Oklahoma Has Largest Single-Day Commutation in U.S. History

Oklahoma, the state with the highest incarceration rate in the country, completed the largest single-day sentence commutation in U.S. history. On Monday, more than 450 people serving time for low-level drug and nonviolent offenses were released from prison. They were all serving time for crimes that now, after a new law took effect last week, would no longer be classified as felonies and instead be misdemeanors. State lawmakers asked the Pardon and Parole Board to do a mass commutation for people whose crimes were reclassified. Steven Bickley, executive director of the Pardon and Parole Board, said that nonprofits have been visiting the prison for reentry fairs to let those about to be released know about services to help them transition. "It was a moving experience to watch the emotion on the faces of the inmates as nonprofit after nonprofit stood up to explain how they were there to help with housing, counseling, employment, transportation," Bickley said. Board Chairman Robert Gilliland said that those released will likely be better prepared for reentry because of these efforts. "We hope and pray they will be great examples of the fruit of criminal justice reform in our state," Gilliland said. The commutations total 1,931 years of sentences, and state officials estimate that releasing the individuals will save the state around $12 million. That will drop Oklahoma from the state with the highest incarceration rate to the second highest. State House Majority Leader Jon Echols, a Republican who authored the commutation legislation, said that the state still has work to do. "These are real lives, real people, with real families and with real friends, and they get to go home. We do not have the second-scariest people on planet Earth. What we have to do is build on this momentum,” he said. [Oklahoman; Washington Post]

BLUE LIVES MATTER | A county executive in Montgomery County, Maryland ordered a local police department not to display an American flag with a blue line in the middle, a symbol for the Blue Lives Matter movement. White supremacists at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia displayed the flag alongside the Confederate flag, a move condemned by some Blue Lives Matter members. But many Black Lives Matter advocates say that the Blue Lives Matter flag has become a symbol of racism. Marc Elrich, the Democratic executive of Montgomery County, said the flag was too divisive for display. “The flag provides a symbol of support to some but it is a symbol of dismissiveness to others … Under my administration, we are committed to improving police relations with the community and will immediately address any action that stands against our mission,” he said. The handmade wooden flag was donated to the police station by a resident and his son. Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said that the ban on the flag was offensive. "To outlaw these American flags from being hung in county buildings by law enforcement officers is outrageous and unconscionable. I strongly call on Mr. Elrich to immediately reverse this terrible decision and to apologize to the police and the citizens of Montgomery County," he said. [NBC News; WJLA] 

FOIE GRAS BAN | The New York City Council banned the sale of foie gras at restaurants and grocery stores in the city by 2022, making it the second jurisdiction to ban the food, along with California. Animal rights activists brought the issue before the council, citing cruelty concerns because the ducks and geese raised for foie gras must be force fed to engorge their livers to 10 times the normal size. Carlina Rivera, the councilmember who sponsored the legislation said that the process is the most inhumane in the entire food industry. “This is one of the most violent practices and it’s done for a purely luxury product,” she said. Marco Moreira, executive chef and owner of Tocqueville, a french restaurant in the city, criticized the ban. “New York is the mecca of dining in the world. How is it possible that New York doesn’t have foie gras? What’s next? No more veal? No more mushrooms?” he said. Several countries have banned foie gras, as well as Whole Foods and Postmates. Selling foie gras in New York City will come with a $2,000 penalty once the ban goes into effect. [New York Times; Town and Country Magazine]

WILDFIRES | President Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend argued on Twitter about the wildfires that have plagued the state for the past few weeks. Trump said that Newsom has done a terrible job with forest management and threatened to cut off federal aid to the states. “I told him from the first day we met that he must 'clean' his forest floors regardless of what his bosses, the environmentalists, DEMAND of him … Every year, as the fire's [SIC] rage & California burns, it is the same thing-and then he comes to the Federal Government for $$$ help. No more,” he tweeted. Newsom tweeted back that Trump doesn’t believe in climate change and is therefore “excused from this conversation." Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson said that Trump displayed a misunderstanding of what caused the fires in California, because they are not traditional forest fires. “Certainly, these are not by and large forest fires and Governor Newsom correctly explained that actually, you need to look at climate change to understand why we have this uptick in fires,” she said. [CBS News]

MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENT | Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp released a plan this week to expand Medicaid in the state while implementing work requirements on able-bodied adults. Under the plan, Georgians who make $12,500 or less will qualify for Medicaid if they work, volunteer, attend school, or get job training for at least 80 hours per month. Medicaid recipients would still have to pay a monthly premium. Kemp said that the plan honors the state’s values of hard work and personal responsibility. At the moment, Georgia is one of 14 states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. “This is not a free handout. Hardworking Georgians who qualify will have skin in the game. It is a path forward toward higher earnings, better opportunities and healthier behaviors,” he said. Nearly 20 states are trying to implement work requirements under Medicaid expansion plans now, but few have succeeded. Federal judges blocked or stalled work requirements in Arkansas, New Hampshire, Kentucky, arguing that the requirements were “arbitrary and capricious,” and undermined Medicaid’s mission. Arizona and Indiana voluntarily stepped back from their plans to introduce work requirements. [Associated Press; Atlanta Journal-Constitution]