Oklahoma prisons boss looks to reduce solitary confinement

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Nearly 1,200 Oklahoma prison inmates who spend 23 hours locked in their cell each day soon could be getting more recreational time under a new pilot program being launched at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton said Tuesday the shift away from restricted housing or solitary confinement is a growing trend in the prison industry and one he thinks "is the right thing to do."

Patton says more than 1,180 Oklahoma prison inmates currently are confined to their cell with just five hours a week of solitary recreation time. This includes nearly all the inmates at OSP in McAlester and large numbers of inmates at prisons in Davis and Cushing.

Patton says he launched the program with ten inmates at OSP.