TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa was the spotlight of work to reduce women in the criminal justice system during a rare in-person conference of the Women's Justice Commission on Jan. 15.
The WJC is a wing created in July 2024 from the Council on Criminal Justice, a national nonpartisan think tank.
Women in Recovery, a sect of Family & Children's Services' downtown Tulsa building, was selected to host panels of the commission, including its chair, Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and First Lady of Oklahoma Sarah Stitt, a senior advisor.
- Previous coverage >>> Tulsa program 'Women in Recovery' expanding to rural areas
The George Kaiser Family Foundation funds the program with state and federal grants contributing.
“We ended up being the fortunate ones that (the commission) wanted to learn from and hear more about our specific services, what we do in the courts,” Women in Recovery Chief Program Officer Mimi Tarrasch told 2 News.
Tarrasch said the Women in Recovery program works as an outpatient alternative for women facing long prison sentences, often stemming from drug abuse.
The commission also met with other organizations based in the Tulsa area, such as Oklahoma Appleseed, Still She Rises Tulsa, and Healthy Minds Policy Initiative.
Alyssa O'Connor and Tara Peterson are two graduates of Women in Recovery that shared their experiences during a panel of the conference on Jan. 15.
“Ultimately, it was a program that helped teach me how to have life skills, how to step back into the community, and to be a productive member of society," O'Connor said.
“My hope is that I can help humanize other individuals like me. I’m a mother, I’m a daughter, I’m a sister, I’m a cousin,” Peterson said of sharing her perspective to the commission.
The number of incarcerated women rose almost 600% between 1980 and 2022, according to The Sentencing Project.
Oklahoma used to top the nation in this category. Now the state ranks fourth.
“Oklahoma’s been very intentional about focusing on the issue of women in the criminal justice system,” Former AG Lynch told 2 News.
Lynch said the grassroots work done for women in Green Country with a criminal past is worthy of praise, and should expand with support from down the political aisle.
“This is not an issue that is susceptible to a political sound bite, because it’s too important," she said.
"It impacts too many people and too many core values, whether it’s a state or a county, or even the whole country.”
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