Articles written by Ben Botkin
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After prison, many Oklahomans are banned from voting for years
For Robin Wertz, the wait will be long before she can cast a ballot at an Oklahoma polling place. Wertz, who runs a nonprofit center in Oklahoma City that helps people transition from prison back into society, is prohibited from voting in any electio...
Schools, colleges largely off limits to guns. Other places? It depends.
Every year, Oklahoma state lawmakers propose legislation to make carrying guns easier and push back on attempts to constrain gun ownership. Yet nationally, firearms and momentum for stricter gun control continue to be high-profile issues that draw...
A scorecard for criminal justice reform
About a dozen new and holdover bills that would overhaul Oklahoma’s criminal justice system are in the legislative pipeline. Although it’s too early to tell, there are indications the bills have momentum. In her State of the State address, Gov. Mar...
Incarceration numbers stay relatively flat despite justice system reforms
The number of people sentenced to Oklahoma prisons in 2017 fell slightly, but the state remains second in the nation in overall incarceration and could be ranked first by the end of this year. Oklahoma Department of Corrections data shows that on...
New roadside scanner contract brings uninsured drivers closer to automatic tickets
The website for Massachusetts-based Gatso USA shows one of its roadside cameras used to capture images of license plates of drivers who speed. The company is contracting with Oklahoma to provide scanners for detecting uninsured vehicles. This story...
