Dominique Gray lost his safety net at 17. He was sleeping outside of the Ralph Ellison Library in Oklahoma City. Beneath the book drop. For a full year, he experienced homelessness until a librarian connected him to a pathway home. How had things gotten so severe? Bouts of depression, constant bullying and fights at school […]
oklahoma policy institute
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Oklahoma justice
Oklahomans continue pushing for legislation to lower the state’s prison population and prevent people from entering into the criminal system in the first place. Last year, Oklahoma saw the largest mass commutation in the nation’s history with nearly 500 people being released early from prisons in November. Damion Shade, Oklahoma Policy Institute criminal justice policy […]
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Chicken-Fried News: Heavenly treasures
Oklahoma’s property taxes, according to Oklahoma Policy Institute, are among the lowest in the U.S., but a recent report from journalism nonprofit The Frontier reveals that for some properties, the taxes are even lower — as in zero. “State law grants tax exemption to properties ‘used exclusively and directly for fraternal or religious purposes,’” The […]
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Chicken-Fried News: County smell
“Gassing,” according to Double-Tongued Dictionary, is prison slang for “throwing feces or bodily fluids at someone.” In a video Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office public information director Mark Myers posted to his personal Twitter page on Dec. 6, sheriff’s office employees seem to be getting a similar treatment from the plumbing in the Oklahoma County jail. […]
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Chicken-Fried News: No sale
Gov. Kevin “Coffee Is for Closers” Stitt has repeatedly said he wants to run Oklahoma like a business — without specifying exactly what kind of business he’s running. Following stalled negotiations over tribal casino gaming compacts, Choctaw Chief Gary Batton seems to have a guess. “It felt like a used car salesman thing, telling me […]
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Chicken-Fried News: Commutation confluence
Oklahoma’s unprecedented commutation, which released nearly 500 people from prison, a majority of which were convicted for nonviolent offenses, was a step in the right direction to reduce the state’s prison population, which is one of the highest per capita in the world. The happy news that came with so many families being reunited was […]
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OKG Lifestyle: Tahira Taqi
Around OKC EAT: Cafe Antigua WATCH: The Innocent Man (Netflix) LISTEN: Lights’ Little Machines READ: Oklahoma Policy Institute’s In the Know newsletter LOVE: Grind Espresso Shot liqueur EXPERIENCE: Sunday Gospel Brunch at The Boom! Outside OKC EAT: Steel City Pops in Dallas WATCH: The Try Guys (YouTube) LISTEN: Directionally Challenged podcast READ: An American Marriage […]
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Chicken-Fried News: H2OMG
Welcome to another hilarious edition of Oklahoma’s Wackiest Criminals. This week, we bring you the weird tale of the Warr Acres “water worshipper,” a man KFOR reported has allegedly been entering businesses and churches for more than a decade, turning on the water and leaving — LOL, WTF. Most recently, the man reportedly walked into […]
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Retroactive law
Nearly a thousand Oklahomans will be released from prison early — potentially in time for the holidays. Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law that makes State Question 780, which reclassified simple drug possessions from felonies to misdemeanors, retroactive. Department of Corrections (DOC) must provide a list of eligible inmates to the Pardon and […]
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Health gap
Oklahomans throughout the state are urging lawmakers to expand health care coverage before the legislative session ends. Various organizations within Coalition to Expand Coverage came together to host Rally for Coverage April 24 at the state Capitol. Oklahoma is one of 14 states that has not accepted federal funds for Medicaid expansion. Expanded coverage would […]