by Keaton juice
Kari Williams completed probation for burglary five years ago, but the punishment doesn’t seem to end there.
Everything from finding a permanent job to a place to live proved difficult after the conviction, said Williams, who eventually found a job as a volunteer coordinator at the Oklahoma County Opportunity Industrialization Center. He said potential employers were impressed with his credentials, including a master’s degree in criminal justice administration, but withdrew their offer after running a background check.
“Even if you’re not in trouble, because the charge is still there, they think you’re a liability,” Williams said. “It’s like ‘Oh, how do we know you’re not going to go back?’ And it’s been nine years for me.”
Williams said he is hopeful that the Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Paroles will recommend him for clemency later this year. From there, he could benefit from a new state law aimed at making discharge more accessible to millions of Oklahomans.
Senate Bill 2030Which passed the Legislature with little opposition and was signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt earlier this month, directs the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to launch a free online portal for expungement requests by Nov. 1. 2029.
Eligible records for a clean slate include arrests with no convictions and pardons, as well as misdemeanors and non-violent crimes, if the person has not been charged with a new crime and at least five years have passed since the end of the sentence. Arresting agencies and district attorneys who prosecuted crimes would retain the right to object to removal under the automatic system.
Advocates say SB 2030 will help facilitate Oklahoma’s initial automatic discharge bill, commonly known as the Clean Slate Act, which lawmakers Passed in 2022. The system was expected to be operational by 2026, but technical issues have delayed implementation.
Courtney Jackson, an employment coordinator at the Oklahoma County Diversion Hub, knows firsthand the stigma of having a criminal record. He said he has been turned down from numerous jobs, housing and volunteer opportunities since the mid-2010s because of two nonviolent felony convictions. He said he would like to apply for expungement when OSBI launches its expungement request portal.
Jackson said the automatic removal would boost thousands of Oklahomans who are either unemployed or out of the workforce altogether. The Clean Slate Initiative, which advocates for SB 2030, estimates that more than 300,000 Oklahomans would benefit once the automatic drainage system is fully implemented.
“After 10 downs, you’re thinking you have no chance of getting a job,” Jackson said. “It will put educated and overqualified people back into positions that need to be filled.”
Williams said he is encouraging his clients, many of whom have records that qualify for a clean slate, to read the law and prepare to submit an application through the online portal later this year.
“You have to read the fine print inside this bill, but I believe it’s going to be a big change for Oklahoma,” he said. “Especially people who are in careers who are trying to advance and get their education. I think it will be great for them.”
Oklahoma lawmakers passed several other criminal justice reform bills in 2026, dealing with issues such as medical parole and credit eligibility. Here’s a look at some of the most effective steps:
Earned credit account
State prisoners with good behavior will have faster access to programs, job opportunities and early release.
Senate Bill 1213 Changes the Department of Corrections formula for calculating good time credits. Class 3 or 4 inmates will begin earning credits at a faster rate after receiving their convictions and sentences instead of being processed in state custody. The bill will come into effect from November 1.
The change could affect up to 1,000 inmates on the state’s county jail backlog. It sometimes takes the state months to process sentenced inmates, with long wait times common in rural counties, Oklahoma Watch. Reported in August.
Department of Corrections don’t assume A significant reduction in population from Bill. However, well-behaved inmates will be able to enter programs and receive certain tasks more quickly after entering state custody.
Emily Barnes, founder of the Oklahoma inmate advocacy group Hooked on Justice, said she hopes the change will further motivate inmates to stay out of trouble during their incarceration. If an inmate commits a Class 10 violation, such as possession of a weapon, their accumulated good time credits are erased.
“It’s going to help those who want to work,” Barnes said. “It’s definitely an incentive for good behavior.”
Medical Parole Authority
State prisoners seeking medical parole may soon have an easier time receiving a hearing.
Senate Bill 1255Effective Nov. 1, the Department of Corrections director removed the requirement to approve medical parole referrals, shifting that decision-making authority to the agency’s chief medical officer. The change comes after a significant drop in Oklahoma’s medical parole rate through 2021.
In October, the Board of Pardons and Paroles made a request Opinion of the Attorney General on its ability to bypass the Department of Corrections and place inmates on its medical parole docket, noting that the agency faced pressure to take a broader view of the medical parole law. The attorney general ruled in December that such a move would be illegal.
Failure to pay on arrest
Criminal justice reform advocates have long scrutinized Oklahoma’s system of court fines and fees, which some counties Rely on private debt collectors and arrest warrant for failure.
House Bill 3321 Aim to examine the scope of the issue. The bill creates a committee tasked with submitting an annual report with the following county-level information:
- The number of people booked on failure-to-fund warrants alone, and how long they were incarcerated in a county jail.
- Number of third-party vendors each county uses for debt collection.
- Amounts collected using the Court Costs Compliance Program
- Amount collected per person per county, after a failure-to-pay warrant is executed.
First report on 31st December.
this Article appeared first Oklahoma Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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“Oklahoma WatchA oklahomawatch.org, A nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization covering public-policy issues facing the state.” With Creative Commons License
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Photo Credit: Corey Williams poses for a photo outside the Opportunity Industries Center in Oklahoma City. Williams could benefit from a 2026 law change aimed at making elimination more accessible. (Keaton Ross/Oklahoma Watch)
