Governor Fallin To Weigh Clemency For Non-Violent Inmates

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Clemency requests are on their way to Gov. Mary Fallin for 22 Oklahoma prison inmates convicted of various nonviolent offenses.

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has recommended that sentences of between 10 and 40 years be reduced after voters approved a state question in 2016 that reclassified some nonviolent drug and property crimes.

State Question 780 made drug possession and low-level property offenses misdemeanors instead of felonies. The maximum sentence for simple drug possession now is one year in jail.

The commutation campaign was launched by Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, a bipartisan coalition that supports policies that create alternatives to prison. Another eight inmates will be considered in December.

Fallin, who leaves office after this year, has made criminal justice reform a priority .

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