Hug a Thug Story of the Week
Woodrow Greenback led police on a high speec chase on May 1st. Running as fast as 100 mph the car he had stolen came into Newcastle after fleeing a traffic stop earlier in Blanchard. As the car fled at more than 120 miles per hour down the small urban state highway in Newcastle the Newcastle police backed off for public safety reasons and Greenback escaped.
But it is a small town and Greenback was captured at the local Tri City Walmart soon after. Greenback had 20 grams of meth on him and was arrested for the drugs and for fleeing a police officer. A second suspect that was in the car during the car chase was also given up by Greenback.
Why is this case important? Because Greenback was out on OR for medical reasons they say. First lets look at his life of crime. The dates are with the charges and Greenback has multiple aliases. CF and CM are criminal felonies and criminal misdemeanors:
08/14/1995
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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08/19/2016
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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02/28/2017
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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05/05/2017
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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10/16/1990
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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03/21/1991
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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10/17/1991
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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09/08/1994
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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05/05/1995
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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06/23/1995
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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08/20/1996
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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12/02/2005
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Greenback, Woodrow Trey (Defendant)
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12/22/2005
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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06/26/2006
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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08/23/2011
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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11/02/2011
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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11/08/2011
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Greenback, Woodrow Trey (Defendant)
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11/18/2011
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Defendant)
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12/20/2011
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY III (Defendant)
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05/17/2013
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Greenback, Woodrow Trey (Defendant)
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05/20/2013
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY III (Defendant)
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08/13/2013
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY III (Defendant)
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10/02/2015
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY (Second Applicant)
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06/09/2016
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY III (Defendant)
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12/29/2016
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GREENBACK, WOODROW TREY III (Defendant)
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03/31/2017
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Greenback, Woodrow Trey (Defendant)
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Those are the recent ones. Below are the older ones not yet on OSCN.net, some of the cases are duplicated in the tables and screen shot below as they overlap depending upon the source we received them from. But you will get the idea. Keep in mind that P&PSUS stands for Pardon and Parole Suspended Sentence so this man hasn't spent much if any time in actual prison. You can count over years in prison sentences where he is said to have been incarcerated but he was out in two years committing domestic violence so??????
Now lets look at one single case and add up the court fees, not any judgments or fines set by the judge, just what the criminal justice system collects or tries to collect. Visit this link to see the actual charges and fees. The total is $1478.50 and the case isn't finished yet.
Three points, first the state of Oklahoma isn't ever going to collect this money. It is good that there is some skin in the game, some price to pay as the criminals are paying no bail bond and using public defenders to get suspended sentences. But point two, for the criminals that do decide to straighten out they face a lifetime crushing debt that probably gives more than a few of them reason to just give up on the possibility of ever getting their lives straightened out. Third point, fines and fees are useful only on the occasional working class guy that gets caught doing something stupid and useless against the career criminals.
What you learn more than anything else is that people like this are career criminals and not deterred by the criminal justice system. What is needed is harsh justice early on, cheap prisons that work the prisoners and use the labor/profit to pay for the costs of incarceration and even prosecution. The combination would be good for taxpayers, good for criminals that were taken off the streets, good for insurance companies pay out for kicked in doors and stolen property, and good for the citizens as the streets and homes would be far safer.
And the final thought is that letting career criminals out on OR bonds, Own Recognizance bonds that are backed only by the promise of the criminal to return for court, is ridiculous. If you read through the OSCN.net links you will see where Greenback had a bondsman he was picked up and returned quickly to jail when he committed other crimes or didn't show up for court to answer for his crimes. Where you see he was out on OR bond he wasn't picked up until he was arrested after a high speed chase.
