A new law speeds up the time frame in which inmates become eligible for serving time via GPS ankle monitors, but Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris said his office was not given sufficient notice of the inmates scheduled for release from prison Tuesday.
About 175 inmates will be released Tuesday under the new law, which is aimed at reducing prison spending and overcrowding in Oklahoma. Department of Corrections inmates who qualify can now become eligible to serve the remainder of their sentences on GPS ankle monitors after 90 days in custody instead of the previous requirement of 180 days served.
To qualify for the GPS program, inmates must be low-risk, nonviolent offenders serving a sentence of fewer than five years or who have less than 11 months remaining on their sentences.
Any inmate who has been convicted of a violent crime in the previous 10 years, is a drug trafficker or sex offender, or anyone who recently was denied parole or who has a recent misconduct on his or her prison record is not eligible for the GPS program.
The prisoners are still considered to be in DOC custody while on GPS ankle monitors.
But Harris said his office did not receive the most recent list of offenders to be released on GPS in Tulsa County on Tuesday until after 4 p.m. Monday.
"If we got it now, there's probably not sufficient time to object," Harris said. "It's not that I think I'm going to object to every single one of them, but my worst nightmare is if somebody were to get out and re-victimize someone in Tulsa County."
Several Oklahoma district attorneys, including Harris, have voiced concerns in the past month about which inmates could be released on GPS as a result of HB 2131's taking effect this week.
Ideally, Harris said, he'd like some time to review the list of inmates and object in the cases where he thinks someone is likely to reoffend.
"If I had adequate time to review the cases and object, I may be able to make the case for why I don't believe someone's a good risk," he said.
Harris plans to put the official DOC lists of GPS-released inmates on his office's website, and he encouraged crime victims to sign up for VINElink, a free service offering changes in the custody status of Oklahoma inmates via email, telephone or text message.
House Bill 2131 became law in May; the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council did not oppose the bill, spokeswoman Tina Harmon said.
Oklahoma State Board of Corrections member Robert Rainey said the DOC has used GPS ankle monitors for low-risk, nonviolent offenders for more than a decade.
"Our mission at the DOC remains to protect the public first and foremost," he said. "This is a good program with a very good success rate."
The Department of Corrections currently places an average of 700 inmates per year on ankle monitors, with about a 90 percent success rate for female offenders and an 87 percent success rate for male offenders, Rainey said.
About 29 percent of the inmates scheduled for release Tuesday are female offenders, according to DOC officials. For several years, Oklahoma has ranked No. 1 in the nation in the number of women in prison per capita.
"That's a dubious distinction we've held far too long," Rainey said. "Every expert in correctional work has given us their incontrovertible opinion that Oklahoma overincarcerates too many low-risk offenders. It's expensive, and it's very destructive, especially to our female population."
The GPS ankle monitor program saves the state money because offenders pay $5.50 per day for the GPS monitoring (unless they qualify for a reduced rate or exemption due to indigence or disability). In contrast, it costs DOC about $41 per offender per day to incarcerate inmates, DOC spokesman Jerry Massie said.
House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, who helped author the law to ease prison overcrowding in Oklahoma, said the rules have not changed with regard to who is eligible for GPS monitoring or the conditions.
"The bill simply adjusted the GPS monitoring eligibility time frame by a mere three months. That's it," Steele said via e-mail. "The offenders who will be placed under GPS monitoring Tuesday are precisely the same type of low-risk, nonviolent offenders who have been being placed under GPS monitoring with great success for the past several years."
Gerald Wright, a former state senator who lives in Broken Arrow and is a state Board of Corrections member, said he's frustrated by what he sees as scare tactics on the part of several district attorneys.
"What's frustrating for me as a former legislator is that they were around when the Steele bill was passed. It wasn't a secret; it was in broad daylight," Wright said. "To bring this up like we're going to let a bunch of violent people out, it's incredible to me."
Harris said part of his concern is that the lure of a short, 90-day stay in prison will steer offenders away from better options, such as drug court.
"Why would you go into drug court, which is a tough 18-month program, if you thought you could get 90 days?" he asked.
Cary Aspinwall 918-581-8477
cary.aspinwall@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: DA has qualms about new law
