House Bill 1269 would require the re-sentencing of drug offenders convicted before State Question 780 went into effect on July 1, 2017. The bill would apply to inmates whose crimes were reclassified from felonies to misdemeanors by the referendum. There are around 1,300 Oklahomans currently incarcerated for simple drug possession.
What does this mean for Oklahomans – the average cost of incarcerating an adult in Oklahoma is around $20,000 annually. That is money we are not using to fund education, rehabilitation programs, or other programs that would reduce the number of people who find themselves in the criminal justice system.