Oklahoma's felony murder rule allows children as young as 13 to be charged with first-degree murder — punishable by life without parole — for deaths that occur during a felony, regardless of intent. Supporters call it an essential prosecutorial tool. Critics say it punishes children for crimes they didn't intend to commit.

The post Felony Murder Rule in Oklahoma Can Send Children to Jail for Murders They Didn’t Personally Commit appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

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Oklahoma's pretrial bail amounts vary wildly by county, with a DUI carrying a scheduled bail of $250 in one county and $50,000 in another. There is no statewide standard for non-traffic offenses, leaving the price of pretrial freedom to depend largely on geography, individual judges and local politics.

The post The Price of Freedom: Oklahoma Bail Schedules Vary Widely, Penalizing the Poorest appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

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More than two-thirds of Oklahoma county jails have eliminated in-person visitation, replacing face-to-face visits with costly video calls that generate revenue for counties and private contractors. Advocates say the shift harms detainees, most of whom have not been convicted, and damages family bonds that research shows reduce recidivism.

The post “That’s Not a Visit”: How Pricey Video Calls Replaced Human Contact in Oklahoma Jails appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

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Oklahoma has signed a law creating an automated expungement system that advocates say will clear records for more than 300,000 Oklahomans with nonviolent convictions and pardoned offenses. The law follows a 2022 Clean Slate Act that faced technical delays, and is part of a broader package of criminal justice reforms passed this session.

The post Automatic Expungement, Easier Medical Parole and Better Good-Time Credits: Oklahoma’s Criminal Justice Reforms appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

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A Pottawatomie County Sheriff's lieutenant died of a gunshot wound ruled a suicide in April 2023. His daughter disputes that finding, citing journal entries documenting corruption concerns, inconsistencies in the investigation and a ballistics report that was never completed.

The post “Don’t Believe Anything the Sheriff’s Office Tells You”: A Family’s Search for Answers appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

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Duncan police have arrested at least 11 people on drug and other charges following bicycle stops based on a city ordinance superseded by state law in 2021. Oklahoma's Idaho stop law allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, but Duncan officers continued making stops under the outdated ordinance for nearly four years.

The post Duncan Bicycle Stops Pit City Ordinances Against State Law appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

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Citing a persistent problem with contraband tobacco, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections started selling e-cigarettes to prisoners this month. Public health experts said the decision could lead to medical costs for taxpayers.

The post Nicotine Products in Oklahoma Prisons Raise Revenue, Public Health Concerns appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

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Oklahoma ranks third nationally in per-capita fatal police encounters, recording 383 deaths over 12 years at a rate of roughly 8 per million residents. A review process built on legal standards focused on in-the-moment reasonableness rarely produces criminal charges, leaving broader questions about training, culture and policy largely unresolved.

The post Oklahoma Ranks Third in Fatal Police Encounters appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

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Proposals to create a bail hearing pilot program and standardize pretrial risk assessments are headed to the Senate floor, though with lingering fiscal questions.

The post After Years of Stalemate, Lawmakers Advance Bail Reform Proposals appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

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More than 30 Oklahoma law enforcement agencies have signed federal agreements deputizing officers as ICE agents. A raid in Oklahoma City's Asian District in January sent shockwaves through the Vietnamese community. Some police chiefs wear masks during operations while activists track and photograph arrests they say target immigrants with legal status.

The post More Than 30 Oklahoma Agencies Sign Immigration Enforcement Agreements appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.