Oklahoma earned top-notch ratings in yet another study.
Unfortunately, it was on a list from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which showed that we have the highest prison homicide rate in the nation.
That’s more than three times the national average, the Associated Press reported.
The Sooner State reported 39 homicides between 2001 and 2012, which is 14 deaths per 100,000 inmates. For reference, the national average is 4 per 100,000.
“We’re doing everything in our power … but bad things happen when you’re dealing with bad people,” Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terri Watkins told AP.
Oklahoma’s prison system now operates at 67 percent of its recommended staff level with prisons, on average, at 118 percent capacity.
This article appears in Mar 4-10, 2015.