An emotional day for Governor Mary Fallin as she announced the commutations of 21 prisoners serving sentences for non-violent drug offenses.
A group of University of Tulsa law students worked with Oklahomans For Criminal Justice Reform to help those prisoners get another chance at life outside the walls.
Those law students interviewed hundreds of prisoners at facilities across the state.
@utulsa Law Student: “you get to go home today.” 21 prisoners had their sentences commuted today by @GovMaryFallin. The group of law students working on a project called #ProjectCommutation @KJRH2HD pic.twitter.com/oNhgcTd8GW
— Tony Russell (@TonyRussellTV) December 6, 2018
The students came up with a plan to get people serving lengthy sentences on a path to rehabilitation and treatment.
Prisoners like Katara Wheeler are starting over…
She’s one of the many who received a commutation.
“This is a second chance for all of us and… I just say take it and run with it you know what I’m saying. Just do good. God blessed us with this you know and we just need to be thankful,” said Wheeler.
“To be able to meet these people when they’ve been working so hard in prison doing their classes and really working on their rehabilitation and then to see them have that hard work pay off today was—there wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” said Colleen McCarty, a second-year law student.
When it’s all said and done the TU law students hope to have a total of 30 peoples' sentences commuted before the end of the year.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Apple and Android and Kindle devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
