‘Just the beginning’: Family, children advocates rally for cameras in OK courts
By Stef Manchen
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TULSA, Oklahoma (KJRH) — A few dozen people gathered outside the county courthouse, rallying for cameras to be allowed in Oklahoma court rooms.
Led by The Focal Point of Accountability, the general message was a camera would add a layer of transparency for all, from officials and judges to the folks fighting a case.
Advocates shared stories of ‘injustice’ across the legal system. Speakers said cameras in the courtroom would add a layer of transparency for officials and judges who make life-changing decisions for countless families.
“We’re not going to go anywhere unless there’s change, and this is just the beginning,” said Rosario Chico, who has been without her children for more than three years. “There’s a lot of us that are not scared because it’s what we have to do. It’s our children that are on the line, it’s our loved ones that are on the line.”
Lawmakers, including State Representative JJ Humphrey and Senator Dana Prieto, were also in attendance. They voiced support for the protest and pointed to cases that could have been helped had a camera been present.
That included child custody cases with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
“My children are now with their abuser,” said Staci McGarrah. “It’s been terrible. It’s hard to sleep. We made a pact when I saw my children at therapy last month, that we talk to the moon when we miss each other.”
She was one of the many parents who took the microphone to share their stories.
McGarrah lost custody of two of her children last year and has only seen them one time since.
“I did nothing to cause my children being taken from me other than the judge granting whatever my ex-husband says,” she said. “How in the world am I deemed fit to take care of the two children that are still in my home but not the two children who were taken from me?”
The only reason she’s been given that she can’t have custody of her children is that a judge deemed the children’s father was a better fit.
McGarrah said that with him having a lengthy history of abuse towards both her and her children, she doesn’t understand that argument.
“I’ve called DHS, their school counselor in the past has called DHS on their father multiple times and again it goes ignored,” said McGarrah. “It’s not like DHS necessarily took my children, they didn’t. However, they had a hand in it because they could have helped. They could have come out, checked on my children, but instead there are literally no reports, there’s no paperwork whatsoever that any of those calls were made.”
She has only seen her two boys once in the last year, at a reunification therapy session.
“The entire time, they talked to myself and the therapist about wanting to come home, about being scared of their father, about the abuse that had happened,” said McGarrah. “They just get ignored. Their voices are ignored.”
If there were a camera in the courtroom, adding a layer of transparency, McGarrah said a number of cases like hers could be alleviated.
“They know there are no eyes on them, they know no one is going to tell them what they’re doing wrong or if they do something wrong they’re not going to be held accountable, so having those cameras would ensure that.”
Oklahoma law leaves it up to individual judges to allow or deny cameras in courtrooms.
Advocates say this push isn’t just for Tulsa County courtrooms, but for those all across the state.
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