Oklahoma Has A New Jail Standards Law
A new state law mandates yearly inspections and minimum safety standards for county detention centers.
The law also allows jails to request a waiver from health department visits.
The law, known as the “Jail Standards Act,” was one of the first signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt this year.
It goes into effect immediately.
The law says all detention centers must meet minimum health and safety requirements and are subject to an annual inspection by the Department of Health.
But that’s not entirely new - Oklahoma has been conducting yearly jail inspections since the 1970s.
What is new is jails can now request a temporary waiver to delay or avoid a visit.
Counties, cities or public trusts running the jails can ask for a waiver in cases of hardship like a natural disaster or other emergencies.
And while the law gives examples, it doesn’t limit the reasons a waiver could be granted.
In 2024, state inspectors ruled 51 of the 65 county jails they visited were “not in substantial compliance” with the security, health care, sanitary and living conditions requirements laid out in state law.
Criminal Experts Partner With Law Enforcement To Find Killer In 2016 Case
Specialized criminal investigators are taking another look at the 2016 death of a Choctaw mother.
Emily Morgan was 23 when she and her best friend were shot to death in McAlester.
The investigation lost momentum after police could not identify the killer.
Kim Merryman, Morgan’s mother, has been discouraged by the lack of public attention to the case.
“I was extraordinarily happy [that] Gabby Petito’s family got the help they had, but for mothers like me, it was infuriating, because the whole nation came together for this blonde-headed, blue-eyed beauty. And I’ve had to fight the public ever since my daughter was killed,” Merryman said.
Now, Morgan’s case is garnering interest from the Missing and Murdered Unit of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Vidocq Society, an elite group of criminal investigators.
Morgan’s case is the first Native American case to be presented to the Vidocq Society, an invite-only investigative organization.
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Oklahoma Religious School Case
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Oklahoma Charter School Board v. Drummond, which will decide if Oklahoma can establish the nation’s first publicly funded religious school.
The main issue in the case is whether charter schools are public schools.
If they are public schools, State Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s side says they are subject to laws that prevent them from receiving public money to teach religion as truth.
The other side represents the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School and the charter school board that approved its contract. It says charter schools act as private government contractors, giving them a right to the Free Exercise of Religion.
"Our cases have made very clear — and I think those are some of the most important cases we’ve had, of saying you can’t treat religious people and religious institutions and religious speech as second class in the United States," said Justice Brett Kavanaugh. "And when you have a program that’s open to all comers, except religion — 'No, we can’t do that, we can do everything else,' — that seems like ranked discrimination against religion, and that’s the concern that I think you need to deal with here."
Because Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case, the decision will likely hinge on the opinion of Chief Justice John Roberts.
If the court delivers a 4-4 decision this summer, the previous ruling from the Oklahoma Supreme Court will stand, which declared St. Isidore’s contract with the state to be unconstitutional.
April Rainfall Sets Record In Oklahoma City
Meteorologists say Oklahoma City received more than a foot of rain in April setting a new record as wettest April.
By Wednesday afternoon, the climate station at Will Rogers International Airport had received 12.55 inches of rain, beating the city’s 1947 record of just under one foot.
It’s one of the National Weather Service in Norman’s three climate sites — the measurement stations at Lawton and Wichita Falls also broke April rainfall records this year.
A series of storm systems brought above-average rainfall and flooding issues across most of the state.
It’s been a period of weather extremes for Oklahoma, after 2024 saw the state break records for driest October, wettest November, hottest year and most tornadoes.
At least eight people have died in April as a result of flooding on Oklahoma roadways.
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