Seems Like Something Big Is Happening Next Tuesday

Did you know there is an election next week?

For those of you who read my articles on Nondoc, you probably are aware that the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s special election is being held next Tuesday. If you don’t live in Oklahoma County, I can understand why you might not feel this is your election, but it still should have some relevance everywhere.

The thing is, Oklahoma County has had some problems lately when it comes to its sheriff. And this isn’t just one of those sheriff problems they imagined they were experiencing in Rock Ridge (yes, that is a lame “Blazing Saddles” reference). Outgoing John Whetsel left the office with a lot of problems – not the least of which involved millions of dollars in missing equipment that was discovered missing during a state audit.

That is a problem. But what continues to be a bigger problem for the sheriff’s office is the lack of concern for the problem of prisoners dying in the dilapidated county jail. Whether it is the conditions or a lack of oversight, something is amiss when it comes to the county jail problems. An extraordinary number of people are dying and that is something that should get everyone’s attention.

For some of you, I’m sure you are thinking these are people who have committed a crime and you aren’t all that worried about them. But we have laws and a centuries-old history of court rulings that attempt to override this low-level way of thinking and try to provide civility to everyone. Inmates have as much right to live while they are incarcerated as the rest of us. Plus, many of those who are in the county jail are still presumed innocent while awaiting charges to be filed, or they may be there as part of an appeal being filed for a wrongful conviction.

Having been at the Nondoc-presented debate, one thing was clear – there wasn’t a clear-cut level of concern among the two current Oklahoma County Sheriff’s office employees regarding the issue of county jail deaths. Considering those are the GOP and Democratic candidates, that isn’t reassuring. The Independent (yes, I expect you to do some research before you go cast your vote) was more to the point when it came to talking about the problem. He claimed that it was important to treat inmates as people and not animals.

The candidates were equally as bland when it came to the question about the Black Lives Matter movement as they seemed somewhat surprised and slightly dismissal about it. The always tiring “All Lives Matter” response seemed to dictate the response and it was countered with resounding angst from the bulk of the audience.

I’m not going to try to tell you who you should vote for, but I do think you should know what you are voting for. And if the county jail and how we expect the sheriff’s office to treat individuals aren’t important to you, then I would like to ask for you to re-examine your mindset. Whatever your reasons are or what your background is, I can’t imagine that mistreatment of people is something that is considered acceptable.

So, go vote on Tuesday, Sept. 12^th, and help us make a difference in how things are done in Oklahoma County. And for those outside the county, just know that many eyes are watching because these types of problems don’t tend to happen in just one place.