Roughly two out of three parole-eligible inmates opt-out of parole hearings. State officials say this contributes to prison overcrowding and hurts their outcomes after they are released.

Oklahoma’s prisons are bursting at the seams. A state task force charged with reforming the state’s justice system discovered that thousands of new inmates are locked up for violating the terms of their probation. To slow prison growth, the group recommended making prison a last resort for probation and parole violators.