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An investigation by Oklahoma Watch found that senior members of the governor's staff worked behind-the scenes to derail key parts of a program aimed at lowering the state's high incarceration rates and reducing the population of its overcrowded prisons. During this period, staff members met with representatives of private prisons that stood to gain or lose from the justice reform initiative, depending on how it was implemented, and the specifically discussed the initiative. The governor and key legislators also collected donations from these for-profit private-prison companies just before, during and after the legislative session in which legislation was pushed to wrest control of overseeing the initiative from reforms and put it in the hands of the governor and legislative leaders.