Oklahoma is trying to two-step their way back from the tsunami they created that ended in sex offender, Jesse Lee McFadden's wife's death along with five(5) innocent children. The state's legal system just turned their heads, sat in their offices, and now, they are trying to do damage control and no one in Oklahoma should be okay with that. No one in the United States should be okay with that. No one in the world should be okay with that.
In my opinion, the State is an accessory to murder. We don't slap murderer's on the wrists and we shouldn't do that here. This is NOT acceptable and multiple people should be held accountable not tomorrow but as of May 1, 2023. People need to be fired, and where gross negligence can be proven, some of those same people need to be indicted. So let's take a look at the evidence.
OKLAHOMA IS THE PLACE TO... NOT BE
Crime Rate: #7
Violent Crime Rate: #14
Rapes: #9
Incarceration Rate: #5
Recidivism Rate: #41 (22.6% which is 14.5% lower than the National Average of 37.1%
Cost per Inmate: $26,617
JESSE LEE MCFADDEN
Jesse Lee McFadden murdered six people; Holly McFadden (his wife), Rylee Allen (Holly's oldest daughter), Michael Mayo (Holly's 2nd child and only son), Tiffany Guess (Holly's 2nd daughter and youngest child), Brittany Brewer (Tiffany's friend), and Ivy Webster (Tiffany's best friend) before turning the gun on himself. This shouldn't have come as a surprise to the state of Oklahoma or his family and it certainly was no surprise to his first survivor (Krystle Strong) who was not even aware he had been released early and sent his second survivor (Kaitlyn Babb) into a panic. To top things off, he had contact his mom Ladonna Jean McFadden on Sunday, April 30 2023 to tell her that he couldn't go back to prison and was going to commit suicide. In a show of support and yet another coverup similar to that of his entire life, she said and did nothing. Why would she, she was an active employee for the Pittsburg County Courthouse when her son McFadden was released from prison early; the same county he was also convicted of First-Degree rape in.
Somehow while his mom is working for the Pittsburg County Courthouse, McFadden was released early as a convicted rapist and a required registered sex offender who was not placed on the Oklahoma State Sex Offender Registry here which is the responsibility of the Oklahoma Sex and Violent Offender Registration Coordinator, Nicole Delany and the Facility Head/Administrator is responsible for ensuring all paperwork and registration is complete.
then the responsibility of the local jurisdiction. However there are county registries, local registries, and third party registries in addition to a national registry here. No surprise, these sites are not consistent at all. More disturbingly, there are sex offenders whose addresses are listed as hotels and businesses. As a habitual and Level 3 Sex Offender according to Oklahoma's own laws and Sex and Violent Offender Registration Policy as he was convicted of First Degree Rape and was charged pending conviction of another sexual crime. A designation that is in addition to the registration requirements of the Violent Crime Offenders Registration Act which is for the lifetime of the offender.
Did McFadden's file contain the required:
The only thing that we have seen, is the photo you see here: Compliance Check (one since his release)
INMATE RELEASE
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections' mission is to protect the public, protect the employee, and protect the offender. They report that they meet their mission of protecting the public by maintaining offenders remanded to their custody for the duration of their confinement. All offender's in the state are eligible for "early release" except those sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.
Early release occurs when an inmate serves the minimum mandatory time required (85% for First-Degree Rape) of their sentence and have received enough "credits." Each credit an inmate earns equates to one day. Inmates are placed into credit classes based on the adjustment review committee / unit treatment team based on desired behavior from a Class 1 to Enhanced Class 4. The class levels and corresponding credits range from 0 credits per month for Class Level 1 to 60 credits per month for Enhanced Class Level 4.
Credits are earned for good behavior. Maintaining a clean area, personal hygiene, having an acceptable attitude, meeting program requirements, education, etc, all contribute towards that good behavior label. In order for an inmate to lose credits for infractions as a form of punishment, there is a determination by a review panel on the infraction. When there is an infraction, it is reviewed and a determination on the punishment is made.
This means that if an inmate is sentenced to 20 years (7,300 days), they must serve at least 85% (6,205 days) or 17 years of their sentence, regardless of credits. If an inmate receives level four credits and has no infractions, when they reach 17 years (6,205 days) served, they would have served a total of 26.8 years (9,795.4 days) with credits earned, or 9 bonus years (3,590.4 days) when adding the credits. When an inmate commits an infraction, currently, they only lose 1 year (365 days) maximum. A major infraction wouldn't impact a violent offenders early release. He would have to commit several major infractions to lose enough credits to disqualify their early release.
Between 2016 and 2021, Oklahoma released 42,000 inmates early [8]. The release of these prisoners put $1.06B back into the state by reducing cost of inmate headcount. In Governor Stitt's first year of office, to reduce the incarceration rate, he made history when he released 523 prisoners in a single day. [5]
In his first year, Governor Stitt signed off on:
Commutations: 774
Pardons: 290
Paroles: 101
In the case of death row inmates Richard Glossip, who had the Attorney General's support for a pardon, which is rare, and Julius Jones, who had the Pardon and Parole Board's support to be pardoned, both having overwhelming evidence of innocence, Glossip's pardon was not approved by Governor Stitt, and he was put to death on May 18, 2023. Jones' pardon was also not approved, and instead Governor Stitt reduced Jones sentence to, "Life in Prison Without the Possibility of Parole." So, why was it so easy for Jesse Lee McFadden to not only get out of prison early, while pending additional sex crime charges, but he was also released without controls, such as parole?
QUALITY CONTROL
Apparently, there no systematic and objective process followed in the release of violent offenders within the justice system in Oklahoma. I'm sure this is the case in other states as well. If you have a violent offender being released from prison, the following should be a best-practice standard before an inmate can even be processed for release:
1). Incarceration Record Review - A review of the inmates incarceration record should be conducted to capture any infractions that may have been missed or corrective actions not administered. If any of the infractions are violent in nature or in any way related to the offense in which they are incarcerated, the inmate should not be released and should be forced to serve their full sentence. Inmates with violent crimes, especially when of a sexual nature, should be assigned aggressive parole requirements upon release, due to the likelihood of recidivism. This review should include the prison warden as the final reviewer.
2). Victim Awareness & Influence Opportunity - If a violent offender is being considered for early release, a victim's notarized statement should be included with their recommendation. This ensures that the victim is given the opportunity to have a voice. If the offender committed any infractions related to the offense, the victim should have that information prior to submitting their recommendation.
3). Sex Offender Registration - The inmate should already have been placed on the sex offender registry at the time of sentencing. The offender should register in the county that they are sentenced in and/or released to, and should be a required check for the the offender's Parole Officer to verify once released. This should be a required verification before moving forward in the release process. The Sheriff's office should be responsible for transferring sex offenders from one county to another when the sex offender relocates. The sex offender should be required to coordinate all relocations with the Sheriff's office to ensure awareness of the sex offenders location and ensure that he is following the guidelines for the sex offender registry.
4). Marriage License Application System Flag - The inmate should already have been placed on the sex offender registry, if applicable, at the time of sentencing. and a flag placed in the court's records that should be reviewed for all marriage license applications. The court should be required to verify that marriage certificate applications are reviewed to ensure that if either party is a sex offender, that the other party is made aware of the conviction and that neither party have children in the home, regardless of which party the children belong to.
4). Notification - Notifications are crucial to mitigating further victim or community harm. The following individuals, agencies, groups, etc. should be notified before the process of release can move forward:
Victim Notification - If a violent offender is being released, the victim should be notified as to the date of the scheduled release. If there is no documentation that the victim has been notified, then the process should be delayed.
Law Enforcement - The law enforcement agency in the community the offender (sexual offender) will be released to, should be notified. If there is no documentation that law enforcement has been notified, then the process should be delayed.
Schools - The schools in the community the offender (sexual offender) will be released to, should be notified. If there is no documentation that the schools have been notified, then the process should be delayed.
STATE FAILURES
1). Incarceration Infractions Overlooked - The inmate had infractions during his incarceration that should have deemed him ineligible for early release.
2). Pending Case (Similar in Nature to the Offense) Overlooked - The inmate's charge was filed three years before he was released. There is absolutely no valid excuse for that case having not been closed out prior to the inmate being released.
3). Conflict of Interest - Ladonna McFadden was working for the Pittsburg County Courthouse where her son was convicted, sentenced and then subsequently released; an active employee at release.
4). No Oversight was Conducted on the Sex Offender Program - A system should indicate when a check has not been completed within the required timeframe. Only one check was completed in the entire time that McFadden had been released. The checks should also have very specific requirements:
Timeframe between checks required
Location of checks required
Communication with spouse and verification that there are no children living in the home
Verification of address in a manner that cannot be forged
Digital confirmation of the visit
5). Marriage License Application System has a Major Gap - and the application should have been denied based on the fact that she had children.
Non Sex Offender Notification - Holly McFadden should have been notified that McFadden was a sex offender
Verification of Children - The marriage license between McFadden and Holly should have been denied due to the fact that she had children
Verification of Marriage / Divorce - The state of Oklahoma requires a 6 months waiting period between marriage or the marriage is therefore voided. A check should have been done to ensure that both McFadden and Holly had been divorced for six months as required. Holly signed her divorce paperwork and then married and signed her marriage license on the exact same day. SHE WAS NOT MARRIED AND HE WAS LIVING WITH THREE CHILDREN.
ACCOUNTABILITY / CREATING CHANGE
This case is horrific. There were multiple points of failure and it should not be acceptable in any way to chalk that up to an oversight or mere gap. People who are in positions where this was their responsibility, should be terminated from their positions. For those who failed to perform the required checks and those who continued to push the active case year after year, those people should be brought before a jury and tried for accessory to murder. A slap on the wrist will not do. Hold people accountable.
In my opinion, rape is worse than a heinous murder. When you are murdered, your suffering ends when you take your last breath. When someone kills someone in a car accident or with a gun, it is not usually up close and personal, they will more than likely have no blood or bodily fluids on them. If you rape someone, you are closer than just making contact and it doesn't get any more intimate than that.
The person who has been raped, according to comprehensive and expansive research, experience the effects for the rest of their lives. A rape victim doesn't get an early release from trust issues, relationship issues, depression, PTSD, lower wage earnings, and all the other negative side effects of the trauma, as a result of the impact. If the victim cannot receive an "early release" or a release at all, why does a rapist get that luxury? Where is the accountability and justice in that?
CONCLUSION
This case is but one example of the result of gross gaps within the justice system. Research has shown the percentages of offenders who reoffend, rapists whose crimes progress, such as Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy... we are still making the same mistakes decades later.
Protect and serve your communities with the utmost pride, dignity, respect, and the constant pursuit of excellence. The children of Holly were failed by the Oklahoma justice system. The Brewer and Webster family were failed by the Oklahoma justice system. The citizens of Oklahoma were failed by the Oklahoma justice system. For just one moment, imagine that Rylee Allen, Michael Mayo, Tiffany Guess, Ivy Webster, and Brittany Brewer are your children. Now fight for them until you can't anymore. They deserve it.
HOW CAN YOU HELP
You can make a difference in the following ways:
Sign the Knights Law Petition if you are an Oklahoma resident - Click Here!
Advocate for Oklahoma or your state to create mandatory life without parole or death as the only options for rape - Oklahoma Governor - Comments/Opinions
Advocate for Oklahoma or your state to become one of the states who do civil commitment for Sex Offenders as laws are generated for mandatory sentences - Learn Here!
REFERENCES
1. World Population Review (2023). Crime Rate. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/crime-rate-by-state
2. World Population Review (2023). Crime Rate.. Violent Crime Rate. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/crime-rate-by-state
3. World Population Review (2023). Crime Rate. Rape Rate. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/crime-rate-by-state
3. The Sentencing Project (2023). U.S. Criminal Justice Data. https://www.sentencingproject.org/research/us-criminal-justice-data/
4. Wise Voter (2023). Recidivism Rate by State .
5. PBS News Hour (2022). Oklahoma has Lowered it's Incarceration Rate. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/oklahoma-has-tried-to-lower-its-incarceration-rate-but-many-obstacles-face-the-newly-released
6. National Institute of Corrections (2020). Oklahoma 2020. https://nicic.gov/resources/nic-library/state-statistics/2020/oklahoma-2020
7. World Population Review (2023). Prison Population by State. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/prison-population-by-state
8. The Oklahoman (2022). More Oklahomans are Being Released from Prison. Now What? https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2022/07/10/those-released-oklahomas-prisons-face-numerous-challenges/9719799002/
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