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OKLAHOMA STATE PENITENTIARY
(PART B)
METHODOLOGY #2
4.3 --- CONDUCTION A PHYSICAL PRISONER HEAD COUNT:
Under normal circumstances (while a bit tedious) conducting a physical (prisoner by prisoner) head count detailing whose is in jail for what, would provide us with the most technically accurate numbers. Not to mention the fact that there are many out there that simply won’t accept a lot of mathematical tabulated statistics as factual, and will always demand an actual head-count. For them, nothing else will do. --- Thus for this and various other reasons (given the nature of this report), it would be impossible not to at least attempt some sort of physical head count.
Fortunately through Oklahoma’s Open Records Act, (after various attempts), we were finally able to obtain a copy of what prison database records are available to the public. They consisted of well over 250,000 lines of data code (supposedly) representing all 26,700, or so prisoners that were under state incarceration as of Feb 24, 2014.
So, as we are going through each and every prisoner, one would think that this methodology would provide us with the most accurate data. H-O-W-E-V-E-R, this is Oklahoma and here things are not so simple. With the main problem being that there are those out there who obviously want very desperately for you NOT TO KNOW what is going on. People (some would say conspirators) who have (ah) deliberately cooked the books, sort of speak. Not lied with them, but just simply monkey-shined them enough to make it almost impossible for anyone to make any sense out of them. Proof of that is that no newspaper reporter, no politician, in fact to our knowledge no one anyway so far has been able to pierce through the smoke screen.
Thus what should have been the most accurate methodology, in effect is probably one of the least accurate. The next section (Sec 4.3.1), goes over some of the gimmickry used by the Dept. of Correction to doctor the paper work.
4.3.1 --- SEEING THROUGH THE ACCOUNTING GIMMICKRY:
Just how have the (ah) those in favor of maintaining the prohibition, been able to hide the information for as long as they have? Simply put, like the Federal Government’s ‘Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (see section 4.2), they have taken advantage of several accounting tricks and then by making use of statistical Slight-Of-Hand have (in effect) jimmied the books so they make no sense to anyone, anywhere. It appears that even newspaper reporters (despite the existence of Oklahoma’s Freedom of Information or Open Records Act) have not been able to make any sense of them.
Let us go over some of their accounting tricks:
- HIDING BEHIND WORDS AND LANGUAGE:
QUESTION: How many state prisoners are in jail for Marihuana?
ANSWER: About fifteen.
The above (while only hypothetical) shows how the improper use of wording can cause the questioner to get a, “Technically Correct”, yet totally false and deceitful answer. --- How so? In the above example, note that the word “JAIL” was used. But technically speaking a jail ONLY makes reference to those state prisoners being housed in a Local/County lockup facility; Not to state run prison facilities. Thus the answer of only fifteen (while deceptive) could have been technically correct.
OK, now let’s change the wording a bit, what if we were to have asked: “How many state prisoners are being incarcerated in state prison facilities for Marihuana?” What kind of answer would we get now? Probably yet another false and misleading answer, Why? Once more because of the way the question was worded. You’ve now not only left out ALL state prisoners being held in Local/County jails, but you’ve also left out those being incarcerated in PRIVATE PRISONS that dot our state.
More on the subject of what we term, “The Name Game” at a later point, here the only point being made is that those behind the prison system deliberately are making use of this Name-Game to hide information.
- MARIHUANA BY ANY OTHER NAME; --would it still be Marihuana?:
How do you spell MARIHUANA? ANSWER; No one really knows. Newspapers in the 1890’s spelled it Maria-Goana. In the early 1900’ it was spelled Maria-huana, and by the Reefer Madness campaign it’s spelled Marihuana. The spelling MariJuana came about when someone noticed that TiaJuana was spelled with a “J” instead of an “H”, and AFTER ALL the idea WAS to associate the “Weed of Madness” with (those brown skin) MEXICANS, was it not? [Note that this report makes use of the older spelling so as to not insult anyone.] But be all that as it may, the various spellings found within the prison data files are enough to frustrate most anyone into throwing their hands up in the air and give up.
The following table gives just some of the various spellings used throughout the prison database records:
MARIJUANA MARIHUANA MARIJAUANA MARI MARIJ MARIUJUANA (MJ) THC MARIJUANNA (MARJ) CULTIVATION (MAR) MARIJANA MAAR8IJUANA MARAJUANA CULT Maijuana MARIJUNA Here it is interesting to note that while the word “Cannabis” does pop up,
the prison records make no mention of the more commonly used word “HEMP”
For their part the Dept. of Corrections claims that this is the way they are receiving their records from the various court clerks and as such are not responsible for the spelling. And this may indeed be so as a quick scan of the files show that some county courts use the term THC, others MARIJ, others MariaJuana, etc. And it can be said that with limited budgets uniformed spelling just isn’t high on their priority lists, etc.
However, this begs the question; Why don’t they send out an email to all the court clerks asking them to use uniform wording? Something that will allow for a simple key-word search of their data-base files. --- This report believes that the answer is obvious, if you’re deliberately trying to hide something, then that’s the last thing on earth that you would ever want to do.
AS AN ASIDE: During our research for this report, we were forced to write various computer sub-routines to locate Marihuana by its various spellings. However we found that using the search terms “uana” and “mar” will catch about 90% of all the records. The use of “THC” ; “CULT (short for cultivation), “MJ” as computer key-search words should catch at least another 5% of them. However, be on the look out for records that read, “U.S. Marshal,” or failure to engage in Marriage, as those can throw the statistics off. Etc.
- CRIMINAL CODES “63-2-402.B2” VERSES “63-2-402”
(Shortening the Code Numbers to Increase the Confusion):
QUESTION: How many state prisoners are officially incarcerated for possession of Marihuana?
ANSWER: Around seventy-four.
Huh? Only seventy-four? Recalling the ‘Name Game’ (see above) that the prohibitionists love to play with the wording. Look at the way this question was worded; --“Incarceration for Possession of Marihuana” OFFICIALLY means someone convicted of violating criminal code “63-2-402.B2.” Yet (according to the Dept. of Corrections) most court clerks are simplifying the code down to “63-2-402” which is a general term for “Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance.” A coding number that of-and-by itself gives NO indication as to what the CDS substance in question actually was. Thus, --- out of the thousands of Marihuana incarcerations for possession; -- the answer (deceitfully yet truthfully) can indeed be something like seventy-four, because only seventy-four prisoners are OFFICIALLY listed under the “63-2-402.B2” code.
And while this situation could be easily corrected by simply sending emails to the court clerks asking them to please enter the more complete informational code. It seems that the Dept. of Corrections simply doesn’t have the budget or personnel to do that. And after all, researchers, criminologist, medical personnel, et al, are not all that interested in knowing the exact drugs for which Oklahoma prisoners are being incarcerated.
- HIDING BEHIND THE C.D.S. LABEL:
Depending upon ones exact definitions, somewhere between 40% to 50% of our present-day prison population are there for drug law violations. However for well over 50 percent of that figure we DON’T KNOW what the exact drug in question was? This is not a joke, according to their prison records they’re simply noted as being C.D.S. prisoners. C.D.S. (Controlled Dangerous Substance) being a generic definition; ---Meaning ALL illegal substances, which at the present time includes Medical Marihuana.
Dept. of Correction officials defend this situation by simply stating that they themselves are being provided with “INCOMPLETE” prisoner report data/information from the courts. That it is the court clerks (not them) who are simply jotting down CDS, with no mention of what exactly the actual substances were. Thus that they themselves are forced to work with incomplete data.
And it would appear (yet, again) that the Dept. of Corrections does not have the budget, or staffing, to simply send an email to the court clerks asking them to note the info? But maybe that is too much to expect; The point being made here is that by far (at least on paper), MOST DRUG WAR prisoners are there for “Substances Unknown,” with no way for us to find out if Marihuana was/was not the substance in question.
- PRISON CONTRABAND ARRESTS:
This little golden wonder of accounting would do even Bernie Madoff or Charles Ponzi proud. A great way to recycle, keep and reuse old prisoners (a subject that deserves a white-paper all its own). But be that as it may, it appears that the prison records (the paper work generated within the Dept. of Corrections) is mostly written down in very, very generic language. Examples:“POSSESSION OF CONTRABAND IN PENAL INSTITUTION”
Note that these generic expressions, while denoting that a violation has taken place, is not enough to determine EXACTLY what the contraband in question was? And true every now and then, the prison records DO give the exact violation.
“BRINGING CONTRABAND INTO JAIL/PENAL INSTITUTION”
“CARRYING WEAPON/DRUGS/ALCOHOL INTO JAIL”
“BRINGING CONTRABAND (DRUGS) INTO JAIL”
Examples:“POSSESSION OF CONTRABAND IN A PENAL INST- MARIJUANA”
However, these more “DESCRIPTIVE” prison records seem to be the exception rather than the rule (maybe 20% at most). And here it should be noted that the paper-work for many of the so-called "Prison Contraband" cases are generated INTERNALLY to the state prison system. Thus their argument; -- essentially blaming local county court clerks as the source of all their INCOMPLETE data files woes must be brought into question.
“POSSESSION OF CONTRABAND IN A PENAL INST- CELL PHONE”
“POSSESSION OF CONTRABAND IN A PENAL INST- (TOBACCO)”
And while this situation could easily be rectified by simply sending an internal Dept. of Corrections memo, instructing their staff to start listing the exact substance/contraband in question. It appears (again) that the Dept. of Corrections does not have the budget, or staffing, to simply send out this internal email.
- HIDING BEHIND PRISON DATE CODES:
We have to hand it to them, whoever created this ‘Slight of Hand’ use of the statistics was a true genius. Granted, in an evil Dr. Fu-Machu sort of way, but still a genius. The following (taken from a letter sent out to members of the Oklahoma Voters League) best describes the inter workings of this one:“MARIHUANA & OKLAHOMA’S State Prison System
Again, this (statistical slight of hand) is ingenious, as it provides for a great way (at least on paper) of removing the more “Embarrassing Prisoners” completely out of the statistical counts. And least someone think this is accidental, IT’S NOT, ALL Oklahoma prison records show that drug offences are the first to be served, then all others offenses thereafter.
--- 1,100 MORE MARIHUANA PRISONERS JUST FOUND
Through statistical tabulations we know that approximately 4,400 inmates here in Oklahoma state prisons are doing some sort of time for Marihuana. However our past physical head counts were only able to account for just 1,400 of them.
Well we’ve just found an additional 1,100 more Marihuana prisoners who were being (very carefully) hidden by the Dept. of Corrections via the use of very skillful/statistical ‘slight of hand’. --- Man I’ve got to hand it to them, they are good at this sort of thing. --- Let me do a hypothetical example to show how they’ve been getting away with it.
Let’s say that an individual was convicted of robbing a bank and at the same time selling Marihuana cigarettes to the banks customer, and that he was given 5 years for bank robber and 5 more years for Marihuana. --- Here one would think that the prison database would show that this individual as doing 10 years, for bank-robber and Marihuana, however, that’s not the way the paper work, works out.
It appears that our Dept. of Corrections is doing the paper work in such a way so that the prisoner ALWAYS serves his Marihuana sentence FIRST, AND ONLY THEN does he serve his time for all other offenses. --- MEANING that ON PAPER, the prisoner was ONLY DOING TIME for Marihuana for the first 5 years and then mention of the Marihuana arrest drops out (at least from the paper work) thereafter. In effect de-listing a lot of Oklahoma’s prison population. WHO are in effect serving time for Marihuana but are now no longer listed as such.
How effective is this tactic? Well, let me put it to you this way, once we found out about this trick and knew what to look for, we’ve been able to locate yet another 1,100 prisoners presently being incarcerated (at least in part) for Marihuana. You do the math. . . [more] “
- THE “WHILE UNDER PROBATION” ARRESTEES:
What if someone is arrested for a crime THAT UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES would NOT have been a crime, EXCEPT for the fact that that individual was still under probation for a Marihuana related crime? On paper such individuals are not normally listed as Marihuana prisoners. However, IF THE MARIHUANA HAD NOT BEEN AGAINST THE LAW in the first place, would this person have ended up back in jail again? The answer is obvious and as such (for the purposes of this report) we do view these individuals (there’s quite a few of them) as being under incarceration for Marihuana law violations.
AS AN ASIDE: This white paper is no place to get into the Gun-Control debate, but for those of you not familiar with Oklahoma, here hunting and fire arms are a way of life. So it is no accident that the main Probation violation code seems to be:“POSSESS FIREARMS AFTER CONVICTION OR DURING PROBATION”
--- Violation of State code - 21-1283 - THE USE OF DUI
Think DUI solely means alcohol? Think again! A DUI (Driving while Under the Influence) can mean a whole host of substances – Including MARIHUANA. A subject that of-and-by-itself deserves a white-paper of its own, especially as it is questionable as to whether Medical Marihuana (in the quantities used by medical patients) even affects your ability to safely drive an automobile. -- Again, a subject for another white paper, here the only point being made is that (similar to their use of the term CDS) the prison data statistics in many cases DO NOT list exactly what the DUI substance was? Thus making it very hard for us to statistically tabulate who is in jail for what?
NOTE: For the purposes of this report, IF the DUI was for Marihuana (a substance that does not seem to affect your ability to safely drive an automobile), the prisoner WILL be counted as a Marihuana prisoner. [11]
- SKILLFUL USE OF THE ANNUAL REPORTS:
According the latest Oklahoma Department of Correction Annual Report, approximately 28% of our prison population is under incarceration for Drug Law violations. And reporters (these Annual Reports being official state documents) are quoting them as if they were the gospel truth. But are they? --- According to our own tabulations and physical head counts of the prison database files (which we were finally able to obtain via Oklahoma’s Open Records Act) show that the number is actually well over 45%.
QUESTION; How does 28% of the prison population equate to WELL OVER 45%? Obviously through skillful (slight of hand) manipulation of the statistical data, the mechanisms to which are made mention of throughout this report. Here the only point being made is that the prohibitionists appear to be making use of the Prisons Annual Reports to deliberately manipulate and mislead the public at large.
NOTE: The actual percentage of prisoners being held for Drug Law Violations is actually more like 45.4%. However, despite our every effort to eliminate ALCOHOL (the Drug) from the tabulations, due to the number of CDS/CONTRABAND/DUI prisoners (deliberately making no mention of what the substance in question was) we adjusted the figure down a bit to allow for this factor. Other substances such as Tobacco (the drug), et al, have also (wherever possible) been eliminated from our head counts.
- THE, WE DON’T HAVE THE DATA TACTIC
Oklahoma has a law on the books that’s similar to the Federal Government’s “Freedom of Information Act,” locally known as Oklahoma’s, “Open Records Act.” Thus, at least on paper one would think that obtaining such facts as, “How many Oklahomans are in Jail for Marihuana,” would be as simple a matter as just officially asking the question. HOWEVER, it appears that the ‘Open Records Act’ (probably inadvertently) contains a giant loophole. One that is being fully taken advantage of by numerous state agencies; --- to quote a couple of state officials:“Records of the type you are seeking, if they exist, are neither maintained nor received by the Office of the State Auditor & Inspector, and are not included in any audit in which we have or will engage with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. “
So there you have it; ---- If the information is not tabulated, then there is no law requiring its public dissemination. And as we have seen, the prohibitionists are taking full advantage of such terms as “CONTRABAND” ; “CDS” ; DUI , etc., to hide the fact that they are talking about Medical Marihuana.
“Except as may be required in Section 24A.4 of this title, this act does not impose any additional record keeping requirements on public bodies or public officials. “
4.3.2 --- THE ACTUAL HEAD COUNT,
REVIEWING THE NUMBERS:
In previous sections we have gone over some of the statistical problems encountered in preparing this report as well as some nationwide statistical figures. Thus the reader is aware of some of the statistical difficulties revolving around the raw data as provided to us (via Oklahoma’s Open Records Act) by the Department of Corrections.
But be that as it may, and as limited in nature as the provided information is, the raw data still provides us with some useful tidbits of information.
4.3.2.1 --- PRISON POPULATION TOTALS (as of Feb. 24, 2014)
All of the following statistics and head counts were taken from four prison data-base files that were generated on Feb. 24, 2014, and as such can be assumed to have been good as of that given date. These data-files (all in MicroSoft Excel format), were given to us after an 'Oklahoma Open Records Act' request and (due to their large size) were emailed to us as four different sub-files:
2741_Data_FileA
2741_Data_FileB
2741_Data_FileC
2741_Data_FileD
Each one of them containing at least 45,000 lines of data-code (an average of nine lines of code per each individual prisoner). Via these four files we were able to generate/extrapolate the following head counts. Please note that (due to the shear volume of data) we’ve had to make use of various computer-programming subroutines to adjust for various factors. Factors such as sentencing dates; -- many Marihuana arrest sentences were long ago served, but still show up on prisoner database records. As well remove ALCOHOL (which is treated as a drug crime by the prison system), from our tabulation head counts. But please be advised that some (maybe many) errors are all too possible. Marihuana prisoners WHO SHOULD be counted were not, and some who are not ARE being counted as such, etc.
HEAD COUNT LEXICON
TOTAL HEAD COUNT: = The total number of ALL State prisoners (irregardless of crime committed), serving time and listed (as of Feb 24, 2014) by the Dept. of Corrections listed as such by Oklahoma’s Dept. of Corrections.
WARNING: Some prisoners listed (not very many) are actually serving their sentences in State prisons “outside” of Oklahoma (we assume at the other states expense) but for various reasons are still being carried on our books.
CDS (Included) PRISONERS: = The total number of ALL prisoners under incarceration for CDS (Controlled Dangerous Substances), irregardless of what the actual CDS in question was. NOTE: Every effort to exclude ALCOHOL and TOBACCO etc., has been made, however (due to limited information), it is very likely that some such records have been included.
UNKNOWN CDS: = The total number of prisoners being incarcerated for unknown CDS Offences. That is to say that (at least Dept. of Correction database files) there is no real way of knowing exactly what the CDS in question was? It could have been Marihuana, it could have been Heroin or it could have been Alcohol, although (yet again), every effort has been taken to eliminate Alcohol (the drug) from our tabulations.
MARIHUANA PRISONERS: = The total number of prisoners being incarcerated for Marihuana. That is prisoners who are under incarceration with Marihuana being at least as one of their stated offences. NOTE that our definition of what exactly constitutes a Marihuana prisoner does vary quite a bit from those used by the Dept. of Corrections. If you were originally sent to prison for Marihuana (even if it was only one of your offenses), you are therefore being counted here for statistical purposes. Also being counted are parole violators who were originally sent to prison for Marihuana related crimes.
MARIHUANA RELATED ONLY: = The total number of prisoners presently being incarcerated SOLELY for Marihuana related crimes. That is to say that if Marihuana had not been against the law in the first place, then none of the other (alleged) crimes committed would have been against the law as well.
WARNING: In some situations, the above definition gets a bit sticky. With probably the best example being that of what happened in Texas a few months back. In that case a homeowner hears someone Break into his home (quite literally the front door was smashed open), and thinking he was under attack he took a gun and shot the intruder dead. Upon turning on the lights it turned out to be a stupid sheriff’s deputy serving a warrant for “Possible” possession of Marihuana. Again, the definition gets a bit sticky BUT would this situation have happened IF THE ANTI-MARIHUANA LAWS did not exist? Thus (at least for our statistics), we MUST view this case SOLELY as being a Marihuana situation.
CDS PRISONER HISTORY: = The number / percentages of prisoners (presently under incarceration), who have some kind of CDS arrest history. That is to say that they are either doing time for drug related offences or have been previously convicted (whether incarcerated or not) for a drug related offense.
WARNING: Because by definition, a drug arrest history literally means “a history of arrest prior to the start of serving a prison sentence ”CONTRABAND ARRESTS” (arrests made within the prison system during incarceration) are NOT counted. A situation that leads to rather interesting statistics, such as (in certain categories) there being MORE prisoners actively serving jail time for drugs than those originally sentenced for drugs. Putting it another way, they started their drug use habit WHILE IN PRISON, and thus no CDS PRISONER HISTORY of any kind.
EXTRACTED DATA NUMBERS
|
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| TOTAL HEAD COUNT | = 4,896 |
|---|---|
| CDS (Included) PRISONERS |
= 2,390 (Excluding Alcohol, tobacco, etc.)
(Referencing File "Fourth_CDSOnly_FileANO2") |
| UNKNOWN CDS | = 906 (Referencing File “Fourth_UnknownCDS_FileANO2”) |
| MARIHUANA PRISONERS | = 303 (Referencing File “Fourth_MJOnly_FileANO2”) |
| MARIHUANA RELATED ONLY | = 81 (Referencing File “Fourth_MJCrimeOnly_FileANO2”) |
| CDS PRISONER HISTORY | = 2,317 (Referencing File “Fourth_CDSHistory_FileANO2”) |
| TOTAL HEAD COUNT | = 4,572 |
|---|---|
| CDS (Included) PRISONERS |
= 2,065 (Excluding Alcohol, tobacco, etc.)
(Referencing File "Fourth_CDSOnly_FileBNO2") |
| UNKNOWN CDS | = 924 (Referencing File “Fourth_UnknownCDS_FileBNO2”) |
| MARIHUANA PRISONERS | = 342 (Referencing File “Fourth_MJOnly_FileBNO2”) |
| MARIHUANA RELATED ONLY | = 130 (Referencing File “Fourth_MJCrimeOnly_FileBNO2”) |
| CDS PRISONER HISTORY | = 2,654 (Referencing File “Fourth_CDSHistory_FileBNO2”) |
| TOTAL HEAD COUNT | = 5,313 |
|---|---|
| CDS (Included) PRISONERS |
= 2,514 (Excluding Alcohol, tobacco, etc.)
(Referencing File "Fourth_CDSOnly_FileCNO2") |
| UNKNOWN CDS | = 2,102 (Referencing File “Fourth_UnknownCDS_FileCNO2”) |
| MARIHUANA PRISONERS | = 444 (Referencing File “Fourth_MJOnly_FileCNO2”) |
| MARIHUANA RELATED ONLY | = 171 (Referencing File “Fourth_MJCrimeOnly_FileCNO2”) |
| CDS PRISONER HISTORY | = 3,005 (Referencing File “Fourth_CDSHistory_FileCNO2”) |
| TOTAL HEAD COUNT | = 11,861 |
|---|---|
| CDS (Included) PRISONERS |
= 5,083 (Excluding Alcohol, tobacco, etc.)
(Referencing File "Fourth_CDSOnly_FileDNO2") |
| UNKNOWN CDS | = 2,566 (Referencing File “Fourth_UnknownCDS_FileDNO2”) |
| MARIHUANA PRISONERS | = 745 (Referencing File “Fourth_MJOnly_FileDNO2”) |
| MARIHUANA RELATED ONLY | = 250 (Referencing File “Fourth_MJCrimeOnly_FileDNO2”) |
| CDS PRISONER HISTORY | = 5,038 (Referencing File “Fourth_CDSHistory_FileDNO2”) |
DEALING WITH LARGE ERROR FACTORS:
Once more it is repeated that -- unlike others who extract their data as per their pre-arranged agendas. We instead have chosen to follow where the facts (of-and-by-themselves) lead. As such we have spared no effort to maintain a distance between our own agenda and the methodology used in extracting our data. --- HOWEVER, with that said, it must also be noted that due to the shear volume of data involved (27,000 prisoners, equals approximately 270,000 lines of data code), mistakes are obviously going to exist. Thus, to error on the side of caution, the reader should assume a very large error factor; --- Maybe as high as +/-15%.
Why So Much? The problem again is the shear volume of data that must be sorted through. Due to this volume, we have been forced to resort to “Keyword Searches” for many of our statistical extraction, which in turn creates a situation that is very prone to error.
For instance (referencing Sec. 4.3.1), the Okla., court/prison system here does not seem to agree on the exact spelling for the word, “MARIHUANA”. Thus making normally “Keyword Searches” a bit hard to do. HOWEVER, we have found that by simply using the search term, “MAR” that we have located well over 80% of the required data files. BUT, there are problems,
- Example: Some guy is in jail for NOT entering into MARriage, with his girl friend. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but at least on paper that’s the way it reads.
- Example: A U.S. MARshall arrested someone for . . . etc.
- Example: Someone historically arrested for Marihuana (some thirty years ago) long ago was released from prison for that offense and is now doing prison time for a totally unrelated offence.
DATE CODES DECRYPTION:
Another major problem faced by the authors of this report has been in simply trying to make sense of the cryptic (and in many cases missing) Date Codes presently in use throughout the entire legal system. When was a prisoner convicted, when was she released for the alleged crimes? One would thus think it’s a simple matter to see who is currently (as opposed to historically) doing time for a Marihuana related offense. But the reality is anything else but.
Example: An individual can be arrested for Crimes, A,B,C,D. . . tried and convicted for crimes A, B (which included possession of Marihuana) on one date and then (a year later) tried again for crimes C, D. Thus making it hard to know if a prisoner was out on bail at the time of the second group of offenses or in prison serving a sentence and awaiting the next trial. -- thus (due to the cryptic nature of Date Codes), in many cases, we don’t exactly know if a prisoner is or is not doing jail time for Marihuana.
PERSONAL JUDGEMENT CALL ERRORS:
But probably the greatest cause of error is, what we here can only term, the 'personal judgement factor.' Try as we might to create hard and fast rules that define exactly what is, or is not a Marihuana Prisoner (discussed elsewhere in this report), still at the end of the day, some bit of personal judgement must come into play. And that alone (given the fact that the authors of this report of and by themselves have a personal agenda), is enough to introduce quite a bit of error into our statistics. Let’s take a look at the following examples:
- Example: An individual is under incarceration for a DUI & possession of Marihuana. [ In such a case if NO mention of alcohol is made, it must be assumed that the DUI was for Marihuana ]
- Example: Yet another prisoner also arrested for a DUI & possession of Marihuana. [ But in this case, this prisoner has a long history of alcohol abuse, thus we must assume in this case that the DUI itself was an alcohol related charge ]
In any case, please be aware that even though we are dealing with actual physical head counts, STILL, there is much, MUCH ROOM FOR ERRORS to have been made. But with that said, the following is our statistical totals and this report does stand by them.
4.3.4 --- THE TOTAL (ACTUAL HEAD COUNTS) FINDINGS:
| TOTAL HEAD COUNT | = 26,642 |
|---|---|
| CDS (Included) PRISONERS |
= (5,083 + 2,514 + 2,065 + 2,390) = 12, 052
(Excluding Alcohol, tobacco, etc.) = 45.24% of the total prison population |
| UNKNOWN CDS |
= (906 + 2,102 + 924 + 2,566) = 6,498 = 24.39% of the total prison population |
| KNOWN CDS DRUGS | = (12,052 - 6,498) = 5,554 offenders |
| MARIHUANA PRISONERS |
= (745 + 444 + 342 + 303) = 1,834 = 6.89% of the total prison population |
| MARIHUANA RELATED ONLY |
= (250 + 171 + 130 + 81) = 632 = 2.37% of the total prison population = 34.4% of the all Mj Prisoners |
| CDS PRISONER HISTORY |
= (5,038 + 3,005 + 2,654 + 2,317) = 13,014 = 48.85% of the total prison population |
As stated previously, it is our presumption that the ‘Department of Corrections’ is deliberately maintaining the prison database files, in such a way so as to deceive and create confusion. However, be that as it may, still there are some kernels of truth that can be gleaned from their provided data-files. The following are our findings:
- As of Feb 24, 2014, there were approximately 26,642 prisoners under incarceration within the Oklahoma State Prison system. This figure DOES include some “Non Actual Prisoners”; --- such as Escapees, Prisoners serving Out-Of-State sentences, etc., but in general it can be viewed as accurate. This figure also corresponds to that issued out by the Dept. of Corrections within their annual reports.
- That of this number, approximately 12, 052 of these prisoners are under incarceration (solely or in part) for CDS (Controlled Dangerous Drug) offenses. *
- Thus (as a percentage total prison population), it can thus be stated that approximately 45.24% of them are presently being incarcerated (solely or in part) for Drug War offenses.
- HOWEVER, of this “C.D.S.” figure (of 12, 052), only 5,554 (by physical head count) of them have identifying drugs associated with their prison records. That is to say that we have a pretty good idea as to what specific drug they are being incarcerated for. * *
- THUS approximately 6,498 of these prisoners are doing time for “CDS” substances UNKNOWN. That is to say that while these prisoners are doing time for Drug law offences, the actual paper work makes no mention of EXACTLY what the substance in question was?
- As a percentage of the total prison population, it can thus be stated that approximately 24.39% of Oklahoma’s total prison population are presently being incarcerated for unknown Drug-War Offenses. --- Translation WE DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT DRUG(s) they are being held in jail for?
* While every reasonable effort to eliminate Alcohol and Tobacco (which while classified by our prison authorities as CDS’s) are not considered by most of us, nor by this white paper as such. Still (due to the incompleteness of the data provided), it is highly likely that the above figure DOES CONTAIN some such offenders. THUS it must be noted that the above percentages are (in all likelihood) higher-end figures. Which is why (in this report calculations) we have aimed to install some sort of downward adjustments.
* * This includes using Keyword searches for words such as “Manufacture”, which nine times out of ten can only mean “Meth”; or “Cultivation”, which can only mean Medical Marihuana, etc.
WITH REGARDS TO MARIHUANA:
FROM THE LISTING OF THOSE WITH IDENTIFIABLE DRUG OFFENSES, we have been able to ascertain (by physical head count) that:
- Approximately 632 (2.37% of the total state prison population) is presently being incarcerated SOLELY MARIHUANA LAW VIOLATIONS. That is to say, if Marihuana (of and by itself) were NOT a crime then the other offenses would also NOT have been crimes.
- Approximately 1,834 (of the state prison population) are presently being incarcerated for Marihuana (as one of multiple offenses).
- Thus a total of 6.89% (of the state prison population) prisoners have been identified as presently being held (at least in part) for Marihuana related offenses.
4.3.4.1 - DWELLING MORE ON THE UNKNOWN CDS STATISTICS:
In a nutshell; -- According to our head counts, Oklahoma prison system has a total of 12,052 prisoners (45.25% of the total) doing time for Drug War related offenses. A figure that can be subdivided into two parts:
- Those for whom the specific drug(s) are listed on the prison records and thus known; A figure equal to 5,554 offenders.
- Those for whom the specific drug(s) are NOT listed on the prison records and are thus unknown; A figure equal to 6,498 offenders.
Thus the reasoning why we should and must adjust the figure upwards to encompass all CDS prisoners. Which doing a little simple math equates to:
MATH : 1,834 (known Mj prisoners) / 5,554 (known CDS offenders) = 33%
Therefore circumstances dictates that if we take ALL cds prisoners into account, that 33% of them must be there (in one way or another) for Marihuana related crime. A figure equal to:
However, this figure might be a bit on the low side as well as misleading. Let’s look at the “Unknown CDS” figures for Cleveland County Ok., which accounts for 220 of those “Unknown cds” prison files. Via the website:
http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/casesearch.asp
We were able to locate many of the actual court records, NOT what was put down and sent to the Dept. of Corrections, but the actual files themselves. Our findings are as follows:
- 16 prisoners: -- Were sentenced to state prison SOLELY for Marihuana or Marihuana related crimes that (if Marihuana were not illegal, would of and by themselves NOT have been illegal either).
- 56 additional prisoners: -- In addition to the above figure (of 16), these prisoners were also sentenced for Marihuana related crimes. But only as one of the crimes committed.
- 125 prisoners: -- Were indeed sent to prisons for CDS crimes, but no mention of Marihuana was made in the court records. Some DUI alcohol cases included here.
- 7 prisoners: -- Despite our search remained “CDS prisoners.” As we could not find their complete records.
- 16 prisoners: -- Had been wrongly classified as “Unknown CDS” cases. This was due to historical arrest records, for cases long, long in the past.
(16 + 56) / 220 = 33%
Which kind of tabulates exactly as before.
33% x 12, 052 (total cds prison population) = 3,980 (Marihuana prisoners)
However, elsewhere, we state that of the total of Marihuana prisoners, that between 1/3 to 2/5 of them are their SOLELY for the Marihuana. In this (one) case that figure drops to less than 1/4??
4.3.5 --- ANALYZING THE TABULATED FINDINGS:
As has been noted, due to the (either deliberate or accidental caused) lack of statistical information; We also have been forced to limit our statistical findings. HOWEVER, what findings (via the head counts) we have been able to come to, pretty much correspond to those that we were expecting (as per sec. 3.2), and as we shall see, these statistics (while partial) can be put to great use while unitizing the Hybrid methodology (next section).
FOOTNOTES:
[11]- See Department of Transportation studies, DOT-HS-808-078 and DOT-HS-808-065, which clearly bring the issue of Marihuana and driving safety to a close.
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