Activists argue federal authorities should take over Oklahoma County's troubled jail

A group hoping to get Oklahoma County's troubled jail taken over by the U.S. Justice Department made its case during the Oklahoma Human Rights Alliance Awards Ceremony and Symposium held recently at Oklahoma's state Capitol.

However, a representative of the Criminal Justice Advisory Council formed to help the county improve the jail's operations defended its track record, saying a new jail and efforts to address mental health and homelessness issues will improve Oklahoma County in the end.

The jail's current status and past performance were topics brought up by representatives of the People’s Council for Justice Reform at the human rights event.

The council is a citizens' advocacy group formed to address ongoing issues at the county jail.

In an address Saturday, they discussed the county jail's problems since it opened in 1991, noting a report issued by the Justice Department in 2008 documented 60 civil rights infringements on detainees' rights.

They argued public officials are misusing federal funds intended to help minority communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and spoke against Tuesday's election asking voters to extend a temporary sales tax to build a new arena to host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

They also discussed inhumane conditions inside the facility documented by numerous health inspections the operation has routinely failed since the building was taken over by the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority in 2020 and a National Institute of Corrections report detailing a myriad of problems found inside the jail in 2021.

"We don't kill the cockroaches. They eat the bedbugs," council member Mark Faulk said one detainee told him, after Faulk was arrested while participating in a human rights march in 2020 and held at the jail.

Faulk and other group members renewed calls they previously have made to separate a planned mental health facility from the proposed new jail, arguing $40 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act that will be used for that purpose could be used to more directly benefit those who often are arrested on related criminal complaints they said should not be prosecuted as crimes.

They called for Oklahoma County to build a smaller jail than what it currently operates, as well, arguing that bail reforms and decriminalizing offenses involving mental health issues and non-violent crimes could reduce Oklahoma County's current jail population by half.

More: Living Hell: The Oklahoma County jail

Beyond that, the group criticized ties key members of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber have to both the Criminal Justice Advisory Council and to nonprofits providing services to people who are arrested and brought into the county's criminal justice system.

"Oppression never happens overnight. People you love are being oppressed ... in a society that doesn't value everyone equally," said Faulk.

"It is people in power that are protecting each other," said Christopher Johnston, another member of the group.

Besides Faulk and Johnston, other organization representatives who spoke at the human rights event included Sara Bana, Cherisse Baker, Samina Cypert and former Oklahoma Sen. Connie Johnson.

The Oklahoma Human Rights Alliance Awards Ceremony on Saturday honored Oklahomans for their efforts to battle to preserve residents' human rights. participants said.

Timothy Tardibono, executive director of Oklahoma County's Criminal Justice Advisory Council, said Monday that conditions at the jail have steadily improved since its operations were taken over by the trust, officially called the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority.

Further, he said the new jail and associated health center, multiple new mental health and addiction centers, new initiatives to address homelessness and a new mental health hospital being built in Oklahoma County to replace Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman all will help improve current hardships faced by some of Oklahoma County's least fortunate residents.

Taken together, Tardibono predicted the efforts will have a lasting impact.

"Each of these improvements on their own would be remarkable, but aggregately foretell of a healthier, stronger community," Tardibono said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Critics: Federal government must step in to operate Okla. County jail