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News Roundup

The major national criminal law news story of the week comes from Oklahoma where on Monday more than 400 inmates had their sentences commuted and were released from prison.  It was the largest mass commutation in U.S. history.  As USA Today explains, Oklahoma made changes to its criminal law in 2016 that lowered the classification of certain offenses from felonies to misdemeanors and correspondingly reduced the punishment for those offenses.  Earlier this year, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed a law that gave those changes retroactive effect, leading to Monday’s release.  The USA Today piece says that the state expects to save $12 million by releasing the low-level offenders.  Keep reading for more news.

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