Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

Oklahoma Representative Justin Humphrey is making reformation of our justice system a major focus of his legislative work for the next year. Ina press release arlier this month, Humphrey announced he was already undertaking a review of "how to better address repeat offenders and holding true criminals accountable for for their actions" but he also wants to address the fact that we must "stop treating everyone like a criminal." Humphrey is currently the chair of the state's House Criminal Justice & Corrections Committee.

Humphreys has outlined an initial plan that focuses on putting more money into substance abuse and mental health services and less into prisons, probation, and parole systems. According to Humphreys, community sentencing and supervision is a better alternative to probation and parole because public and private entities can deliver services outside of court that offer better supervision and more accountability to offenders, thereby holding them more accountable and reducing crime.

Humphrey also is considering the idea of "Qualified Immunity" which protects state and local officials from individual liability unless an official clearly violates a constitutional right. He says that officers need to know they will be supported when they need to make a split-secord decisio that may have long-term consequences.