Jacob Beaumont, director of advocacy and criminal justice reform at Mental Health Association Oklahoma, said its important that jail staff receive regular mental health and suicide prevention training. Cause and manner of death: The state Medical Examiner determined Rhodes died from cardiac tamponade. When the officer opened the cell, he saw the inmate had died, the report says. The Department of Justice declined to comment or provide basic details on the status of its settlement with Oklahoma County. There are always ebbs and flows, Maughan said. We cant do it without your support. There were 14 deaths at the jail in 2021, according to Oklahoma State Department of Health Commissioner Keith Reed. Beaumont said an example of a successful diversion program is the Tulsa Sobering Center, which diverts individuals suspected of public intoxication to a specialized treatment facility rather than the county jail. April 14, 2021. And deaths are not the only causes of lawsuits. Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater is one county official who has little faith in Greg Williams or the jail trust. Im sick and tired of the jail trust not ensuring people are well cared for at the jail. Women typically have a 7 percent higher mortality rate than men while incarcerated in city and county jails. By the time detention officers arrived nearly an hour . Between 2016 and 2019, the jails mortality rate was 4.77 deaths per 1,000 inmates. In a 2017 report sponsored by the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative, a panel of corrections administrators, researchers and health care professionals outlined policies that can help reduce inmate deaths from illness and suicide. What happened: Austin was found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead on the scene by emergency responders. Oklahoma County jail inmate Brad Leon Lane, 40 (right), died. Basco was in custody facing drug charges at the time. Just because there has been some level of justice involvement that has led to your detention doesnt mean you deserve any less, he said. Death Records are kept by Vital Records Offices or Oklahoma County Clerk's Offices, which may be run by the state or at the local level. Last week, officials from the U.S. Department of Justice visited the Oklahoma County jail for three days. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A 65-year-old woman has died in the Oklahoma County jail, becoming the sixth inmate to die at the lockup this year, a jail official said Wednesday. Another prisoner called for help three times from the phone in his cell, which connected to jail medical staff, but there was no answer, according to court documents. He was placed in a cell for medical observation. Location: Oklahoma County Detention Center. What happened: A detention officer was passing out hand sanitizer before breakfast on Aug. 19 when an inmate didnt come to the cell door, according to an incident report from the jail. Click this link or the red button below to support our mission. Guthrie was treated at the hospital, cleared and released back to custody. February 23, 2023 (19 years old) View obituary. The Oklahoma County Jails design has also been cited as a flaw. The phone number is 828-250-4474. Oklahoma County transitioned control of the jail from the Oklahoma County Sheriffs Office to a public trust in July 2020 in hopes of reform, but problems have persisted. February 27, 2023 (96 years old) View obituary. Among those who die in jail by suicide, the median time from booking to death was just nine days, according to the data compiled by Prison Policy Initiative. Many U.S. jail inmates remain incarcerated because they cannot afford cash bail. The U.S. jail population declined 24% between June 2019 to June 2020, according to statistics compiled by the Vera Institute of Justice. Those housed at the center are given 10 hours to sober up and receive immediate access to substance abuse treatment. Even before the jail trust took over the jail, in July 2020, Oklahoma County was well ahead of the national average for jail deaths. One expert, Dr. Kenneth Ray, called the administration a competent and motivated leadership team.. Want to support our mission to hold powerful people accountable, give a voice to the voiceless, and shine a light on darkness in Oklahoma? We had several lawsuits against the county for things involved in the jail. Even before the jail trust took over the jail, in July 2020, Oklahoma County was well ahead of the national average for jail deaths. He was transported to St. Francis Hospital Muskogee and pronounced dead. On July 31, the jail announced the death of Robert Dale Richards, 50. Among the items discussed in executive session during the jail trusts April meeting were wrongful-death tort claims from the estates of Parker James Stephens and Gregory Davis. Another inmate death has been reported at the Oklahoma County jail. July 1, 2020: The Oklahoma County Jail Trust officially takes over management of the county jail, removing the sheriff's office from operations and bringing in a small team of administrators, most with experience from the state's corrections system. The trust has increased training time for recruits and has also begun providing more time in the jail for officers to see what the job is like. Seven prisoners have died at the Oklahoma County Detention Center in the past three months. A detention officer at the Oklahoma County jail was fired Monday, one day after an inmate was found hanging in his cell. The former detention officer agreed to an interview on the condition his name not be published. Because the Oklahoma County Jails design doesnt allow for direct supervision of inmates at all times by staff, they are monitored remotely by video cameras and during regular rounds through the facility. While being escorted by a detention officer Tuesday about 9:40 a.m. to the video hearing room in the Jail, the officer noticed that Jimmy Bedford (DOB 1-27-1967) did not seem . A nurse checked for a pulse but could not find one. Original story: Reagan experienced a medical episode shortly after being booked into the jail, said District 25 District Attorney Carol Iski. She was in the jail after failing to appear in court on a drug possession charge. Get-Out-of-Jail Card: 12 Times Judges Decided Being 'Transgender' is 'Punishment Enough' for Criminals - Women Are Human . Between 2016 and 2019, the jails mortality rate was 4.77 deaths per 1,000 inmates. Paramedics and firefighters started to administer CPR and continued as they took Davis to the hospital. Friends and family remember 40-year old Lane as smart, kind and good with children. Oklahoma County officials have tried for years to secure funding to build a new jail, with no success. Theres no effective way to enforce the type of agreement that Oklahoma County entered into with the Department of Justice it basically amounts to an out-of-court settlement, said Jonathan M. Smith, executive director for the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. Changes in our intake process also help identify individuals who are in need of medical or mental health care. The detention center also now uses 31 contract law enforcement officers to watch over prisoners when they are sent to local hospitals to receive medical care. Cause and manner of death:The state Medical Examiner determined Hetherington died from hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Loveless had been booked into the jail on June 12; In the early morning hours of June 9, staff passing out breakfasts found an un-named man unresponsive in his cell after an apparent suicide. Nonetheless, on Monday, at a monthly meeting of the jail trust, which oversees the facility, attorney Paula Williams painted an optimistic picture of the DOJ visit. What happened: German was being held at the jail after police arrested her on suspicion of public intoxication on the Fourth of July. We will update this page as more information is . Multiple Oklahoma inmates have died because staff failed to provide medical assistance in a timely manner. Officials did not provide the cause of his death. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. The shortage of staff at the jail has contributed to a lack of control over the prisoners there, the man said. There are about 547,000 people housed inside Americas city and county jails, and, while most of them leave those facilities alive, some do not. It also means that person is not having to sober up in a jail cell where there might be additional psychological stress that could prompt a mental health episode.. But friends believe Lane shouldnt have been placed in a cell with Brown, who was charged with violent crimes. He left a mark on everyone he came across.. The inmate, Gabriel Yalartai, 40, died. I dont know anyone involved that takes that lightly. It was just after 2 a.m. on a Saturday in December 2019 when two detention officers took John Basco from his cell and forced him to listen to the song on repeat for two hours while standing with his hands cuffed to a metal bar, according to a court affidavit. The panels report also says staff should check on inmates if they have experienced a major life event, like being convicted of serious crime or losing a family member. What happened: A jailer found Mason unresponsive in his cell, hanging from the top bunk with a bed sheet wrapped around his neck. Of the 148 Oklahoma inmate deaths identified in the Reuters investigation, 141 were awaiting trial and had not been convicted. The jail trust said it has hired 103 new detention officers and clerical staff since it took over in July, but turnover is a constant problem, jail administrator Greg Williams said in written responses to The Frontiers questions. There are more than 354,000 Oklahomans who identified as having Mexican heritage in the last census count, most of whom will finally be able to take advantage of consular services without traveling to Little Rock. Name: Christopher HetheringtonAge: 39Died: Jan. 15, 2020Location: LeFlore County Detention Center in Poteau. He was found Feb. 26 unresponsive in his cell by staff doing routine checks. The report states: For example, the phones on the 13th floor pregnant inmate unit, the [inspectors] asked the inmates to conduct a system test explaining that it was the middle of the night and their cellmate had gone into labor. Local jails report inmate deaths to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics annually. a doctor declared Gonzales deceased at 4:57 p.m.The cause of death is unknown at this time.Gonzales was booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center on Oct. 16, 2021. While understaffing and high death rates have continued, the deadline for compliance passed more than six years ago and the federal government has taken no further legal action. Contact him at (405) 831-9753 or Kross@Oklahomawatch.org. He had been suicide watch. I can stay connected with Loretta (Radford), who I appointed as my member to the trust, but I dont have a lot of authority over telling them how to run the jail.. The jails combined had an average annual mortality rate of 2.16 deaths per 1,000 inmates, the second highest in the nation behind West Virginia. Share. They are chronically understaffed, and I believe the trust has been dishonest about their staffing levels. By submitting more than 1,500 open records requests to local jails and government agencies, Reuters gained access to inmate death data from 523 jails in 44 states. Name: Lance SolomonAge: 55Died: Jan. 8, 2020Location: Logan Co. Mark Myers, a spokesman for former Oklahoma County Sheriff P.D. The Oklahoma County Sheriffs Office reported 254 cases of prisoners assaulting detention officers in 2018. Six inmates at the jail have died over the past seven weeks. Tweet 3:06. Criticism of the troubled facility remains high amid issues with staffing and safety as some elected and appointed leadersadvocate for building a new jail. The night of the attack, Brown was being held in the jail on charges of aggravated assault and attempted first degree robbery. The Oklahoma Medical Examiners office now has the body and will determine the cause of death. A fifth "unannounced follow-up" health inspection of the Oklahoma County jail, conducted by the Oklahoma State Health Department on Oct. 12 found 24 repeat deficiencies cited in previous . Tuell said Ward was involved in no altercations and did not indicate she was a danger to herself. Winfred Lowe, 57, was found unresponsive in his cell by staff dispensing medication on Jan. 17. Along with our new body scanner, weve modernized intake procedures to better spot contraband. (Tres Savage) Amid a flood of controversy and bad press surrounding problems at the Oklahoma County . Oklahoma City Public Schools, which contracts with the jail to provide basic education for prisoners at the jail under the age of 18, says it cant guarantee a minimum four hours of classroom time a day, in part because of low staffing levels and elevators that constantly break down. The first death of an Oklahoma County jailinmate this year occurredWednesday and is under investigation, according to a release from jail administration. More: Oklahoma County detention officer fired after jail suicide. Most of Oklahoma Watchs content is available for republication by other news media in print and digital form. COVID-19 cases at jail surge. Jail staff then called for medical staff who started resuscitation efforts while calling for an ambulance. Every year this facility has Bookings, with a daily average of Inmates and a staff of.10-13, 2020 busted newspaper Lane County Mugshots Preview Edition : Jan-29-2021 oregoncrimenews - January 29, 2021 0 This is a preview edition of Lane County Mugs representing a random selection of inmates arrested before 2pm today Howard County Police Daily . Its fatal if even small amounts are consumed. Austin Bishop, 30, died in the jail Jan. 12 after detention officers were alerted to a medical emergency while they were serving breakfast. Sheriff Chris Bryant told a reporter for the Daily Ardmoreite that the man had a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and died of a heart attack. He loved to draw, read and could build or fix anything with his hands, Lanes girlfriend Crystal Oldham said. Oklahoma City Free Press is dedicated to providing high quality journalism that positively impacts our community. Oklahoma County Jail death makes eight in 2021 investigation begins. Brewer, who stands 6-foot-2 inches tall and weighs 280 pounds, is accused of punching a naked female prisoner in the face with a closed fist in August. Six detention officers at the Oklahoma County jail have been charged with assault and mistreatment of inmates since October. The latter part of her remarks drew jeers from members of the Peoples Council for Justice Reform, a local activist group whose members frequently speak at jail trust meetings. OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) Thursday, the death of a detainee in the Oklahoma County Detention Center or Jail was the ninth for the facility in 2021. Documented insufficient staffing levels and the overall poor condition of the 30-year old jail building have contributed to high death rates and a lack of basic rights for prisoners at the jail over the past decade. No member of the trust questioned Williams on the circumstances of the deaths. Location: Cherokee County Detention Center in Tahlequah. The U.S. Army veteran had disclosed her post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression to jail staff, but was not being held in a mental health ward of the jail. Outside of hourly sight checks and meal deliveries, the men were mostly left alone on the pod, he said. 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