Representative Justin Humphrey

R

District 19

Hi, I'm Justin Humphrey and I represent the people of Oklahoma's 19th District.


representative

News & Announcements

Apr 17, 2024
Recent Posts

Humphrey Comments on Latest Lawsuit against DOC

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, today issued the following statements regarding a lawsuit recently filed against the Department of Corrections alleging gross negligence and inhumane treatment of inmates in DOC custody. On April 9, attorneys Richard Labarthe and Alexey Tarasov filed a lawsuit in Oklahoma County District Court on behalf of seven plaintiffs against the DOC, Corrections Director Steven Harpe, and several unnamed employees, supervisors or administrators at the Great Plains Correction Center in Hinton. The lawsuit alleges inmates were locked in 3'x3' or 2'x2' shower stalls and forced to remain in these stalls for days at a time, stripped of essentials, while the cells were filled with human feces. The lawsuit also claims inmates were held with inadequate food, water and other provisions such as a mattress, blankets and clothing. "This lawsuit is largely the result of the work done by the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee, which I chair," Humphrey said. "I've been assisted by Oklahoma Correctional Professionals (OCP) who have been exposing inexcusable human rights violations including the horrific shower incidents, reports of rapes being covered up, murders, assaults, extortion and many other serious human rights violations. It is believed that this lawsuit could be only one of many to come." Humphrey believes Oklahoma could be on the hook for millions of dollars with this and other lawsuits against the department. In August, nine former DOC employees took action against the department alleging wrongful termination. Humphrey said he anticipates more lawsuits from executives making the same claims. "The House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee has held hearings providing massive evidence of the horrendous human rights violations and the appalling treatment of employees," Humphrey said. "The committee has called for investigations and requested subpoenas but have been largely ignored. Recently, employees, inmates and family members have bravely stepped forward to verify these reports. This lawsuit is certainly one more component in proving the accusations are more substantial than previously reported." Humphrey said he will continue to sound the alarm that Oklahoma is facing a corrections disaster. "The Oklahoma Department of Corrections could be close to returning back under federal control or facing the horror of a prison riot," he said. "This latest lawsuit should be a wakeup call to the governor, the state's attorney general and other legislators to take immediate action."

Apr 15, 2024
Recent Posts

Humphrey Defends No vote on Turnpike Vehicle Registration Information Sharing

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, today issued the following statements regarding Gov. Stitt's public criticism of his vote against a bill that would authorize the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety to provide the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) vehicle registration information. Senate Bill 1907 would allow the sharing of information that is available through the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunication Systems (OLETS) network. Stitt, in a Friday press conference, criticized the six House members who voted no on the measure in the House Public Safety Committee causing the bill to fail. The governor has accused the Cherokee Nation of owing the state $4.7 million for Cherokee tag information that cannot be accessed by the OTA's tag readers.  "It is no secret Governor Stitt has numerous disputes with Oklahoma tribes, and I was certainly not stunned by his position on this bill," Humphrey said, "But his personal aggression did come as a total surprise since neither he nor anyone from his office contacted me concerning my vote." Humphrey explained the bill sought to allow the state to use OLETS to collect tribal tag information for the purpose of collecting unpaid turnpike toll fees. He said the governor is making it sound as if the vote all about tribes, but the tribal element is only one factor of the bill. "For me there is a much larger component, which is that OLETS shouldn't be used for anything other than law enforcement," Humphrey said. "This bill seeks to commandeer OLETS for the purpose of toll fee collection. I truly believe this would compromise the integrity of our law enforcement by releasing confidential information designated solely for their purposes." Humphrey said this could result in legal issues which could prevent Oklahoma from receiving information from federal agencies or other state agencies. "I love Governor Stitt and the great people at the Turnpike Authority, but I will not apologize for protecting the integrity of law enforcement and for trying to work with our Tribal nations," Humphrey said. He said it also is his understanding that the OTA knew when they installed the digital tag readers it would result in a significant loss of income to the state turnpikes. "I feel the Turnpike Authority has pursued several questionable practices to recover their loss," he said. "Hijacking OLETS is only one method the authority has employed. Another is to prevent a person from purchasing a tag unless all their turnpike fees are paid. I feel strongly it is wrong to coerce someone to pay or force them to violate another state law – driving with an out-of-date tag." Humphrey said such enforcement denies any type of probable cause hearing to determine that a fee was unpaid. Finally, Humphrey said there is an issue with collecting tolls from some Oklahoma tribes. "Let me state clearly, I believe tribal and non-tribal citizens should pay equally for turnpike use," Humphrey said. "I have visited with many tribal members, and I have not talked to one tribal citizen who disagreed. In fact, the Choctaw Nation, which has its capital in my district, has already reached an agreement and continues to provide their information. Therefore, the issue reverts to the issue of tribal compacts for our other tribal nations." Humphrey volunteered his services to broker compact agreements. "If an agreement cannot be reached, I could certainly devote my time to developing a more suitable plan for obtaining tribal tag information," he said. He also pledged to help the governor recover the $4 million in lost revenue, saying he would start by looking at inefficiencies in other areas of government. Senate Bill 1907, which received a 2-6 vote, failed in the House Public Safety Committee on April 9. 

Apr 11, 2024
Recent Posts

Humphrey Repeats Request for AG to Investigate Probation Funds

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, this week sent a second letter to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond requesting an investigation into Oklahoma district attorney’s collection of probation supervision fees.  Humphrey said he’s delivered a thorough report to the AG’s office alleging the fees are being collected illegally and that supervision fees are being concealed. “This is an elaborate conspiracy that is equivalent to a money laundering scheme and a fraud on the State of Oklahoma,” Humphrey said. “This allows the DAs to ignore an appellate court order that the fees they collect must be used for the ‘actual act of supervision.’” Humphrey said legislation gave DAs authority to conduct DA supervision and to collect a $40 supervision fee, but the fee must be solely used to fund supervision, and that the DAs must do the actual supervising. He alleges the DAs are collecting fees to fund their agency without providing the required supervision of Oklahomans on probation.  The AG rebuffed Humphrey’s previous claim, so Humphrey has again sent a letter and further evidence to the AG to support his claims.  “I am certain a proper investigation of DA supervision will reveal it is inconceivable that thousands of offenders would actually be supervised by the limited number of staff assigned to DA supervision,” he said.  He also asks the DAs to define “actual supervision” and to point to a line-item budget figure that shows their actual supervision funding.  View the full letter is here: AG_Drummond_Letter_33f9c50d55.pdf (dgbf0g52sf9l0.cloudfront.net)