Oklahoma has an incarceration rate of 993 per 100,000 people (including prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities), meaning that it locks up a higher percentage of its people than any democratic country on earth. Read on to learn more about who is incarcerated in Oklahoma and why.
34,000 people from Oklahoma are behind bars
Additionally, the number of people impacted by county and city jails in Oklahoma is much larger than the graph above would suggest, because people cycle through local jails relatively quickly. Each year, at least 96,000 different people are booked into local jails in Oklahoma.
Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years
Today, Oklahoma’s incarceration rates stand out internationally
In the U.S., incarceration extends beyond prisons and local jails to include other systems of confinement. The U.S. and state incarceration rates in this graph include people held by these other parts of the justice system, so they may be slightly higher than the commonly reported incarceration rates that only include prisons and jails. Details on the data are available in States of Incarceration: The Global Context. We also have a version of this graph focusing on the incarceration of women.
People of color are overrepresented in prisons and jails
Oklahoma's criminal justice system is more than just its prisons and jails
People on parole in Oklahoma can be sent back to prison for "associating" with anyone who has a felony or misdemeanor conviction — even loved ones who are trying to support them
Black people in Oklahoma are incarcerated at a rate 5 times higher than white people.
The cost of incarcerating older people is incredibly high, and their risk of reincarceration is incredibly low, yet 13% of people in Oklahoma prisons are over the age of 55. Why is the state keeping so many older people locked up?
How the end of Roe v. Wade will impact the 5,575 women on probation and parole in Oklahoma
Oklahoma suspended its $4 medical copays in prisons at the beginning of the pandemic for flu related medical visits — It should eliminate them entirely.
June 7, 2024: Research Director Wendy Sawyer will take part in a panel discussion during the Association of Health Care Journalists conference. The panel, Incarceration as a public health threat, will focus on the ways mass incarceration harms the health of not only incarcerated people but their communities as well.
Communication Director Mike Wessler will also be in attendance for journalists who want to connect.
Not near you? Invite us to your city, college or organization.