WSJ Praises Oklahoma GOP Governor Mary Fallin As A “Champion of Conservative Criminal Justice Reform”

In Oklahoma, GOP Governor Mary Fallin’s impressive efforts on criminal justice reform continues to gain national attention. Speaking at a conference yesterday, Governor Fallin addressed women’s prison populations in America, highlighting the work she has done to overhaul the criminal justice system in Oklahoma, such as signing bills to repeal “long, mandatory-minimum sentences for some drug offenders.” Fallin’s decision to embrace conservative criminal justice reform is a testament to her commitment to building a more just Oklahoma for all its citizens.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

“Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican and the first female governor in a staunchly conservative state, is emerging as one of the most outspoken champions in her party of overhauling the criminal justice system.

At a conference Tuesday in Washington, D.C., on the explosion of the women’s prison population, Ms. Fallin promoted efforts in her state and many others to revamp tough-on-crime laws that contributed to the U.S.’s incarceration rate being the highest in the developed world.

Women make up a minority of the prison population, but the rate of growth for female imprisonment has outpaced the rate for men by about 50% since 1980, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics. Women are more likely than men to be incarcerated for drug offenses. Most have children under 18 years old. Many are victims of physical and sexual abuse, according to criminal justice studies…

‘Many states have been able to reduce imprisonment while reducing crime by ensuring that expensive prison beds are used for those who are dangerous,’ she said…

In the state with the highest incarceration rate for women, Gov. Fallin has signed bills repealing long, mandatory-minimum sentences for some drug offenders…“