken Arrow (1/3/2009 10:29:58 AM)

insider9909,
RE:"With the republicans, it's always about money. No matter what they say about their religion, MONEY IS THE GOD THEY WORSHIP."
"MEthinks" you must be right!

tbgalileo, Tulsa (1/3/2009 10:49:36 AM)

"The success rate at treatment for this problem is in the single digits"

Care to cite that?

Norman Bates, Bates Motel (1/3/2009 10:57:13 AM)

If you were a victim of one of these female criminals you wouldn't be so quick to say let them go without punishment. How much worse would crime be if criminals knew there would be no punishment?

Norman Bates, Bates Motel (1/3/2009 11:02:41 AM)

You people who want to legalize all drugs so we won't have to put them in prison need to think about federal drug laws. It would still be a crime and they would still be in prison in Oklahoma.

And what does it say about these liberals when they say lets get rid of crime laws just so we won't have to put them in prison. Heaven forbid we punish criminals.