OKLAHOMA SENATOR JOHNSON'S FIGHT TO END LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR DRUG
OFFENDERS

Oklahoma State Senator Connie Johnson thinks Larry Yarbrough should be
free. Larry, a model prisoner, is in his 17th year of a
life-without-parole sentence for a nonviolent drug crime. On August
17, Sen. Johnson will speak on behalf of Yarbrough at an Oklahoma
Pardon and Parole Board hearing that will be considering commuting
Larry Yarbrough's drug trafficking sentencing. In 2002 the Board
unanimously commuted his sentence, but former governor Frank Keating
overturned that decision and denied Larry his freedom.

If the board agrees with Senator Johnson, the new Oklahoma Governor
Mary Fallin will have the opportunity to commute Yarbrough's life
sentence for his non-violent drug offense.

According to Sen. Johnson, Yarbrough's case is an excellent example of
disproportionate and unfair sentencing. Compared to sentences received
by others for similar amounts of the same drugs (an ounce of powder
cocaine and three marijuana cigarettes), Larry's life without parole
(LWOP) sentence is clearly excessive. He has been incarcerated for 17
years, more than sufficient for what he actually did--and far longer
than what many serve for the exact same offense.

The Oklahoma Legislature's original intent in enacting LWOP was to
create an alternative between life imprisonment and the death sentence
in capital cases. However, unlike death penalty cases where in order
to impose such a sentence the jury is required to find aggravating
circumstances, a jury recommending LWOP needs no reason whatsoever.
This fact guarantees disproportionate and inherently unfair
sentencing. At this time 44 people are serving life without parole
sentences in Oklahoma for average drug crimes.

LWOP sentences for drug crimes have not resulted in decreased drug
trafficking. Instead, they have committed Oklahoma taxpayers to paying
$23,000 per year, per person (at present rates) to lock up a growing
number of people for life. Taxpayers also are committed to covering
prisoners' medical expenses (expected to triple) as they age, get
sick, and die.

The best readily available remedy to rectify such inherently unwise
and unfair sentencing is for the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to
review LWOP sentences on a case-by-case basis and to recommend
commutation of these sentences as they deem appropriate. Case-by-case
reviews build in safeguards. There will be those whose sentences -
either because of the nature of the crimes they committed or because
of their behavior in prison - will not be commuted. Handling these
cases through the Pardon and Parole Board instead of the Legislature
is the more cautious alternative.

The power to commute any sentence--be it the death penalty or
imprisonment--is at the very heart of the governor's
Constitutionally-granted clemency power. The Constitution also grants
authority to the Pardon and Parole Board to review sentences and to
consider recommending clemency to the governor. Reviewing LWOP
sentences is part of that job. Recommending commutation of some of
those sentences, including life without parole, is the most fair and
reasonable way to address the unfairness in sentencing that presently exists.

Larry Yarbrough has never had a single write-up during his
incarceration. He has received commendations from the Department Of
Corrections and nonprofits for training guide dogs for the blind and
disabled. He and his wife Norma are still married after 41 years. They
have 5 children and 13 grandchildren, ranging in age from 9 months to
19 years. Before his incarceration, Larry and Norma owned and operated
a popular BBQ restaurant in Kingfisher where he was known for giving
back to his community. Upon his release, Larry's daughter, Lanita, and
her husband plan to open a BBQ restaurant in Pittsburgh, CA for Larry to run.

These are tough times for state governments as well as most Americans.
For these reasons, continuing to incarcerate Larry Yarbrough is very
poor stewardship of our state's limited resources.

According to Charles Savage of the New York Times in a recent article
titled "Trend to Lighten Harsh Sentences Catches On in Conservative
States," he points out that states fanned by the financial crisis, a
wave of sentencing and parole reforms is gaining force as it sweeps
across the United States, reversing a trend of "tough on crime"
policies that lasted for decades and drove the nation's incarceration
rate to the highest -- and most costly -- level in the developed
world. While liberals have long complained that harsh mandatory
minimum sentences for nonviolent offenses like drug possession are
unjust, the push to overhaul penal policies has been increasingly
embraced by elected officials in some of the most conservative states
in the country. And for a different reason: to save money.

LWOP for drug crimes is a policy we can ill afford, especially since
it has done nothing to deter drug trafficking. Hopefully, these facts
will inspire and motivate you to act, and to also get your friends to
join you in writing letters to Governor Fallin in support of Larry and
ending this injustice. Together we can demonstrate the power of the
people, step up, and help make the right thing happen.

A press conference is scheduled by Senator Johnson this Wednesday
8/17/ at 1pm at the Oklahoma State Capitol, 4th Floor Room 432B /
Broadcast Room