{"id":31963,"date":"2019-10-10T16:59:09","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T21:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=31963"},"modified":"2019-10-10T17:10:29","modified_gmt":"2019-10-10T22:10:29","slug":"disagreements-leave-new-oklahoma-criminal-justice-program-in-limbo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2019\/10\/10\/disagreements-leave-new-oklahoma-criminal-justice-program-in-limbo\/","title":{"rendered":"Disagreements leave new Oklahoma criminal justice program in limbo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/693961930&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p><p>Some parts of criminal justice reform can feel risky. If you propose letting someone out of jail who has committed a crime, you reduce jail overcrowding, but does it put the community at risk? That\u2019s a question Rogers County in northeastern Oklahoma has been trying to answer.<\/p><p>Two-and-a-half years ago, people arrested in the county were crammed into any available space on cots and plastic beds. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newson6.com\/story\/37020885\/overcrowding-an-understatement-at-rogers-county-jail\">The jail was overflowing, unsafe and unaffordable.<\/a><\/p><p>Skyrocketing jail populations have become a common story in Oklahoma. Local governments have spent millions on new jails over the last twenty years just trying to keep up.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_31964\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-31964\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Sparks-1920x1307.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Sparks sits on the balcony of the Tulsa Public Library.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Sparks-1920x1307.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Sparks-672x457.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Sparks-768x523.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Sparks-150x102.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Sparks-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Sparks-620x422.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Sparks-1587x1080.jpg 1587w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Quinton Chandler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt Sparks ran the Rogers County pretrial release program for about two years before he resigned.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>However, instead of building a new jail, Rogers County did something different. They called experts from the Vera Institute of Justice who were already helping other counties in Oklahoma with jail overcrowding issues.<\/p><p>\u201cThere were a lot of opportunities in their system to make some changes and reduce the jail population safely,\u201d said Nancy Fishman, Vera Institute\u2019s project director focused on sentencing and corrections.<\/p><p>Vera\u2019s researchers found police in Rogers County were arresting too many people. The jail\u2019s population had increased by 500 percent since it first opened and because bail was unaffordable, the majority of prisoners were spending months in jail before their trials.<\/p><p>So, the institute recommended the county create a system to let some of those people out of jail under certain conditions.<\/p>\n<h3>Growing pains<\/h3><p>Fishman hoped Rogers County would only use the jail for people who were dangerous or unlikely to come to court.<\/p><p>For the criteria, Fishman asked, \u201cIs there a very specific, an imminent risk that a person will cause harm to another individual, not just some general sense that this person is a risky person.\u201d<\/p><p>Rogers County took the institute\u2019s advice and created a pretrial release program, one of at least four in the state.<\/p><p>Matt Sparks ran the program for the sheriff\u2019s office. He went from locking people in jail to coordinating their releases.<\/p><p>\u201cTwo years ago, I knew very little about it,\u201d Sparks said. \u201cSince then, I\u2019ve immersed myself.\u201d<\/p><p>The Rogers County pretrial release experiment helped decrease the jail population, and it was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.claremoreprogress.com\/news\/pretrial-release-program-success-rate-sees-second-year-spike\/article_80262c5e-853c-11e8-844a-2bea46412d14.html\">generally thought to be successful.<\/a><\/p><p>However, this year, that ended. Sparks says the program wasn\u2019t getting supported, so he and his single employee resigned.<\/p><p>\u201cI felt like the writing was kind of on the wall,\u201d Sparks said.<\/p><p>The sheriff and the county attorney demanded a say in which prisoners were recommended to the court for release, and funding uncertainty and pressure from prosecutors left him disillusioned.<\/p>\n<h3>Child neglect case<\/h3><p>Pressure on the program ramped up after one one high profile case.<\/p><p>Matt Ballard is district attorney for Rogers, Mayes and Craig Counties. He, the county sheriff and others in local government didn\u2019t want a father charged with felony child neglect to be released from jail.<\/p><p>\u201cIt (the case) involved a five-month-old (baby) that was not only going through detox from methamphetamine but was actually high on methamphetamine,\u201d\u00a0Ballard said.<\/p><p>Sparks recommended the father be released into his pretrial program with conditions.<\/p><p>He said he wouldn\u2019t always make a recommendation on that kind of charge, but this case was appropriate because the father\u2019s criminal history, his low score on risk assessments and the support he was receiving from the community made him a strong candidate for pretrial release.<\/p><p>If the father had paid bail, Sparks said he would have been released from jail anyway. At least under the program, there were rules he had to follow.<\/p><p>\u201cThe (district attorney\u2019s office) would have an opportunity to look at the packets right before they went to the judge \u2026 and then the packet(s) would make their way to the judge who would make that final determination,\u201d Sparks said.<\/p><p>Ballard says the case is a perfect example of an imperfect program. He said risk assessments aren\u2019t foolproof.<\/p><p>\u201cThose are the types of cases that this community expects me to take very seriously,\u201d Ballard said.<\/p><p>A judge released that defendant under strict conditions. After that, Sparks said county officials demanded more control over the pretrial program.<\/p><p>Ballard said he supports pretrial release, but when serious crimes are alleged, he said deciding who gets out of jail is complicated.<\/p><p>\u201cIf there\u2019s a victim of a crime, I want to be able to look my victim in the eye and tell them \u2018you\u2019re safe\u2019,\u201d Ballard said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_31965\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-31965\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Ballard-1920x1245.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Ballard sits at his desk in the Rogers County District Courthouse.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Ballard-1920x1245.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Ballard-672x436.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Ballard-768x498.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Ballard-150x97.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Ballard-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Ballard-620x402.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2019\/10\/Matt-Ballard-1665x1080.jpg 1665w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Quinton Chandler \/ StateImpact<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt Ballard says choosing who should be released from jail pretrial is complicated. Public safety is paramount.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Missing common ground<\/h3><p>Disagreement was common when considering people charged with higher level crimes for release.<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s the vanguard versus the old guard,\u201d Sparks said. \u201cLetting people out, even on a pretrial basis \u2013 unconvicted people \u2013 it\u2019s very difficult for people to stomach.<\/p><p>A Rogers County judge told StateImpact that for cases filed in the last three months of 2018, the district attorney\u2019s office supported most defendants referred for pretrial supervision, but in cases filed in 2019, prosecutors objected to nearly every release recommendation.<\/p><p>The program was put on hold after its staff quit, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.claremoreprogress.com\/news\/constitutional-concerns-arise-in-county-debate-over-pretrial-release-program\/article_2bd374f6-8705-11e9-b535-872f3396a717.html\">its future is unclear.<\/a><\/p><p>A court order can still compel a prisoner\u2019s pretrial release, but the careful vetting of defendants\u2019 behavior that was central to the pretrial program has stopped.<\/p><p>The issue, however, is still affecting jurisdictions across the state. Tulsa County is fighting a lawsuit alleging many of its\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tulsaworld.com\/news\/local\/tulsa-county-operates-unconstitutional-wealth-based-detention-scheme-federal-lawsuit\/article_97c15538-1553-5037-83e4-6ff50cbb9483.html\">pretrial prisoners\u2019 constitutional rights are being violated\u00a0<\/a>because their inability to pay bail is the only reason they\u2019re locked up.<\/p><p>At the state capitol, bail reform and pretrial services are at the forefront of criminal justice reform discussions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A pretrial release program helped Rogers County decrease its jail population, but the program had to shutdown after disagreements over who to release led the staff to quit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":31964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"page-noFeature.php","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[1159,1158,1161,1157,1160],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31963"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31978,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31963\/revisions\/31978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}