Move to improve openness is good idea by Oklahoma parole board

Parole Board Chairman Marc Dreyer says the panel wants to hear from the public and prosecutors before moving forward with the change in the state constitution that was approved by voters through passage of State Question 762.

SQ 762 removes the governor from the parole process for people convicted of certain nonviolent offenses. Oklahoma had been the only state that required its governor to sign off on every parole recommendation, a process that was time-consuming for the governor and costly for the state. The Oklahoma District Attorneys Council opposed the state question and, in the weeks before the election, Gov. Mary Fallin withdrew her support. But the question received 59 percent approval from voters.

In opposing SQ 762, Fallin cited concerns that the change could result in some inmates being released on nonviolent offenses after having been convicted or sentenced previously for a violent crime. But parole board members and their staff weigh large files about each inmate on the docket, files that include their juvenile histories and prior offenses.

Not only that, but the fact an offender has committed a violent crime doesn't mean he or she will do the same after being released, just as there is no guarantee someone incarcerated for a nonviolent offense won't commit a more serious crime down the road.

Dreyer says members, who spend long hours looking at cases in advance of the monthly board meetings, have always approached their work as if they were making the final say. “I think we're using due diligence at a maximum level now,” he told the Tulsa World.