Guest: Oklahoma Department of Corrections' primary goal should be rehabilitation

Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board held an open meeting on Jan. 8 to consider stricter guidelines for commutations, which means prisoners may soon find themselves grasping at straws to seek reductions for harsh prison sentences.

In a time where crime rates have fallen, some may argue the board may be feeling pressured to sustain a prison population or face budget cuts. The proposed Oklahoma Department of Corrections budget is $643.2 million for 2024. That’s nearly $100 million more than it was in 2018.

More: Guest: The conditions were harsh; crowds were rough. Former inmate tells of OK County jail

Dozens of Oklahomans who’ve benefited from commuted sentences stood shoulder to shoulder with advocates like Kris Steele, an activist and former House speaker, to voice their opposition to the proposed changes that will deeply impact families throughout the state for generations to come.

Suppose the vote is passed and the state keeps people imprisoned longer. What’s their theory? More time served returns a better product to society? Based on what?

Like it or not, more than 85% of the current U.S. prison population will one day reenter society.

It isn’t just the amount of time an offender serves. It’s how the state invests taxpayer dollars during the time we have them in custody. Serving more time is about more punishment. The Corrections Department ought to start living up to its given name and start focusing on corrections rather than more punishment.

It’s the spirit of the system that needs to be rethought. Oklahoma needs restorative justice. Unless prison cultures change, the quality of individual the state is returning to us will continue being the same as it has been for decades, which is to say the nation’s recidivism rates will stand. This means 57% will reoffend within a year and 83% within five years.

No business could sustain itself with 83% of its products coming back to their return counter.

Take Sears Roebuck and Co. for example. It filed for bankruptcy in 2018. Part of its restructuring plan was to close 250 stores and eliminate 50,000 employees. If they had presented a plan to open more stores and hire additional employees, they’d have been laughed out of the courtroom.

A failing business model cannot be made successful by increasing the size of its footprint.

Yet that’s exactly how it seems to work with government. Keep people locked up longer, build more prisons and spend more of the taxpayer’s money. That’s their business model. And the more they fail, the more money the taxpayer gives them.

The reality is if they pass new measures to restrict commutations, next they will go after parole, then probation. All it will accomplish is an increased threat to all Oklahomans, particularly the minority population and poorer communities.

To make a positive difference, the state must realize that what it’s doing doesn’t work! We have 50 years of data that reflects that. It’s time for them to start accepting some of the blame for how things are. It isn’t just the offenders.

More: Guest: We can either be responsible to prisoners now — or keep being responsible for them

Not everyone grew up in a “Leave It to Beaver” household. Some were unloved. Some experience traumas. Some find themselves in unpredictable situations and react versus respond. Some just experience so many losses and disappointments in life they give up on themselves. Some just don’t know there are better ways. But ALL are capable of learning.

Although I was passed over, I fought for a seat assignment on Gov. Kevin Stitt’s MODERN (Modernized Operations through Data and Evidence-based Restoration Now) taskforce. I’m not proposing anything from a theoretical standpoint. I have been in the trenches with a proven methodology that changes lives, prepares people for reentry, restores families and strengthens communities, which saves taxpayers millions that can be reallocated for things like education.

I cannot stress enough that if any decisions are reached without the primary goal being rehabilitation and restorative justice, the betterment of all Oklahomans is lost to an inept bureaucracy.

The Pardon and Parole Board isn’t responsible for present circumstances. They should punt. Tell the Corrections Department to do more with the time they already have and return a better product upon reentry.

The vote is scheduled in February. If passed, look for the state to regain its dominance as the world’s highest incarcerator and find itself back over 120% capacity in prison population.

Tony Green is also known as OK DOC#451554 and has 25 old felony convictions. Today he is a board-certified John Maxwell Team Member as a licensed coach and speaker, and a facilitator credentialed with Global Priority Solution. His expertise is in criminal justice consulting and reform activism with a mission to transform prison culture and reduce recidivism rates.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Quality of released prisoners will not change unless culture does