The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — A deadly shooting spree in 1996 by a drug convict who was released from prison early started Oklahoma lawmakers on the road to longer prison sentences and eliminating laws allowing early releases.
Lamonte Fields was released August 1st, 1996, under the so-called “cap” law which allowed inmates to be released 60 days early if the prison system was at 95% capacity for 15 days. Five days later Fields killed his ex-girlfriend and her parents and wounded his 2.5-year-old son before being shot and killed by police.
The incident led then-Governor Frank Keating to condemn the cap law.
In 1997 lawmakers eliminated the law and passed one requiring those convicted of violent crimes such as murder and first-degree rape to serve at least 85% of their sentence before being eligible for parole.
Now analysts say the repeal of the cap law and the new laws are part of the reason for overcrowding in the state’s prisons. And statistics also show a large majority of people being sent to prison are being convicted of non-violent crimes related to drug or alcohol abuse.