I'm serving a life sentence in Oklahoma. We need prison reform, not longer punishments.
As of January 2018, one in eight Oklahoma prisoners were serving a sentence of life with parole, life without parole, or a sentence of 50 years or more, sometimes referred to as "virtual life." Since 2018, those numbers have only increased. These life sentences amount to a per-prisoner cost of $1 million or more, and that is if they do not have underlying health conditions.
Saddled with a prison population bursting at the seams, how much longer before the state has no choice but to increase taxes in order to obtain the hundreds of millions of dollars it would take to build two new prisons to house this growing population?
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One of the reasons for this sad state is because politicians sidestep and filter serious legislation impacting reform, worried about being categorized as "soft on crime" when the focus needs to shift to being smart on crime. Locking people up longer isn't doing much, if anything, to deter lawbreaking. The proof is seen daily on every news channel. It is time to come together in a bipartisan effort and try something new.
Should we follow the lead of other states and raise the age of criminal consent? Studies have shown the brain isn't fully developed until a person is in their mid-20s, despite the legal designation of "adult" the moment they turn 18. Until then, irrational, mercurial behavior is expected. Young people often react before thinking, even if they know right from wrong. A significant amount of individuals currently serving life, life without parole and virtual life sentences in the state of Oklahoma understand this all too well, since their crime was committed well before their 25th birthday. While it is true these "lifers" were convicted of serious crimes, most were first offenses and would never be repeated.
For decision makers willing to undertake the "smart on crime" model, statistics are hopeful. Most convicted individuals "age out" and desist from crime by the time they are in their late 30s, and by the time they are in their early 40s, even career criminals taper off significantly. People grow and change, even those in prison. The longer someone is locked away, the less likely they are to threaten public safety, and for those sentenced to life before their 25th birthday, who are still there decades later, this is a travesty. They are, in essence, a totally different person from the one who committed the crime they are continually punished for. Second chances in the form of sentence modifications, especially for those convicted of a single offense, should be attainable.
For years, our state was No. 1 in the incarceration of women. Today, we are No. 3. While that is evidence of progress, it is not nearly enough. The tradition of warehousing inmates is killing our state, both financially and spiritually. Oklahoma spends about $500 million annually maintaining the state prison system. While penitentiaries in some form are a necessary expenditure, imagine a world where that staggering sum is spent on funding drug and alcohol treatment, or providing rehabilitation and job training for those in prison ― or on Oklahoma schools and infrastructure.
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If things are to change, it is going to take those with inside knowledge of the issue to speak up and point out where things are wrong with the way Oklahoma is handling the problem so it can be fixed. A break from the past is needed. We need a criteria separate from the parole process wherein rehabilitation can be judged impartially for first-time offenders.
Crystal Avilla is serving a sentence of life without parole at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma prison reform would do deter crime more than longer sentences
