Istook commercial exposes Henry early paroled over 1,500 drug offenders Brad Henry promised during the 2002 campaign against Steve Largent that he would be "tough on crime". Crime in Tulsa and Oklahoma City were a major concern, along with the emerging meth epidemic plaguing rural Oklahoma and much of middle America. Once elected to office, what does the Governor do a year and a half into his term? He grants clemeny to OsvaldoTorres, an illegal Mexican immigrant convicted of first degree murder. Criminologists have determined that addiction to illegal drugs is one of the main factors in crime. Many violent and non violent offenses are the direct result of a drug addict needing money to finance their expensive habit. Trafficking in illicit drugs on the wholesale and street level is very lucrative, thus the rewards of making easy money far outweigh the risks of getting caught. For years, law enforcement professionals have expressed frustration, since all too often, once they take a dealer off the streets, three or four dealers emerge to take their place. That is why we find it puzzling that Governor Henry would intentionally undercut these soldiers on the "war on drugs" by early paroling over 1,500 drug offenders. In his latest commercial, Congressman Itook seems to agree. An Oklahoma Political News Service investigation of the over 1,500 early parolees, has uncovered a few disturbing facts. We examined seven categories of offenses which range from: "distrubution of a controlled & dangerous substance with intent to distribute;" "distribution of a controlled and dangerous substance within 200 ft of a school or park;" and "use of a minor in the sale of a controlled and dangerous substance." The average sentence given for the seven offenses were 9.4 years. The average time served was 3.11 years! We believe anyone who would sell poison to our children, or worse have them sell the poison for them, hardly deserves to be rewarded with an early release from prison. Posted at 11/01/2006 11:30:00 AM