McLOUD — Eighteen women clad in orange jumpsuits, each serving their time at Oklahoma’s medium-security prison in McLoud, sat in classroom No. 9 on Monday to begin their second day of learning computer coding.

As the class logged in to computers, a cadre of visitors filed in behind them: media, criminal justice reform advocates, Gov. Kevin Stitt and his entourage. The class cheered at the arrival of M.C. Hammer, the entertainer who now is a board member for The Last Mile, the nonprofit that launched the coding classes and graduated 500 students in correctional facilities across the country.

“If you give people a different perspective, just show them the world is bigger than the block we’re on, they see the world differently,” Hammer said at a reception earlier that day. “This skill set, software engineering, it can save lives.”

It was an auspicious day at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center and a celebration for those who guided the program to Oklahoma, which incarcerates women at a higher rate than any government in the world.