Pardon and Parole Executive Director Steven Bickley said the 14 names will be considered at a May 13 meeting and were offered at the request of Department of Corrections Director Scott Crow.
Infectious disease experts say that reopening even in a tiered approach brings the risk of a resurgence of COVID-19 infections and though the state is seeing a slow but steady downward trend in new cases and hospitalizations, the state must remain diligent.
“Obviously, if somebody turns down employment, then what will happen is, if the company chooses to call OESC (the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission) and let them know, then that individual’s unemployment benefits will stop,” Secretary of Commerce and Workforce Development Sean Kouplen said.
Oklahoma City and Tulsa will fall in line with Gov. Kevin Stitt’s reopening plan, though it appears they’re following along with some reluctance.
The ordinance infringes on the residents’ First Amendment right to assembly, the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection and due process clauses, the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, as well as state laws and constitutional protections, the lawsuit alleges.
Eight nurses are the overwhelming majority of employees who remain at Haskell County Community Hospital. The future of the 25-bed hospital, which has been whittled down to operating only an emergency room since 2019, is increasingly grim.
Some Democrats think it’s too soon to ease restrictions, while many Republicans have increasingly pushed for the governor and his task force to start making moves to reopen the state’s economy. Meanwhile, some medical groups were critical of the plan.
Oklahoma was one of several states asked to turn over lethal injection drugs to hospitals to help with COVID-19 surges. But the state doesn’t actually have any of the drugs.
