OKLAHOMA — ​Amid the state’s growing COVID-19 public health crisis, eight organizations are urging Governor Stitt to grant more than 200 unsigned commutations to reduce the risk of an outbreak in Oklahoma prisons — Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, Mental Health Association of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Women’s Coalition, ACLU of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Policy Institute, Still She Rises, Oklahoma Conference of Churches and Blockbuilderz. Oklahoma’s prisons are at 108% capacity, and a virus like COVID-19 can easily overwhelm the state’s overcrowded prisons where incarcerated people have less access to basic hygiene items, cannot social distance, and many areas are communal.

Rural hospitals stand to suffer the most from these conditions. Fifty Oklahoma counties, largely in rural areas, have no ICU beds. Many of our state’s overcrowded prisons are also located in these rural areas, putting area hospitals at severe risk of being unable to handle a prison outbreak of COVID-19.

The most vulnerable to COVID-19 are those who are 65 and older and those who have chronic illnesses or are immunocompromised. According to Oklahoma Policy Institute, roughly 20% of Oklahoma’s prison population is over the age of 50, meaning many could lose their lives if a COVID-19 outbreak occurred.

Since December 2019, the Pardon and Parole Board has approved 283 commutations Governor Stitt has yet to sign. If granted, these commutations would help reduce prison overcrowding and decrease the public health threat of a COVID-19 outbreak within our state’s prisons. Together, these eight organizations are urging Governor Stitt to approve the recommended commutations to safely address this public health risk.