Women In Prison | Tulsa World

Patricia Spottedcrow (right) hugs activist Brenda Golden of the SPIRIT Organization after Spottedcrow being released from from Hillside Community Corrections Center in Oklahoma City on Thursday . CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World

Patricia Spottedcrow once faced 12 years in prison, but on the morning she was released on parole, it took less than 20 minutes to walk free.

She was released Thursday morning after completing the community corrections-level portion of her sentence required by Gov. Mary Fallin as a condition of her parole.

Spottedcrow's 12-year prison sentence for selling $31 worth of marijuana garnered widespread attention after her story was featured in a 2011 Tulsa World series on women in prison.

Patricia Spottedcrow during an inmate count at Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Facility in Taft. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World

Patricia Spottedcrow sold $31 in marijuana to an informant and received 12 years in prison.

She was one of the women profiled in the series that investigated why Oklahoma is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the number of women in prison.

The state incarcerates 134 women per 100,000 residents, compared to the national average of 69 per 100,000, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. While the number of women entering Oklahoma’s prisons each year has remained somewhat stable in recent years – 1,284 in 2009 – the number of women in the system has grown to a high for the decade as tougher sentencing laws have passed.

The cost to taxpayers is high, up to $43 per inmate per day at one facility. Meanwhile, experts say the children of female prisoners are at risk to continue the cycle.

In 2011, the Tulsa World partnered with Oklahoma Watch -- an independent, non-profit investigative reporting team -- to explore the issue of female incarceration.

Headlines

Incarceration takes away one mother's life 2/20/2011

For a $31 marijuana sale, Patricia Marilyn Spottedcrow got 12 years in prison, away from her four young children and husband and ending her work in nursing homes.

Half of women in prison there for drugs 2/13/2011

Emily Linville grew up hearing how to illegally call in a drug prescription. It was that knowledge that landed her, a sister and their mother in Tulsa County's Drug Court at the same time. But only Linville has graduated from Drug Court.

Mom who sold $31 in pot seeks reduction to 12-year sentence 8/30/2011

A Kingfisher County woman profiled in a Tulsa World story earlier this year examining the state's high female incarceration rate has a hearing for a sentence modification set for Oct. 6.

Oklahoma's 18th-ranked female arrest rate doesn't jibe 2/6/2011

After three unsuccessful attempts one December morning to find wanted felons, the Tulsa police warrants squad had finally found someone.

Women in Prison: Inmates' children left behind 1/31/2011

She doesn't remember Jeffrey's funeral.

Justice system examined in Oklahoma's top-rank for female incarcerations 1/30/2011

Oklahoma Watch is an independent investigative and in-depth reporting team that partners with news organizations and higher education to produce impact journalism in the public interest.

Women in prison: play offers hope and redemption 12/23/2010

Traditionally, Christmas plays focus on some sort of redemption story, inspired by the magic of the holidays.

Prison ministry changes lives 12/12/2010

Editor's note: Oklahoma Watch is an independent investigative and in-depth reporting team that partners with news organizations and higher education to produce impact journalism in the public interest.

Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommends early parole for Spottedcrow, sentenced for selling $31 worth of marijuana 4/19/2012

Grassroots support may evolve into early parole for a Kingfisher mother who was handed a strict prison sentence for a first-time offense of selling $31 worth of marijuana.

Oklahoma parole board agrees to give Spottedcrow, guilty seller of $31 in pot, early hearing 2/16/2012

A Kingfisher woman serving an eight-year prison sentence on a first-time offense for selling $31 in marijuana is getting a chance at parole after the board unanimously agreed to hear her case early.

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Resources

The Tulsa World is a media partner with Oklahoma Watch, an independent, nonprofit, investigative and in-depth reporting team that collaborates with other news organizations and higher education to produce journalism in the public interest.

Oklahoma Watch's first project is looking into why Oklahoma sends more women to prison than any other state on a per capita basis.

2009 Female Offender Report from the Department of Corrections

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