Mental health & addiction reporter @KOSURadio and @Report4America
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
Benner groaned and begged “help me” as three detention officers wrestled him into the restraint device. At one point, a detention officer knelt on his back.
Video obtained by @readfrontier shows Benner's arrest and death inside Tulsa's municipal jail.
readfrontier.org/stories/tul…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
More than a year after it was due, the state’s plan to provide court-ordered treatment for Oklahoma defendants found incompetent to stand trial has been approved by the consultants overseeing a high-profile consent decree.
kosu.org/health/2026-07-16/o…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
Public defenders say judges in Oklahoma County routinely fail to consider whether defendants can afford bail, leaving poor and homeless people jailed on low-level charges. Doing so is unconstitutional, KOSU's latest collaboration with @readfrontier finds.
kosu.org/oklahoma-county-bai…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
Justice in less than a minute? Oklahoma County bail hearings don’t meet constitutional standards, attorneys say.
readfrontier.org/stories/jus…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
Supporters of a pretrial release program say thousands of people who pose little public safety risk remain jailed because they can’t afford bail. Prosecutors frequently oppose release, even though the program is designed to help people show up to court.
readfrontier.org/stories/okl…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
No photos of the crash scene. No interviews with survivors. A report stamped "investigation incomplete." J.C. Hallman and Maria Guinnip have spent two years piecing together what happened.
ow.ly/IOCf50Z5RQc
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
The federal government will no longer pay for the thousands of test strips the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health sends by mail. Agency officials are evaluating what’s next.
kosu.org/fentanyl-test-strip…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
The state’s Medicaid agency has checked the immigration status of thousands of enrollees flagged by the Trump Administration, finding few eligibility issues.
readfrontier.org/stories/okl…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
Oklahoma Republicans want to send Medicaid expansion back to voters six years after they approved it, citing concerns about the state’s bottom line.
But patients and medical experts worry the effort is shortsighted: bit.ly/48GlScY
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
An Oklahoma bill that would add alpha-gal syndrome to the state’s list of tick-borne illnesses is advancing, a move advocates say is needed to tackle a growing public health concern.
kosu.org/oklahoma-bill-alpha…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
Oklahoma mental health department fined nearly $1 million for noncompliance with consent decree. @sierrapfeifer has the scoop: readfrontier.org/stories/okl…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
A program at the University of Oklahoma trains much-needed mental health professionals for rural schools in the state. Now, its federal grant funding is on the chopping block.
@walliswrites and @sierrapfeifer report for NPR.
kosu.org/education/2025-07-2…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
A program promising mental health professionals for rural Oklahoma schools is on the chopping block after funding cuts from the Trump administration.
@StateImpactOK's @walliswrites and KOSU's @sierrapfeifer dive into the situation.
kosu.org/show/stateimpact-ok…
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The state’s mental health department has been under intense scrutiny since a possible $63.7 million shortfall was identified in early March. Here's the latest: kosu.org/health/2025-05-02/o…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
A new book pulls back the curtain on lethal injection, tracing its origins to Oklahoma, where the method was first devised.
KOSU's @sierrapfeifer spoke with author Corinna Barrett Lain about the long-held belief that lethal injection is a clean process.
kosu.org/show/stateimpact-ok…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
BREAKING: The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out the murder conviction and death penalty for Richard Glossip, an Oklahoma man who has been on death row for more than 25 years.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
kosu.org/local-news/2025-02-…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
Important story by @sierrapfeifer of @KOSURadio. Innovating and finding ways to engage teenagers with attendance or other challenges is important and a key strategy for school districts and the kids they serve. kosu.org/health/2025-02-17/s…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
Today's announcement of a federal funding grant freeze has created confusion in Oklahoma. After a day of reporting by @KOSURadio reporting, here's what we know: kosu.org/local-news/2025-01-…
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Sierra Pfeifer retweeted
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended release for Wayne Thompson on Tuesday.
Thompson, 57, has been in prison for more than four decades for killing his sister's abusive ex-husband.
kosu.org/local-news/2025-01-…
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