After taking a tour of the county jail, newly elected Oklahoma County Commissioner Jason Lowe and a group of spiritual leaders from Northeast Oklahoma City met outside the facility to share their impressions.
Lee E. Cooper, Jr., the Senior Pastor at Prospect Church, thanked Lowe for the opportunity to see, firsthand, what needs to be improved — insights he and the other pastors say they plan to share with their congregations.
"We hear horror stories, and I would say to those who are hearing us today, most of those are true," Cooper said.
Cooper said conditions inside the jail are "inhumane," describing blood on the walls of the showers and food trays that sit out, uncleaned. He said he was most surprised to see how much the jail has deteriorated over time.
The facility's doors opened just over 33 years ago, in 1991.
"You hear stories, but then to actually be there," Cooper said, "see it with your own eyes, is really changing."
District One Commissioner Lowe said, while in office, he wants to help shorten processing times for people arrested and brought to the jail.
"When you're charged with a misdemeanor case, when you get arrested at four o'clock, [you should not] spend the night at the Oklahoma County jail," Lowe said. "You should be processed out immediately."
He said criminal justice reform has been part of his life's work, making efforts to improve the jail "priority number one."
During Wednesday's tour, it was clear the jail is also overbooked and understaffed, according to Derrick E. Walter Sr. of Fairview Missionary Baptist Church.
"To see some of the situations that they're in, the overcrowding, 30 or 40 people in one cell or pod," Walter said. "We're here to help hold, whoever's responsible, hold their feet to the fire to make sure that things are done right."
Derrick Scobey, a member of the Oklahoma County jail trust and pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, said, in the end, upgrading the county's criminal system will come down to money.
"We cannot be so short-sighted to think that the Oklahoma County Detention Center is just horrible, just 'because,'" Scobey said. "Part of that is because there's not enough money."
He said the only way to make up what's needed is through a county-wide tax.
"The residents of Oklahoma County, whether they're homeowners, whether they're renters or whatever the situation is, they need to understand that at some point we're going to have to put up for a vote a half-cent [or] penny sales tax," Scobey said. "That is the only way that we can get more money."
Scobey also pointed to racial disparities in the jail population as a driving reason why community involvement and the participation of local Black leaders is important.
"43% of the detainees in Oklahoma County jail… they look like us," Scobey said. "The majority of the people who are housed here, they're African American."
Scobey said the congregation leaders' presence reflects an urgency to address not only the physical conditions of the jail, but the systemic inequities that disproportionately impact their communities.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
