‘SECOND CHANCES’

Over 400 Oklahoma Prisoners Released in Largest Commutation in U.S. History

“This is the first day of the rest of your life,” Gov. Kevin Stitt told a group of 70 women who had their sentences commuted.

More than 400 inmates were released in Oklahoma on Monday in the largest mass commutation in U.S. history, news station KOCO reports. More than 500 inmates’ sentences were commuted by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board last week as part of the state’s criminal justice reform, and 462 inmates were able to walk free Monday. The inmates who left and are slated to leave prison were doing time for nonviolent crimes, like drug possession and low-level property crime. The move will reportedly save Oklahomans almost $12 million in taxpayer dollars. At an event attended by 70 women who had their sentences commuted at an all-women’s prison, Gov. Kevin Stitt said the effort was about bringing Oklahoma’s “correctional facilities up to current law” and about giving “second chances.” “This is the first day of the rest of your life,” he said.