Lawmakers to study prison staffing, justice issues By: Keaton Ross Oklahoma Watch August 2, 2021
A gate outside a housing unit at Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington.
(Photo by Whitney Bryen/Oklahoma Watch)
State Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, has spent much of the summer sounding the alarm over Oklahoma’s prison understaffing problem.
On June 18 he asked Gov. Kevin Stitt to declare a state of emergency, arguing that low staffing numbers have elevated the risk of riots and violence in state prisons. He’s appeared on weekly Facebook Live broadcasts with Bobby Cleveland, director of the Oklahoma Corrections Professionals group, to provide updates on what he’s hearing from prison workers.
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