As a nonprofit news organization,The Frontieris funded by tax-deductible donations made by people who support quality journalism. Jail and prison populations across the U.S. are aging, and a disproportionate number of inmates suffer from chronic medical conditions and mental illness. Name: Michael Reagan Jr.Age: 44Died: Jan. 13, 2020Location: Okmulgee County Criminal Justice AuthorityCause and manner of death: UndeterminedWhat happened: Updated story, Jan. 15, 2020: Reagan appeared to be having a seizure in his cell on January 13, according to an incident report jail staff sent to the state jail inspector. The national average is 1.46 deaths per 1,000 inmates. He had been suicide watch. Under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, the Department of Justice has the power to file lawsuits on behalf of jail and prison inmates in order to compel state and local governments to provide humane living conditions. Brad did make bad choices in life no one is perfect, Oldham said. Officials did not provide the cause of his death. Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. What happened: Tharp was unconscious so someone performed CPR on him, according to a jail incident report. Six inmates at the jail have died over the past seven weeks. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Even before the jail trust took over the jail, in July 2020, Oklahoma County was well ahead of the national average for jail deaths. She was in the jail after failing to appear in court on a drug possession charge. Every time Im notified of a death at the jail, my heart sinks, Blumert said. To say Im concerned or to say its concerning that just sounds like Im minimizing it, Prater said. Luis Alberto Gonzalez, 39, of Oklahoma City, was being held on the jail's medical floor on a felony assault and battery charge. At the request of his family, the mans name was not released to public; On May 13, staff discovered Eddie Garcia, 25, unresponsive in his cell at about 2 a.m. Multiple Oklahoma inmates have died because staff failed to provide medical assistance in a timely manner. Dominique Lynn Smith. Yalartai, who hanged himself,had not been checked in almost 12 hours, officials said. The shortage of staff at the jail has contributed to a lack of control over the prisoners there, the man said. Asked whether jail staff could do more to prevent drug-related deaths, Maughan said the problem is not unique to Oklahoma County. He reportedly also had a cut on the back of his head, the report states. Oklahoma Mugshots http://Arre.st/Mugshots/Oklahoma William Thomas Homerding. Oklahoma County Jail deaths this year include the following: Jail administrator Greg Williams, who was hired by the trust to run the jail when it took over the facility from the sheriff in 2020, said in a statement to NonDoc that jail staff continue to work to reduce inmate deaths. Friend Staci Baumann said Lane struggled with depression and used drugs to escape. Second-degree manslaughter charges were filed and later dismissed against Turn Key staff in the 2016 death of Anthony Huff, who was strapped to a restraint chair in Garfield County jail for 48 hours without adequate food or water, court records show. By the time detention officers arrived nearly an hour later, Lane was unresponsive. Thats why you hear more things now than in the past. 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. The Oklahoma Medical Examiners office now has the body and will determine the cause of death. One expert, Dr. Kenneth Ray, called the administration a competent and motivated leadership team.. They are chronically understaffed, and I believe the trust has been dishonest about their staffing levels. The sheriff's office . Oklahoma Watchs Paul Monies discusses the provisions of State Question 820 and how recreational marijuana got to a March 7 special election. The Oklahoma County Detention Center reported an especially high number of inmate deaths. 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. She was transported to McCurtain Memorial Hospital and declared dead. They raised concerns regarding conflicts of interest. Richards was found unresponsive in his cell by staff distributing medicine. Last week, officials from the U.S. Department of Justice visited the Oklahoma County jail for three days. An initial investigation found Avelar may have died from a suicide. Deaths in Oklahomas largest county jails have trended upward over the past decade, an indication that some inmates arent receiving adequate medical and mental health care. The medical team at the jail immediately called an ambulance, and Reagan was taken to a local hospital, Iski said. He contacted her not long before he died and said he was thinking about trying to get into a treatment program. The first death occurred on Jan. 2 when 40-year-old Brad Leon Lane was allegedly killed by his . We should be investing in more mental health pods and psychiatric units, and minimizing the amount of time an individual spends in general population if theyre screened to have a mental illness and be suicidal, Beaumont said. TheState Medical Examiners Office will make a final determination of the cause of Bishop's death. 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. He beat the shit outta me..I have nobody, daddy, the woman wrote. May 17, 2021. Not long after, on Sunday, July 31, an inmate died at the jail the 12th fatality this year. The incident occured when the Oklahoma County Sheriffs Office operated the detention center in 2019, but Brewer continued to work at the jail and wasnt charged in the incident until after the trust took over in 2020. Contact him at (405) 831-9753 or Kross@Oklahomawatch.org. Somebody will come. And nobody came.. Cause and manner of death: The state Medical Examiner determined German died because of acute methamphetamine intoxication. Oklahoma County has no dedicated sales tax to fund jail operations. I think thats led to the increased number of inmates who are dying.. According to jail officials, detainee Craig Weeks was discovered attempting suicide in his cell just before 1 p.m. Thursday. The man said he feared for his life after a previous incident in which an inmate attacked him while he was working alone in one of the jail housing units. 'Nique for Calling Herself the First Plus-Size Rom-Com Star. 1100 University Avenue Huntsville, Texas 77340 936-436-4910 . Its actually worse than has been out in public, Calvey, who is running for district attorney, said, hosted by NonDoc in June As I said, the former sheriff was not at all transparent. To combat suicides, the panel concluded that jails need to hire more mental health professionals and expand video technology. Brewer beat her before spraying her face and torso with pepper spray as she lay naked on the floor of the shower in a fetal position, according to the womans account. Once there a physician pronounced Davis dead at 10:25 a.m. Others die by suicide or overdose, which is often due to contraband entering the facility. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Between 2016 and 2019, the jails mortality rate was 4.77 deaths per 1,000 inmates. Sustain our journalism by becoming a supporter. However it also noted that failure to secure funding does not release the County from the duty to provide constitutional conditions at the jail.. His family sued the Oklahoma Department of Corrections a year later, claiming that prison staff failed to prevent his death. He said he believes the Department of Justice should seek a court order in highly complex cases like the one involving the Oklahoma County Detention Center. The Special Investigations Unit of the Jail will investigate the circumstances leading up to Davis death. Were en route to losing 20 to 24 this year. Click this link or the red button below to support our mission. Main Number: (850) 785-5245 Secondary Number: (850) 215-5140 Rev 02/28/2022 Sheriff's Office 3421 N Highway 77 Panama City, FL 32405 (850) 747-4700 Jail Facility 5700 Star Lane. In 2021, Prater received permission to impanel a grand jury to investigate, among other things, lethal uncorrected mismanagement of the Oklahoma County Jail under the supervision of the jail trust. As long as Oklahoma County has been able to show it has been making some effort to make improvements, the Department of Justice has not pressed the issue, said Francie Ekwerekwu, who sits on the jail trust. 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. The frequency of deaths at the jail has been particularly high in the past couple of years. The outcome of Thorps multi-county grand jury investigation remains unknown, but criminal indictments for those involved in the jails operation and management could be possible. 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. What happened: On June 26, 2020, Merrell was booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center. Basco was in custody facing drug charges at the time. Tuell said Ward was involved in no altercations and did not indicate she was a danger to herself. Share Both of those incidents happened while the jail was still being operated by the Oklahoma County Sheriffs Department, but there are lawsuits related to more recent incidents in the pipeline. OKLAHOMA COUNTY, Okla. ( KFOR) - Records show 14 Oklahoma County Detention Center inmates have died this year and after receiving seven of their toxicology . The Council for the Study of Community Colleges 2021 Program - Flip eBook Pages 1-50 | AnyFlip. Cause and manner of death:The state Medical Examiner determined Hetherington died from hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Lightfoot is among the . Six states Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Alaska, Hawaii, and Vermont were excluded from the investigation because their state corrections department oversees pretrial detention facilities. We work closely with our medical provider to identify detainees with severe physical and mental health issues, and alert the courts to help facilitate their release when appropriate.. Prosecutors accuse the former detention officers of using the Baby Shark song as a form of punishment against at least five men held at the jail. His cellmate, Shaquile D Shaun Brown (left), confessed after being taken to a hospital for a mental assessment, the Oklahoma State . He was transported to Alliance Health Midwest hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few hours later. Williams began his remarks by mentioning that there had been three deaths at the jail since they trust last met. The Oklahoma County Sheriffs Office reported 254 cases of prisoners assaulting detention officers in 2018. What happened: Solomon arrived at the jail in 2015 and was set to be sentenced for a conviction of first-degree murder the week he died. He definitely didnt deserve what he got.. An inmate death at the Oklahoma County Detention Center leaves a lot of unanswered questions for family members. Guthries health started to deteriorate later that day and he was again transported to a hospital where he died, according to KTUL. Shes haunted by thoughts that she could have tried to scrape together enough money to post his bond. 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. Tweet Changing demographics are making it more difficult for corrections administrators to provide high-quality health care. Some years it is higher than others. Were dealing with a fentanyl epidemic that has exploded nationally, and we have seen the impact here, he said. Its actually worse than has been out in public, Calvey, who is running for district attorney, said during a debate hosted by NonDoc in June As I said, the former sheriff was not at all transparent. What happened: A jailer found Mason unresponsive in his cell, hanging from the top bunk with a bed sheet wrapped around his neck. Jailers reported that German was behaving erratically and suspected she was still under the influence of methamphetamine more than 24 hours after her arrest. There were situations in which inmates were abused. Please follow these terms for republication: * Reporters bylines and photographers credit lines should be accompanied by Oklahoma Watch.. Nationwide, there were 1,120 deaths reported, or a rate of 154 deaths per 100,000 people in jail, the highest levels since BJS' first report on this topic in 2000. After temporarily loosening bail restrictions at the start of the pandemic, some state and local government officials are considering permanent reforms that could make long-term decareration possible. mail Brewer declined to comment on the pending charges when contacted by The Frontier. Find Inmate rosters, recent arrests, mugshots of offenders in Pickens County, South Carolina Fowler was booked into the Pickens County Jail on April 22 and has since bonded out Pickens county schools roadmap to reopening plan 2020-2021 A Pickens County officer does not need an active warrant in his possession to make an arrest. State law requires jailers to visually check on prisoners in their cells at least once an hour, but the guard assigned to the 13th floor that night was busy escorting an inmate to the medical clinic and missed one of her rounds, according to court records. State Question 781 would not have passed without State Question 780, which reduced many drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Knox had been in custody since July in lieu of a $10,000 bond for failing to make a court appearance in January. Prater said the number of deaths at the jail since the trust took over in 2020 is unprecedented in his eyes. What happened: Jailers found Alexander unresponsive on the floor of a jail day room. Andy Ngo reports for the Post Millenial that "so far, six Antifa defendants took plea deals over their role in the attack and are awaiting sentencing. But the jail employs and is budgeted for fewer detention officers now than it was in 2008, when the Oklahoma County Sheriffs Office employed 377 officers and was budgeted for 490 total employees, according to data the county reported to the Department of Justice that year. Three of the former detention officers charged involving alleged assaults on prisoners occured after the jail trust took over. 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. Cause and manner of death: The state Medical Examiner determined Taylor died from a seizure of unknown origin. Jail administrator Greg Williams and officials for the public trust that oversees the jail says they have had no contact with the Department of Justice since it took control of the facility in July 2020. Most recently, Oklahoma County settled a lawsuit with the estate of Charlton Chrisman, who died in 2017 after officers shot pepper balls at him from close range. Jailers placed Reagan in a wheelchair and took him to the nursing office to be assessed, the report states. After the third repeat I wanted to scream, Newell wrote. What happened: A jailer passing out food trays for breakfast discovered Taylor laying on the floor of his cell. Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater is one county official who has little faith in Greg Williams or the jail trust. Learn about Death Records, including: How to search online for Death Records . What happened: Knox tested positive for Covid-19, but also had other health conditions and was undergoing dialysis at the time of his death, according to Oklahoma County officials. England, who had been convicted of fourth-degree arson, had about three months remaining on his sentence. Shane Tuell said. Want to support our mission to hold powerful people accountable, give a voice to the voiceless, and shine a light on darkness in Oklahoma? (Tres Savage) Amid a flood of controversy and bad press surrounding problems at the Oklahoma County . Bishop had been booked in June 6, 2021. The national average was 1.46 over that period, according to data compiled by Oklahoma Watch. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Reagan was booked into the jail after being indicted on federal charges on Jan. 10, 2020. A detention officer serving breakfast was alerted to an unresponsive detainee inside a cell Wednesday morning, according to the news release. February 24, 2023 (37 years old) We had several lawsuits against the county for things involved in the jail. Myself, I would love for people to be able to have a shower every day, but it does require way more staff than what we have now, Ekwerekwu said. 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. From 2016 through 2019, the jail had 40 deaths and an average annual mortality rate of 4.77 deaths per 1,000 inmates. But the real question we should be asking is what can we do to prevent people from ending up in a jail cell in the first place.. About 30 minutes later, Reagan appeared to again have a seizure. I wanted to share first that they did have praise for the jail administration and leadership that is currently there. Typically when someone dies in the jail, family members will seek litigation, which is completely their right, Blumert said. 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. 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. District 1 Commissioner Carrie Blumert said making the jail a better place was among her biggest priorities when she first ran for the commission, in 2018. We mourn any loss of life and always seek to protect the lives of our detainees and staff, Williams said. It not only saves the city of Tulsa time and money, but it gives the person an opportunity to pursue recovery, Beaumont said. In the June 28 election, Oklahoma County voters approved fundingto build a new jail, but that new facility is still years away from being a reality. 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