Last week, the Oklahoma Senate Judiciary Committee spent three hours examining the state's "Failure to Protect" statutes under the watchful eye of Sen. Brent Howard and guided by Sen. Todd Gollihare. The core of the discussion, as reported by Oklahoma Policy Institute, was the controversial 22 O.S. 843.5 statute, which currently subjects parents or caregivers to the same severe penalties as child abusers, even when they have not directly perpetrated the abuse.
Under Oklahoma law, being charged with either child abuse or "enabling" child abuse, both carry a penalty of life in prison. Yet, these mothers, as seen in the committee's examination, often face impossible choices in escaping abusive situations, including coercive control and threats of further violence – cornered by circumstances that can immobilize the most resolute spirit.
The crucial point of disagreement arises from the law's failure to distinguish between the severity of offenses. The definitions blur together as pointed out by the Oklahoma Policy Institute, where both "harm or threatened harm or failure to protect from harm" and "enabling child abuse" are sanctions that a responsible individual may face, condensing different acts under one dire consequence.
This statute, as it stands, also discourages mothers from reporting abuse, out of a legitimate fear that they too can end up with a life sentence. According to the study, 90 percent of the time the charged caretaker is the mother. A startling repercussion that is, an unintended deterrent that rather than safeguarding, it muffles the cries for help, just when protection is most urgently needed.
Many voices, including lawmakers and advocates, recognize the need for change. Revising these statutes to assign penalties proportionately could alleviate the over-incarceration issue Oklahoma faces and potentially enhance the protection of children. There's a palpable consensus that there should be serious consequences for failing to protect, but the dire need for legislation reflecting the nuances of these troubling scenarios is clear, steering the subject toward a more justice-oriented future.
