It is not often that state legislators think it is a good idea to be more lenient in criminal matters--especially since so many seem to think that a "toughon crime" approach looks better to voters. But when your state is in a budget crisis, with a nearly $900 million shortfall, finding workable solutionsis a better plan than costly punishment for punishment's sake.
Certainly, the federal government has eased up on criminal prosecutions involving mandatory minimum sentencing for low-level drug offenses. Oklahoma--alreadydealing with overcrowded and underfunded prisons--has to reconsider its sentencing policies in order to accomodate further cuts affecting the Departmentof Corrections.
One proposed bill that could impact sentencing in Oklahoma is under consideration by a house committee. The House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committeewill vote to approve a bill which would increase the threshold between misdemeanor and felony property crimes. Currently, property crimes includingtheft and embezzlement are prosecuted as misdemeanors if the value of the property involved is less than $500. If the value of the property is $500or greater, the crime is prosecuted as a felony.
Governor Mary Fallin, who supports the bill, says that the existing value limit for felony property crimes was put into place in 2002, and needs to berevisited. By raising the threshold from $500, the state can limit felony theft prosecutions resulting in prison sentences upon conviction.
State law in 21 O.S. � 1704 defines two classes of larceny:
Petit larceny is a misdemeanor, which means that it is punishable by a maximum of one year in county jail. Grand larceny, on the other hand, is a felonypunishable by a maximum of five years in prison.
In addition to raising the limit for prosecution of property crimes as felony offenses, the legislature is also considering much needed reform to Oklahomadrug laws. Among the considerations supported by Governor Fallin in an attempt to reduce prison overcrowding and ease the budget crisis facing thestate are the reduction or elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession and the recategorization of some drug crimes from feloniesto misdemeanors. With Oklahoma having some of the harshest drug laws in the nation and one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation, such druglaw reforms would be long overdue.
