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RE: Our Homeless Experience 7: The Homeless Shelter, Part 2
In Oklahoma, a woman can be can charged with "Failure to Protect," if her partner beats her up in front of her children. In fact, last year a woman was choked by her boyfriend, and rendered unconscious. CPS charged her with FTP, and the woman went to prison. That's right. The VICTIM of abuse went to jail. Of course, CPS took the children. It is out of control, especially in Oklahoma. We have the number one incarceration rate for women, in the nation. Now you know one of the reasons why.
im sorry to hear about that. sounds like the system is broken
Oh my gosh that is so rotten! It sounds so oppresive, I'm so sorry. :'(
That is one of THE most ridiculous laws I've ever heard! WTF??? Sorry for that but come on. If a law is given like that then the government should pay for women to learn self defense starting at the age of 6. What kind of ... of... person would make a law like that? A man that beats his woman and doesnt want to pay the consequence? How do you fight a law like that? Omg I could just go on, on how wrong this is in many different scenarios. Just wow. That is maddening >:(
Yep. It is insane. There was a story in the paper last year about a woman who was rendered unconscious at the hands of her abuser, and sure enough, CPS stepped in, and took her children away, AND charged her with "Failure to Protect." How the 'ell is someone supposed to protect their children when they are unconscious? Seriously? But, you see, we have 9 private prisons here, and the state is hit with a hefty fine if they fall below occupancy quotas. The state has to maintain their prisoner populations. It's a huge mess that has destroyed Oklahoma. The top three expenditures for the state in 2017 were the Dept. of Health, the Dept. of Corrections, and the Dept. of Transportation.
The Department of Education didn't even make the top ten.
http://oklahomawatchdata.org/state-salaries
Massive corruption abounds, and it has done nothing but send this state right into the bottom of the barrel. It's the dregs of the swamp, so to speak, and the children of Oklahoma are the ones who are not only paying the price, but they are also the ones who will be tasked with attempting to clean up this huge mess.
The state itself should be charged with "Failure to Protect," but that is just my humble opinion.
A quota to fill the prisoner population... what in the world?? Increase crime populations to fill the quota or make absurd laws to make it happen. Not a place I would want to visit. How is it that there is still a population there?
Oklahoma isn't the only state where this is occurring:
"Report Finds Two-Thirds of Private Prison Contracts Include “Lockup Quotas”"
"An analysis of private prison contracts from across the United States reveals that state and local governments commonly enter into agreements that require them to keep prisons filled or pay for unused, empty beds."
Source:
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2015/jul/31/report-finds-two-thirds-private-prison-contracts-include-lockup-quotas/
That's just sick!
Agreed. It's sad, too. My apologies for hijacking @hickorymack 's post, the problems are all inter-related, and the more we all know about it, the more effectively we can take action in our own communities. The current system is simply non-sustainable, IMO, and will eventually devour itself. That being said, it is likely to devour innocent people as well. We just cannot let that happen.
The fight is there and its real. We need strong people to fight back.
That's hard to believe. Do you have sources?
Well, I've heard of ladies having miscarriages and getting sent for decades in prison in jurisdictions where abortion is illegal.
It is hard to believe. Sadly, it is true.
Here is the law: http://www.oklegislature.gov/cf_pdf/2011-12%20INT/sb/sb1426%20int.pdf
The article to which I previously referred, regarding the woman who was left unconscious, that story was in the Daily Oklahoman, I still have a hard copy. Tracking it down online should be easy, but honestly, I don't have the heart to do so right now. However, here is an excerpt from an article regarding a high-profile case, in which a similar thing occurred:
'Failure to Protect' Laws Punish Victims of Domestic Violence. ... In Oklahoma, a state with some of the highest child abuse rates in the nation, enabling child abuse is a felony that carries the same penalties as active child abuse.
In 2006, Robert Braxton, Jr., pled guilty to abusing his girlfriend’s three-month-old daughter by breaking her ribs and femur. He was sentenced to two years in prison. The infant’s mother, Tondalo Hall, was found guilty of failing to protect her daughter and given a sentence of 30 years in prison. Even though there was no evidence that Hall ever hurt her daughter, and even though there was significant evidence that Hall was abused by Braxton and feared him, her sentence was 15 times greater than his.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-banner/do-failure-to-protect-law_b_6237346.html
Here is an article explaining why Oklahoma's female incarceration rate is so high. While gather sources for you, of which there are many, I ran across another report, from the state of Oklahoma itself stating that the incarceration rate has been surpassed by another state, with Oklahoma now ranking as the #2 state with the largest female prisoner population. I would consider the source when looking at Oklahoma's own numbers.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-10-03/why-oklahomas-female-incarceration-rate-so-high
https://moneyish.com/ish/the-state-locks-up-more-women-than-anywhere-else-in-america/
There are many advocacy groups here who have attempted to combat the ever-increasing problem, but they are waging an uphill battle. The state consistently receives an "F" grade from the Center for Public Integrity, corruption is rampant here.
It goes on and on. A great source, with many available public documents can be found at:
http://www.oklahomawatch.org
Oh my god, really, never heard of this before.. that's insane!!!! What about the partner? Of course he got a get out of jail for free card I guess :( What the... Poor women that are targeted with this stupid law by CPS :( my heart cries for them. they dont only lose the children but are being charged as if they are the criminals :(