State Inmates In County Jails

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma prison officials say an appeals court ruling won't accelerate efforts to trim a backlog of state inmates in county jails.<br/><br/>The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals

Thursday, February 8th 2007, 5:28 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma prison officials say an appeals court ruling won't accelerate efforts to trim a backlog of state inmates in county jails.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled February 1st that an Oklahoma County judge didn't overstep his bounds in ordering several hundred inmates moved from the county jail to state prisons.

DOC spokesman Jerry Massie says even with the ruling, state prisons don't have the capacity to safely house the number of prisoners awaiting transfer, which is about 1,200.

Sheriff John Whetsel is responsible for getting the inmates out of his jail within 30 days.

Whetsel's spokesman, Mark Myers, says it would be a nightmare if deputies drove inmates to the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center and were told the transfer couldn't be completed.

Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz says his agency would rather find a solution other than legal action to deal with its inmate backlog.