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While some voters admire the "spirit" fo Oklahoma State Question 805, twenty-six of 27 District Attorneys in Oklahoma are giving it a resounding "no."

 

Appearing on COMMUNITY CONNECTION on Friday, District Attorney Kevin Buchanan says a "yes" vote makes it a constitutional amendment whereby taking it out of the hands of the legislators to improve the measure.  

 

State Question 805 applies to individuals that are convicted of non-violent felonies. Under Oklahoma state law, a felony offense is a crime where punishment includes imprisonment in the state penitentiary or death. 

 

The measure does not apply to those who have ever been convicted of a violent felony. State Question 805 would prohibit a person's former non-violent felony convictions from being used to enhance the person's sentence. In other words, the measure would not allow a convicted person's sentence to be made longer or harsher due to past felony convictions.

 

The measure would provide for sentence modifications for eligible individuals that are serving or are set to serve sentences that were enhanced due to past felony convictions.  A court could modify a person's sentence to be no greater than the current maximum sentence that would be imposed on a convicted person that had no former felony convictions.

 

Buchanan argues that the list of violent crime felonies are those as of January 1, 2020. Since then, other crimes have been elevated to violent crime felonies and those crimes would not be included in this measure. He adds that a "yes" vote would not allow for the inclusion of these changes.

 

 

Buchanan also talked about how COVID-19 has affected the District Attorney's office. Buchanan his office funding has cut to 2009 levels, which also means his office is down 4 employees--two of which have been replaced by part time employees-- and there is no funding to hire an investigator.