The following press release is from Oklahomans United Against 805:
Safety of Oklahoma Healthcare Workers Threatened by SQ 805
Oklahoma hospitals report between 5 to 10 assaults on workers every day
Oklahoma City — SQ 805, the effort to reduce incarceration by lessening penalties on habitual offenders, has come under fire from those who have worked to protect Oklahoma’s front-line health care workers.
“It is unconscionable, especially during this time of Covid, that any group would seek to lessen punishment for those who attack our healthcare workers,” stated Darrell Weaver, the state senator who authored SB 1290 to increase the range of punishment for those assaulting medical professionals in the line of duty.
SQ 805 would restrict the ability of judges and juries to extend harsher penalties on habitual criminals, such as those who attack health care workers. SQ 805 uses Title 57, Section 571 as it existed on January 1, 2020, to define the difference between violent and non-violent felonies. Assault on a medical professional is not on that list.
“We have worked for years to extend the protections to our nurses,” Weaver continued. “SQ 805 is a substantial step backwards. It will prohibit the use of prior felony convictions to extend the punishment of those attacking the very folks we depend on. SQ 805 will forever enshrine in our constitution that such attacks are quote, non-violent, un-quote,” Weaver added.
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by Muskogee Politico - October 30, 2020 at 11:11PM
State Sen. Weaver, State Rep. Roe: SQ805 would endanger Oklahoma healthcare workers
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