To achieve criminal justice reform, everyone needs to chill
by Ryan Haynie, Criminal Justice Reform Fellow at Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Ideas like proportionality and nuance are rapidly declining among the most vocal and those wielding the most power in our culture. In late May, a large group marched in the streets of Oklahoma City in protest of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The protest eventually devolved into rioting and destruction of property.
The extent to which the destructive behavior can be associated with the original protest has been hotly debated and won’t be addressed here. The damage included everything from graffiti to a destroyed police vehicle. In short, things got out of hand. Some innocent people, including the taxpayers of Oklahoma City, suffered harm.
In response, David Prater, District Attorney for Oklahoma County, charged three individuals with multiple felonies including terrorism. Oklahoma’s terrorism statute was enacted in 2002 as a response to the 9-11 attacks. To charge these individuals with a crime intended for Al Qaeda and Timothy McVeigh defies reason.
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from MuskogeePolitico.com
