Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City Holds Expungement Event

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Urban League of Oklahoma City (Oklahoma City, OK) held its second expungement event this past Saturday, June 25th.

For citizens like Tiffany Mason, it is a dream come true.

“My felony is over twenty years old – twenty – and yet people look at me like I did it yesterday.”

Stories like Tiffany’s are the reason that the Urban League holds these expungement events. According to Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, an estimated 94% of people who are eligible for expungement can’t access it.

Expungement is the process of removing public records from public access, while law enforcement retains access. In the state of Oklahoma, citizens who have been convicted or charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies are eligible to have their criminal records expunged. However, due to the expense, many aren’t able to.

Jabar Shumate, the Urban League’s vice president of Community Convening and Social Justice, said, “It’s so expensive and very complicated, and the Urban League felt like this was where the community needed the support. Right now about $5,000 easily you could spend to get an expungement.”

This year, the state legislature passed a bill that would automate the process, which will go into effect on November 1st. However, the system that would help automate records won’t be in place until November of 2025.

"We will continue and go strong over the two years that it might take to get a system in place and then once the system is in place, we won't go anywhere,” Shumate said. “We won't go anywhere because there still be a need for individuals who still can't access the system to find out if they were properly processed or the expungement actually happened.”

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