Quite inmate problems goes public: Oklahoma County jail legal settlements cost $2.5M

[flashl]

By John Estus
Staff Writer
© Copyright 2008, The Oklahoman

Allegations of death, abuse and neglect in the Oklahoma County jail cost taxpayers more than $2.5 million in legal settlements and attorney fees in the past decade, county records show.

One inmate reached a $580,000 settlement after jailers beat him so severely his testicles swelled to the size of "softballs,” said officials who saw pictures of the injury.

Another inmate gave birth in jail to a boy who died. She got $385,000 after claiming inadequate medical care.

Abuse has been rampant at the jail for years, but problems are kept quiet largely because inmates' lawsuits usually don't go to trial, current and former county commissioners said.

It seems there are some serious problems in OK jails if THIS admin's DOJ is forced to act:

DOJ report leads to Oklahoma County inmate removal
Review: Deaths in the Oklahoma County jail
It's a fright: Jail report paints scary picture
Oklahoma County jail's death toll draws federal ire
Oklahoma County to pay $5.5 million to cover inmates’ medical bills
New official seeks to fix Oklahoma City jail problems

[sazemisery]

1. Look at our voting record and you'll understand

This is Oklahoma. Red state through and through. We endorsed * twice. I have Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn as our Senators, Blue Dog Dan Boren as my Representative.

Our State Legislature passed immigration legislation that is atrocious. The Republican controlled legislature spent 2 million on furniture while our education system is in shambles.

Cop mentality here is to bash heads then ask questions.

Welcome to my world.

[flashl]

2. I hear you and your statements are affirmed ...

Education:
(Education lobby) Petition idea doesn't add up

The Oklahoman
By State Rep. David Dank

The education lobby will soon ask Oklahoma voters to sign a petition requiring that our state per-pupil school spending must always equal the regional average. There are at least four reasons why this is a bad and dangerous idea.

First, anyone who knows basic arithmetic understands why this won't work. Every time you raise Oklahoma's per-pupil spending you also raise the regional average, even if the other states in our region do nothing. That ever-escalating average then becomes the carrot at the end of a stick, forever just out of reach. You can never equal a moving average when what you do drives that average forward.

Second, the petition would require the immediate allocation of at least 850 million new dollars to the schools. Since the Oklahoma Constitution insists that we balance our budget, those dollars could come from only two places — other state programs or tax increases.

That would mean shutting down most highway repairs, releasing prisoners as we lay off guards, trimming social services to the bone — all in the name of a per-pupil spending average that may not even improve learning. If we opted for tax increases to pay the bill, the forced extraction of almost a billion dollars from Oklahoma household budgets would work an enormous hardship on everyone.

Politics:

OK: Donations hit nearly $180,000 for one Oklahoma state Senate runoff

Sun August 10, 2008

By John Greiner
Capitol Bureau

Two Republican candidates have raised a total of $147,359 in their bids to win the Senate District 45 seat that includes portions of Canadian, Cleveland and Oklahoma counties.

In Tulsa, two other Republican candidates trying to win the Senate District 35 seat in the Aug. 26 primary runoff have raised a total of $179,499 since their campaigns began.

In each district, they were the top two finishers in five-candidate races. The runoff winners will be the next senators because no Democrats or independents filed for either of the seats.