74. Robyn Allen: Oklahoma's Pain to Prison Pipeline

This week, we continue to take a look at crime in Oklahoma. Rachel tells the story of Robyn Allen, who was profiled in the article, “Why Oklahoma has the highest female incarceration rate in the country”, by Allison Herrera. Robyn worked as a cleaner at a hotel when she threw her back out moving a large TV. Robyn was prescribed pain medication and soon found herself addicted. When her prescription ran out, Robyn started smoking meth and dealing drugs in order to pay for her addiction. She was the sole bread winner for the five adults and child living in her home when she was arrested. Robyn knew she needed to make a change and begged the judge to get her connected with treatment, instead she got 20 years in prison. Listen now as we explore the intricacies of this case and discuss the high rate of women incarcerated in Oklahoma. Rachel’s Sources: https://tulsaworld.com/news/gov-mary-fallin-outlines-the-costs-of-oklahomas-high-female-incarceration-rate/article_158bec7d-fe7d-5bce-8238-23cdfebfb131.htmlhttps://theworld.org/stories/2017-10-03/why-oklahomas-female-incarceration-rate-so-highhttps://www.readfrontier.org/stories/sentence-commuted-for-oklahoma-woman-featured-in-reporting-on-female-incarceration-rates/https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/incarcerated-women-and-girls/https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/oklahoma-slips-to-47th-in-nation-on-annual-educational-quality-ranking/article_0053bd86-0819-5cab-8eda-2edcfbff0594.html