Criminal Justice Reform

Oklahoma has the 2nd highest incarceration rate in the country. We’ve poured our money into a failing system for too long.

Oklahoma has the 2nd highest incarceration rate in the country. People living in OK-5 are all too familiar with the ongoing mess at the Oklahoma County Jail where the U.S. Department of Justice has repeatedly documented deplorable and dangerous conditions. Statewide, 20% of inmates are housed in private for-profit prisons. In our state and the rest of the country, we’ve created a system that is too expensive and ineffective to maintain. In Oklahoma in particular, we’re consuming taxpayer dollars at an alarming rate—and, critically, not seeing returns when it comes to public safety or inmate rehabilitation. As an attorney who’s worked on both sides of a criminal case, Abby has seen this firsthand.

Rather than continuing to pour money into a failing system, we must take concrete steps to address our incarceration crisis.

Abby will take a multi-pronged approach to fight for a system that works. She will advocate to reduce sentences for victimless and low-level drug crimes and invest in trauma-informed rehabilitation and mental health services.

Ninety-five percent of incarcerated people will return to their communities. Abby supports lifting the ban on Pell Grants for incarcerated people to give them greater access to education and be prepared to re-enter the workforce and stay employed. This policy is key to breaking the cycle of incarceration and poverty.