Carrie Coppernoll, columnist

Read more columns by Carrie Coppernoll.

Contact Carrie --Email: ccoppernoll@opubco.com. Phone: (405) 475-3911.

Jail uniforms: not flattering, but practical

By Carrie Coppernoll
Published: November 26, 2008

As if the orange jumpsuit wasn’t enough of a clue, some inmates at the Oklahoma County jail are now wearing black and white stripes to distinguish them as especially dangerous.


An Oklahoma County Jail inmate is wearing the striped uniform that designates those in segregated housing. PHOTO PROVIDED

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Too bad. Horizontal stripes tend to be unflattering on the belly area. But then again, if you’re a hardened criminal, you probably don’t care.

Officials at the county jail recently began dressing inmates in segregated housing in black and white stripes. Everyone else is stuck with bright orange.

I like the idea of designating prisoners by their uniform. It immediately lets guards know who belongs where. In fact, the program should be expanded. There are tons of other uniform color options for inmates besides the stripes and traditional orange. You could identify all kinds of inmate groups.


• Green: Anyone who’s sick.


• Pink: Troublemakers.


• Polka dots: Troublemakers who are afraid of clowns.


• Tan: Boring inmates.


• White: Ghost inmates.


• White with rhinestones: Elvis fans.


• Black: Dieters who want to look slender.


• Red: Large men with white beards.


• Zebra print: Anyone who’s committed a crime at the zoo.


• Plaid: Scots.

Maybe this overcomplicates things. To keep it simple, jail officials should narrow it down to the three most important groups: regular inmates, very dangerous inmates and Elvis fans.


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So what are the guards going to wear???? Considering some of the acts that they have committed against the inmates, seems to me they are the ones that should be identified as dangerous. For real, this is only going to cause more problems in the jail and anyone with any REAL experience in dealing with our injustice system knows this. Again, Oklahoma proves its inadequacy in dealing with our broken corrections system, which the term corrections is in and of itself an oxymoron. All we have is a warehousing system that destroys individuals and families, which is what this society does best anymore. Very very sad.
Leslie, Bethany - Nov 27, 2008 at 11:40 am
Let's take that a step further. I think that all "journalists" that are ignorant and immature should wear ummm... lets say black with red necklaces.
Angela - Nov 27, 2008 at 2:02 am
I find this column very disppointing, and the columnist very uneducated, which is unfortunate. To make light of this situation is not funny. Regardless of the reason an inmate is in segregation is not always based on the severity of their crime, nor are they all "very dangerous". If anything, the new uniforms could pose as a problem. Let us all hope the the decision makers for Oklahoma County are not as blind as the columnist seems to be.
- Nov 27, 2008 at 12:12 am
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