Oklahomans Imprisoned At Nearly Twice The National Average

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Nearly twice as many Oklahomans have been in prison or on probation than the national average.<br/> <br/>Statistics provided by the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center show that

Sunday, January 14th 2007, 5:52 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Nearly twice as many Oklahomans have been in prison or on probation than the national average.

Statistics provided by the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center show that nearly one in 12 adult Oklahomans has been convicted of a felony. Nearly one in four black Oklahomans have been in prison or on probation, compared with one in 14 whites.

KC Moon, director of the Criminal Justice Resource Center, says there are hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans with prior felony convictions. But Moon says that doesn't mean Oklahomans are more likely to break the law.

Moon says the figures relfect the state's reliance on the justice system to handle social and medical problems that are ignored until law enforcement authorities get involved.