OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- 3/10/20 -- Rejeania Strayhorne has lunch with her pastor, Lee Walker, of Rogers Street Church of Christ in El Reno, OK. Rogers runs a prison ministry at the church and Rejeania credits her pastor with keeping her on track during her reentry.
Rejeania (cq) Strayhorne was paroled last August after serving 17 years of a 30 year sentence for trafficking. She was in the home of a dealer at the time of the raid and was arrested along with him, but she says she was an addict not a dealer. Now she earns $15/hour collecting signatures for SQ 805, a ballot initiative that will reduce sentencing enhancements that have made Oklahoma prison terms among the longest in the nation.
Oklahoma incarcerates more people per capita than any other state, and incarcerates women at a rate that ranks second globally. However, bipartisan efforts at criminal justice reform have been making inroads and the state’s progress at decarceration is among the nation’s fastest.…by André Chung #_AC18407