|
Avalon Correctional Center
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Avalon Correctional Services
Feb
15, 2014 tulsaworld.com
OKLAHOMA
CITY — The Oklahoma Department of Corrections won’t consider returning
inmates to Avalon Correctional Services’ Tulsa halfway house until
significant changes are made to its operations, officials said Thursday.
Interim director Ed Evans told the Board of Corrections that the agency
issued several pages of requirements that the private company must address
before getting a new contract to repopulate its Avalon Tulsa halfway house.
The mandates include upgrading security cameras, increasing drug testing of
offenders and strengthening methods of finding and tracking contraband at the
facility. The agency would have an on-site monitor for at least six months
and be able to review prospective administrators and other hires for the
facility. Avalon would be required to pick up the tab for all of these
changes. Company officials said they have already completed upgrades on the
building at 302 W. Archer St. to improve security and safety and are working
quickly to make all changes required by DOC. “We’re actually great with
everything that they recommended,” said Brian Costello, president and chief
operating officer. “A lot of stuff we’ve already complied with. I think we
should be relatively close to meeting those requirements.” In January,
department officials closed Avalon Tulsa and canceled its contract,
transferring more than 200 inmates due to “serious infractions” affecting
offender safety. The investigation began after inmate fights were captured on
cellphone videos from inside the facility. The fights at Avalon Tulsa are
among allegations of inmates’ civil rights violations that the Department of
Corrections and FBI are now investigating. Oklahoma City-based Avalon
operates halfway houses in Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming for inmates nearing
the end of their sentences as they prepare to reintegrate into society. Its
Turley halfway house for women and Carver facilities in Oklahoma City remain
open under their current DOC contracts. Whether Avalon Tulsa is ultimately
reopened will be up to DOC and its new director, Robert Patton, who is
expected to begin his duties next week. The department has full authority
over its contracts with halfway house providers and does not need approval of
the Board of Corrections to cancel or approve those contracts, officials
said. Board member Steve Burrage said he simply
wanted to make sure the department was “acting in fairness” toward Avalon.
“This is a contract we’ve had for 29 years,” he said. Burrage
said Avalon had a “very clean” record. Department officials previously told
state legislators the agency has evidence that administrators at Avalon Tulsa
knew about the inmates fighting for sport and gambling purposes and allowed
it to continue. Attorneys representing several of the Avalon Tulsa inmates
have alleged that administrators not only knew, but participated by selecting
inmates and setting up the fights. Also at Thursday’s Board of Corrections
meeting, General Counsel Mike Oakley informed the board that despite allegations
by some state legislators that DOC is not following the law with regard to
placing inmates in halfway houses, there is actually no statutory requirement
to place inmates in those facilities. Halfway houses are simply one option
DOC has for community corrections placement of inmates as they complete their
sentences, Oakley said. Protecting public safety and following strict
policies on which inmates can be placed in halfway houses and work release
programs are the most important factors, he said. “They’re frying your
burgers and serving your fast food,” Oakley told the board. “We want to make
sure these offenders are fit to go into your community.”
Feb
1, 2014 oklahomawatch.org
Federal
investigators are looking into allegations against a Tulsa halfway house that
resulted in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections pulling its inmates from
the facility, Oklahoma Watch has learned. Edward Evans, acting director of
the Corrections Department, told legislators at a House public-safety
subcommittee meeting Tuesday that the federal government was investigating
issues at the Avalon Correctional Services facility in Tulsa. Corrections
Department spokesman Jerry Massie confirmed to Oklahoma WatchThursday
that the department had turned over evidence to federal investigators and
department officials have had conversations with the U.S. Attorney’s Office
and the FBI about the matter. An FBI spokesman said per the bureau’s policy,
he could not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. The
Department of Corrections has three active investigations into Avalon’s Tulsa
halfway house, according to a Jan. 14 letter from the department’s deputy
director Reginald Hines to Brian Costello, president and chief operating
officer of Oklahoma City-based Avalon. Preliminary evidence showed “serious
infractions” involving inmate counts, security, possession of contraband by
inmates and offender safety concerns, according to the letter. “The
violations are so serious that the Department will begin depopulating Avalon
Tulsa immediately” of its nearly 200 inmates, Hines wrote, adding that the
evidence showed a breach that goes to the heart of the contract. The contract
would be cancelled, the letter said. “The Department has lost confidence in
the administration of the Tulsa facility,” Hines wrote. The letter ordered
all inmates removed from the facility within 10 days and limited the
department’s inmate count at Avalon’s Oklahoma City facility, the Carver
Center, to 225. In November, The Oklahoman reported allegations that inmates
were participating in organized fights sanctioned by officers at the Avalon
halfway house in Tulsa. In January, a video showing a fight between two
inmates at the facility was posted by theOklahoman,
the Tulsa World and other media outlets. Avalon also has come under scrutiny
over its halfway house for women in Turley, called the Turley Residential
Center. Two lawsuits in Tulsa County allege that Avalon did not report
incidents of sexual abuse and discriminated against a volunteer, according to
a Tulsa World report in November. Incident reports also alleged other
misconduct, including inappropriate relationships between staff and offenders
and inmates testing positive for drug use. A corporate attorney for Avalon
denied the allegations. The issue of Avalon’s Tulsa facility was discussed
during January’s Board of Corrections meeting, where Costello offered to
replace the site’s administrator and pay for a full-time Corrections
Department monitor at the facility. State Rep. Gus Blackwell, R-Laverne, also
spoke at the meeting, urging the board not to remove all inmates from the
Tulsa facility because of an already overcrowded prison system and concerns
about guard safety. Costello said Thursday that he has heard the FBI may be
looking into the matter, but his company has not been contacted by federal
investigators. Costello also said Avalon is working with the Corrections
Department to come up with a list of changes to make to get the facility
re-opened and re-populated. That list of changes and requirements should be
available on Friday, he said. Meanwhile, Tulsa attorney Louis Bullock, who
represents some of the former Avalon inmates and who released the fight video
to media, said he, too, has heard of an FBI investigation into allegations
against Avalon. Bullock said he expects to file litigation in the matter.
Despite the problems at halfway houses, Blackwell and Steve Mullins, Gov.
Mary Fallin's general counsel, have questioned
whether the Corrections Department is following the law by failing to send
more offenders to halfway houses, the Tulsa World reported Tuesday. Emails
released in November by Fallin’s office show that
on March 5 last year, Avalon representatives met with staff members for Fallin and accused the Corrections Department of breaking
the law by not placing enough offenders nearing release in halfway houses.
Massie told Oklahoma Watch in December that many offenders who would
otherwise be eligible to go to halfway houses were not sent there because of
public safety concerns, which is an exception written into the law.
Jan
23, 2014 The Oklohoman
TULSA
— After the Oklahoma Corrections Department canceled its contract amid three
ongoing investigations, a private company has removed 212 state offenders
from a Tulsa halfway house. Oklahoma-based Avalon Correctional Services Inc.
was given 10 days to take action in a letter from Deputy Director Reginald
Hines sent Jan. 14. The letter says the department has “lost confidence in
the administration of the Tulsa facility,” and no offenders will be sent
there until after the department has completed and reviewed the findings of
the investigations. One of those investigations pertains to allegations that
officers at the Tulsa facility organized fights between offenders, which The
Oklahoman first reported Nov. 23. A video of inmates brawling surrounded by
fellow offenders at the facility was made available to the media by Tulsa
attorney Louis Bullock last week. Avalon later confirmed the video was shot
Aug. 24. Most of the 212 offenders have been transferred to other private
halfway houses, and a small number either have been discharged or placed on
GPS monitoring. One was sent to Nowata County jail and one more was paroled.
Nine of those transferred were sent to the Carver Transitional Center,
another halfway house operated by Avalon. At a special meeting Friday of the
Oklahoma Board of Corrections, Avalon President Brian Costello proposed
removing the Tulsa facility's administrator, Donald Coffman, and offered to
pay the salary of a full-time Corrections Department employee to monitor
necessary changes to reinstate Avalon's contract with the department.
Costello said Wednesday Coffman is still on Avalon's payroll and is working
in the company's central office. The Tulsa center will continue to house
about 20 people who are paying for their treatment privately, but Costello
said he has worries the loss of the state contract could result in permanent
closure. “It will take us a while to hopefully restore the faith in our
operation by the department, but also the public at large,” Costello said.
“We think we provide a service that is essential for Oklahoma, like we do in
Texas where, you know, the increase in halfway house usage and treatment
usage has actually driven the prison population down.” The Corrections
Department also limited to 225 the total number of state offenders the Carver
Transitional Center can house. The facility has a 556-bed capacity. Once the
department has completed its investigations it will outline a course of
action, if any, that can be taken by Avalon to renew its contract with the
state to house offenders in the Tulsa center, said Jerry Massie, Corrections
Department spokesman. “We'll come up with what we believe are corrective
actions that need to occur and see how they'll respond to that,” Massie said.
Jan
21, 2014 The Oklahoman
TULSA — A grainy video shows two shirtless men surrounded by bunks and
several male onlookers in an apparent fight circle. The shirtless men touch
hands, raise their fists and start taking swings at each other. Attorney
Louis Bullock said the cellphone video depicts an officer-organized fight at
a halfway house the state Corrections Department is in the process of
shutting down. In the video, another man holds what appears to be cash and
tells one of the fighters that if he wins he will get paid. Amid
encouragement from those watching, the two shirtless men throw wild punches.
One man unsuccessfully attempts to body slam the other before the pair
wrestle into a bunk and then the ground. The man on top lands several blows
to the other man's head and kicks him once with a booted foot before other
offenders pull them apart. The fight takes place at the Avalon Correctional
Center in Tulsa, operated by Oklahoma-based Avalon Corrections Services Inc.,
and is at the heart of an ongoing investigation by the state Corrections
Department's internal affairs division, Bullock said.
>>READ:
Safety concerns prompt Oklahoma corrections officials to order removal of
inmates from private center
>>READ:
Oklahoma Corrections Department investigates reports of fight at halfway
house
>>READ:
DOC letter to Brian Costello
It
is not clear when the fight occurred. The attorney said he has been speaking
to several offenders from the facility who he says were coerced, or in some
cases forced, into fights. Bullock said he plans to pursue a civil rights
lawsuit against Avalon. He said he has been told by multiple parties,
including one of the offenders depicted in the video, that two officers at
the facility were not only present during the fight, but they condoned it.
“It tells me that this event was sanctioned, and it supports the view that
these types of fights were not exceptional,” Bullock said. Bullock alleges
that not only did guards facilitate the altercations, the center's administrator,
Donnie Coffman, was involved as well. “... I have inmates who have reported
that they were ordered by Coffman to assault other inmates,” Bullock said,
adding that no action was taken by halfway house administrators when inmates
complained fights were about to take place. Official denies role Coffman said
he never encouraged or ordered any type of assault, nor has he seen the
video. “Was I aware of the video? I was told that there was one, but my
bosses are dealing with it, but I didn't know anything about it, and they're
trying to say that I organized fights, and that's not true,” Coffman said
Thursday. Coffman said he has been with Avalon for seven years, serving as
the center's administrator since 2010. He said he also has worked for the
state Office of Juvenile Affairs and the Corrections Department. In a letter
Tuesday to Avalon, the department demanded the company remove all 212 inmates
from the Tulsa facility due to three active investigations. The letter also
states the department has lost confidence in the facility's administration.
Coffman acknowledged that cellphones, which are illegal for offenders to posses while incarcerated, and drugs have been problems
at the center. “We've probably taken, I don't know, 50 or 60 cellphones away
from them every 90 days,” Coffman said. “As far as drugs, yes, they go out in
the public, and these are inmates that come here with drug habits and ...
come straight from a facility with a drug habit.” Avalon's president and
chief operations officer, Brian Costello, did not return calls seeking
comment. Three investigations: One of the Corrections Department
investigations is into the video and the possibility that guards were
organizing fights between offenders, said Jerry Massie, department spokesman.
Massie confirmed the investigation has been going on since at least November,
when The Oklahoman first reported the presence of a video. He declined to
comment on the other two investigations. The video is one of at least two
said to exist, and Coffman said one of the two officers alleged to be
captured on film has been fired, but Coffman would not say when he was let
go. Lynn Powell, director of OK-Cure, the state branch of a national
organization seeking changes to the criminal justice system, said she has
seen a second video of a different fight that clearly shows two officers
initiating a fight between offenders. Powell, who has been inside the Tulsa
facility, said the video obtained by The Oklahoman also takes place there.
Jan
15, 2014 The Oklahoman
The state Corrections Department is demanding an Oklahoma company immediately
remove all inmates from a halfway house amid allegations that officers staged
fights among offenders. In a letter Tuesday to Avalon Corrections Services
Inc., the department said it is freezing the number of Oklahoma offenders it
sends to the company's facilities and allowing 10 days to transfer all 212
individuals in the Avalon Correctional Center, a 390-bed halfway house in
Tulsa. Those offenders will be transferred to various other facilities in the
state, possibly including another Avalon center, said Jerry Massie,
Corrections Department spokesman. The move comes in response to three
investigations the department is conducting at the center. Massie confirmed
one of the three investigations involves allegations of officer-organized
fighting between inmates, which The Oklahoman reported in November. The
facility's administrator, Donnie Coffman, at that time told The Oklahoman he
had spoken to his corporate office about a video of the fighting rumored to
be circulating, but questioned its existence. “I'd have to see this video to
believe it to be true,” Coffman said. “What you're asking about is as far fetched at this facility as you can imagine.” This is
the first time the state Corrections Department has called for a private
facility to be depopulated over safety concerns, Massie said. The letter from
Reginald Hines, deputy director of the state Corrections Department, states
that department officials have lost confidence in the facility's administration.
Massie said he could not comment on whether they are going to ask that
administrators be removed from the center, but the letter did stipulate any
transfers of staff from the Tulsa facility to their Carver Correctional
Center in Oklahoma City must be approved by the department. “Once the
investigation is finished and we reviewed all the evidence, we'll provide
Avalon with what we feel are the necessary requirements to contract with them
again,” Massie said. In an emailed response provided to The Oklahoman, Brian
Costello, president and chief operating officer of Avalon, called the move
“unprecedented and unwarranted,” saying not only will it result in the loss
of jobs and reintegration opportunities for 100 inmates and jobs for 40
workers, it “will likely result in the permanent closure of the facility and
the loss of 390 beds to the state.” In 2008, a similar Avalon facility in
Greeley, Colo., was closed by that state amid reports of sexual, drug and
weapons-related misconduct. About 100 offenders were transferred to other
facilities, and Avalon no longer operates that halfway house or any other
facilities in Colorado. Costello said they will be taking the necessary
actions to propose a safe alternative to the facility's closure, but he
expressed disdain over the removal of offenders, calling it politically
motivated. “It is no secret that certain individuals within the DOC would
like to see the failure of the Halfway House system in Oklahoma,” Costello
said. “The former Director of the DOC is on record stating that he doesn't
believe private companies should be in the corrections business. That view is
shared by others in the department.” Justin Jones, former executive director
of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, was public in his objections to the
use of private prisons, after he stepped down from the post in August.
August 9, 2010 Tulsa World
In a cost-cutting move, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections is
eliminating some of its community-level beds in Tulsa. The agency has
canceled a contract with Avalon Correctional Services for beds to house
offenders put on public works crews in Tulsa, department Director Justin
Jones said. The offenders are being moved to other facilities. Avalon
President Brian Costello said the contract involves about 75 offenders. With
those beds empty, the company will have trouble keeping its building open, he
said. "We are exploring some options to try to find a different
population to go in there. It doesn't look promising," Costello said.
Jones said the state inmates should be out of Avalon's building at 1727
Charles Page Blvd. by about Sept. 1.
June
29, 2005 News 9
Tuesday night prison guards are being accused of taking bribes. We're
told they're taking money and letting prisoners out of jail. Nick Winkler
found out why prisoners say it's easy to get out. The music was not so sweet
a few weeks ago. Sources say the thieves who broke James McGinley's window
and stole his radio should've been in prison instead they paid guards at a
half-way house $50 to let them out for the night. Lawyer Mark Bright
represents a man who once stayed at the Carver Center the man says he has
seen guards take money from prisoners. Sources say prisoners would return in
time to be counted by the bribed guard the next morning avoiding new guards
during shift changes. And it's those guards McGinley says should pay for the
damage to his car. After college McGinley wants to be a cop to catch
criminals and the guards who set them free for bribes. A spokesperson at the
Carver Center says the Center is not aware of any guards taking bribes but
will investigate.
March 25, 2005 Tulsa World
A man was charged Thursday with escape, car theft, drunken driving and other
counts amid accusations that he stole a Collinsville police car after being
arrested Saturday night. Franklin
Eugene Klutts Jr. also faces charges of driving
with a revoked license and four other counts. Klutts
is alleged to have escaped earlier Saturday from an Avalon Correctional
Services facility in Tulsa.
August 27, 2004
The driver and four state prisoners were injured Thursday when a van hit
three vehicles and crashed into a southeast Oklahoma City business. An
Avalon Correctional Services van driven by Donahue Bowens, 44, hit a vehicle
parked in front of Crossland's A&A Rent-All & Sales Co., 716 SE 29,
police Sgt. Tony Foreman said. A portion of the parked vehicle was in
the street when the accident occurred about 7:30 a.m., he said. The right
front tire of the van blew out, and the A-frame was broken before it spun out
of control, he said. The van struck two other parked vehicles before it
crashed into the building. (News Ok)
July 24, 2004
A man who fled from a traffic stop Friday morning was believed to have been a
correctional center escapee who has been a fugitive since May. Jack L.
Billingslea, 34, was serving sentences at Avalon Correctional Center in Tulsa
for concealing stolen property, assaulting a police officer, possessing a
stolen vehicle and driving under the influence of alcohol, Corrections
Department records show. When a Tulsa County deputy stopped a vehicle
about 9 a.m. in the 3000 block of Charles Page Boulevard, a passenger jumped
out and ran, Chief Deputy Brian Edwards said. The driver told authorities
that the passenger was Billingslea. Deputies and Tulsa police searched the
area, but Billingslea was never found. (Tulsa World)
December 14, 2002
A Tulsa halfway house inmate who beat a fellow inmate to death with a TV set
last spring was found guilty of first-degree murder Thursday
night. The jury recommended life without parole for Robert Spanglo, 47, who was convicted in the March 31 attack on
Charles Bush, 34, at the Avalon Correctional Center, 302 W. Archer. Spanglo and Bush were inmates at Avalon, where, during
the early morning hours, Spanglo picked up a TV and
bashed Bush on the head while Bush was in bed. (Tulsa World)
October
23, 2002
Tulsa County Officials are expressing frustration with the Tulsa Police
Department for continuing to take public drunks to the Tulsa Jail rather than
the Public Inebriate Alternative center, where the daily cost is much
cheaper. The chairman of the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority,
Bob Dick, said Tuesday before a meeting with judges, the public defender,
district attorney and other court officials that they would have to decide
next month whether to renew a contract with Avalon Correctional
Services. The authority is paying Avalon to operate thee PIA program
and guarantees it 40 beds at $24 a day. But the average number of beds
used is only five or six while there are typically 100 to 200 public drunks
in the jail. It may be too late,
however. The Criminal Justice Authority has already been paying for
about 35 extra beds for public drunks a year, which comes to an estimated
$306,600. Avalon's contract is subject to renewal Nov. 30. (Tulsa
World)
May 3, 2002
A Tulsa halfway house inmate who was hit in the head by a television-wielding
fellow inmate has died from his injuries. Robert Spanglo,
46, was charged Thursday with first-degree murder in connection with the
death of Charles Bush,34. Spanglo is accused
of flinging the TV at Bush's head at the Avalon Correctional Center on March
31. (Tulsa World)
Avalon
Correctional Services
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Aug 29, 2013 tribtown.com
TULSA, Oklahoma — A group of female inmates has filed
a negligence lawsuit against the private company operating a halfway house in
suburban Tulsa, alleging they were routinely subjected to sexual battery and
harassment while participating in a work-release program. The lawsuit was
filed against Oklahoma City-based Avalon Correctional Services, which
operates the Turley Residential Center for female inmates. At least 20 women
have made allegations, and more victims may come forward, attorney J. Spencer
Bryan told the Tulsa World (http://bit.ly/18hPTrg ).
Bryan said the abuses involved a work-release employer in the food services
industry. The work-release program offers job training and classes to prepare
inmates to re-enter the workforce as they complete jail or prison sentences.
"Different women had different experiences, but sexual battery is the
most common theme," Bryan said. "Those allegations generally
involve unwanted and repeated touching and groping of the buttocks and
breasts, pulling down clothing to expose body parts and unwanted
kissing." Several of the women said the employer would "gloat that
nobody would believe them because they're inmates," Bryan said. The
lawsuit says the Avalon staff retaliated against the women and accused them
of lying after the alleged abuse was reported. "Despite communicating
these complaints to Avalon, nothing was being done," Bryan said. Avalon
President Brian Costello said he couldn't comment on specific allegations
because he hadn't yet seen the lawsuit. "I don't know specifics of the
individual claims, so it's very difficult to know what we're talking
about," Costello said. "We have been made aware of one instance
with one employer that was investigated. That is the only instance that we
have ever been made aware of." But if there is any indication of a
problem with an employer, the inmates are immediately removed and placed in
jobs elsewhere, Costello said. "We take those allegations seriously.
We're pretty happy with the program and our relationship" with the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Costello said.
December 17, 2006 Tulsa World
Brent VanMeter, a top-level state official until he was arrested six
years ago, is now working for a company that runs halfway houses for inmates.
VanMeter, who was convicted of bribery and sent to federal prison, is
reticent about the past or his new life that includes a job with Avalon
Correctional Services Inc. "But I do think I have something to contribute.
I think I have empathy for what those people are going through," he
said. "Those people" are convicted felons with 1,000 or fewer days
remaining in their sentences who are living in halfway houses and have 30
days to get jobs before they are released for good. It was six years ago when
federal officers showed up at the state Department of Health with 13 search
warrants and arrested VanMeter, deputy health commissioner in charge of
nursing homes. A 20-year veteran of the department, he was a likely candidate
to one day become state commissioner of health. In December 2000, VanMeter
was sentenced to federal prison on charges of taking bribes from a nursing
home operator. He also was accused of taking part in paying "ghost
workers" who did not show up for work. He later pleaded guilty to
conspiring to deprive Oklahomans of the right to honest services from a state
official. U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron, who
pronounced one of his sentences, said the vulnerability of nursing home
clients made VanMeter's crime worse and it was necessary that he be punished
to set an example for the public. Testimony showed that he was using the
money from nursing home operators to feed his gambling habit. On the day of
his arrest, VanMeter had left the office to place bets on races. VanMeter
said he is lucky to realize now that "you are not always in control like
you think you are; there are outside influences." "I did have, I do
have a gambling problem, something I've dealt with and continue to deal with.
"I don't do that anymore. That was a whole period a long time ago. It
was one that I would just as soon put behind me. Hopefully I have and other
people will, too."
February 3, 2005 Yahoo
Avalon Correctional Services, Inc. announced today it has filed a Form 15
to terminate the Company's common stock registration under the Securities and
Exchange Act of 1934 ("the Act"). The Company's obligation to file
periodic reports with the SEC including reports on forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, and
the Company's proxy statement is suspended with the filing of the Form 15.
The deregistration will not become effective until the SEC terminates the
registration, which is expected to occur within 90 days. After careful
consideration it was determined that deregistering was not only in the
overall best interest of all of the Company's stockholders, but it was
crucial for the continuation of the Company as a going concern. Those factors
included but were not limited to the following: 1. The substantial
elimination of significant legal, accounting, and printing costs associated
with the preparation and filing of the periodic reports and other filings
with the SEC; 2. The elimination of substantial increases in legal, audit,
and other costs associated with being a public company in light of new
regulations promulgated as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002,
specifically Section 404 of the Act, and the SEC rules thereunder; 3. The
financial impact of the estimated cost to be incurred during 2005 to comply
with Section 404 of the Act could place the Company into default with
existing loan covenants; 4. The financial impact of the estimated cost to be
incurred during 2005 to comply with Section 404 of the Act could eliminate
the Company's ability to access funds for current operations and future
growth. 5. The financial impact of the estimated cost to be incurred during
2005 to comply with Section 404 of the Act could jeopardize the Company's
ability to continue as a going concern; The
Company's shares will no longer be listed on the NASDAQ Small Cap market.
January 19, 2005 Reuters
Shares of Avalon Correctional Services Inc. (CITY.O: Quote, Profile,
Research) fell 8 percent on Wednesday after the company said it received a
notice of delisting or transfer from the Nasdaq stock exchange. The private
prison operator said the Nasdaq's letter, received Jan. 12, stated that it
must provide evidence of compliance with the exchange's rules on independent
directors and audit committees or else face delisting. Two of the board's
three audit committee members -- Chairman Robert McDonald and Charles Thomas
-- resigned from the board effective Dec. 30, Avalon said on Tuesday. The
company, based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, said it has not decided how to
respond to the Nasdaq letter. It is evaluating whether to remain a publicly
traded company given the various costs of complying with the Sarbanes Oxley
Act. Avalon shares were down 20 cents, or 8.2 percent, at $2.25 at midday
Wednesday.
January
29, 2004
The Oklahoma County jail's only psychiatrist, who treats more than 600
mentally ill inmates, was fired Wednesday. Dr. Bill Mitchell said the
only reason he was given for his termination was that he did not "fit
in. Mitchell said he has been upset for months with operation of the
medical unit because he could not easily get the more expensive medications
that the mentally ill need, but he did not expect the abrupt firing.
"I didn't have any warning," he said. The sheriff's office
has a $4.2 million contract with Correctional Healthcare Management of Oklahoma
Inc. Chris Capoot, vice president of
Correctional Healthcare Management Inc. of Parker, Colo., came to Oklahoma
City on Wednesday to terminate Mitchell. (Oklahoman)
August 12, 2002
This month primary elections could affect the operation of the Oklahoma
County jail and whether it remains under the authority of Sheriff John Whetsel. The committee is charged with recommending
whether the county commissioners should take control of the jail for Whetsel and give it to a jail trust authority whose
membership would include the commissioners. Another option, the express
trust, concerns Whetsel the most. Under this
option, the commissioners could form a trust similar to the one that operates
the Tulsa County jail. The measure would require just two of the three
commissioners voting "yes". The county would hire a private
company to operate the detention center without a vote of the people or the
consent of the sheriff. "The problem with the jail is the
funding," Inman said. "It's been under funded since it's been
built. If you form a jail trust, it solves none of the
problems." Inman is urging voters to look at the Tulsa County
Jail, where the sheriff lost control to an express jail trust authority
formed by Tulsa County commissioners. The commissioners hired a private
company to manage the jail- a contract that has since proven controversial
due to increased costs for housing inmates. "It's a back-door way
for the commissioners to take control away from the sheriff," Inman
said. "It allows the commissioners to tell the private company how
to operate the jail." (Oklahoman)
June 21, 2001
James Saffle has joined the Avalon management team
as President, following his retirement as Director of the Oklahoma Department
of Corrections. Mr. Saffle will direct
Avalon's national growth by continuing to focus on community corrections
markets, as well as target additional states with Avalon's innovative
community corrections programs. "This is an ideal time for many
states to take a closer look at community corrections and alternative
programming for the increasing inmate population. Daily corrections
operating costs continue to spiral upward, putting increased financial
pressures on many states," said Saffle.
(Business Wire)
June 08, 2001
The former head of the state Corrections Department has taken over as
president of a private corrections company. James Saffle
said he felt he could do more good with the type of people housed in
facilities owned by Avalon Corrections Services. Avalon, based in
Oklahoma City, has operations in Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado. Don
Smith, Avalon's chief executive officer, first contacted Saffle
in February after learning of his pending retirement. Saffle started at Avalon on Tuesday. His last day
at the Corrections Department was June 1. (AP)
May 17, 2001
Avalon Correctional Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: CITY), a leading owner and
operator of private community correctional operations and specialized
alternative programming, announced today the appointment of Dr. Charles W.
Thomas to the Avalon Correctional Services Board of Directors. Dr.
Thomas served as a director of Prison Realty Trust, Inc. from 1997 until the
merger of Prison Trust with the Corrections Corporation of America in October
of 2000 and as a director of the Corrections Corporation of America from the
date of the merger until December of 2000. He also is a member of the
Research Committee of the Associated of Private Correctional and Treatment
Organizations, the recently formed trade association that was created to
represent the interests of private providers of correctional services.
(Business Wire)
Blue
Raven Services
Transportation
Aug
5, 2022 tulsaworld.com
Private
prisoner transporter indicted in connection with sexual assault of detainee
A
Claremore man who transported pretrial detainees to jails and prisons
throughout the country has been indicted in connection with the sexual
assault of one of those detainees. Dewayne Lewis Dudley, 55, made an initial
appearance Wednesday in Tulsa federal court after an indictment unsealed the same
day charged him with two crimes, according to court records. The indictment
charges Dudley with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and
one count of obstruction. If convicted, Dudley faces a maximum sentence of
life in prison. Dudley, while working as a private prisoner transport officer
for Blue Raven Services, sexually assaulted a detainee and later lied about
it to the FBI, the U.S. Justice Department alleges in a media release. The
indictment alleges that Dudley touched a pretrial detainee’s genitals without
the detainee’s consent while transporting him on Aug. 27 from Indiana to New
Mexico, resulting in “bodily injury” and kidnapping. Local jails and prisons
throughout the country hire Blue Raven Services to transport people who have
been arrested on out-of-state warrants and require transport back to the
jurisdiction that issued the warrant, according to the U.S. Justice
Department media release, which describes Dudley as a former private prison
transport officer. The indictment alleges that Dudley lied to the FBI Dec. 16
when he said he never took the detainee to a hotel and then to his residence
when transporting him from Indiana to New Mexico. “These statements and
representations were false, because, as defendant Dewayne Dudley … well knew,
he had taken (the detainee) to a hotel and to his residence while
transporting” the detainee, the indictment says.
Carver Transitional Center
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Avalon
Feb 1, 2019 kfor.com
Investigations underway involving violent incidents with inmates at OKC
halfway house
OKLAHOMA CITY - Two separate investigations are underway regarding
violent incidents with inmates from an Oklahoma City halfway house. One
happened inside the home; the other led to an officer-involved shooting after
the suspect walked away. "This type of stuff, especially like what
happened last week and certainly last night, it's not particularly
common," said Matt Elliott with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
The Carver Transitional Center in Oklahoma City is supposed to be a place for
change - a place inmates can turn their life around. "Prison is a
terrible place to be," Elliott said. "It's a traumatic experience.
Most of them don't ever want to go back. They want to get their lives in
order." But after two recent incidents - some have taken a step back. In
one incident, a naked and angry inmate was in a fist fight with police. In
the other incident, an inmate was shot by officers after walking away from
the Carver Center and allegedly becoming violent. "The suspect continued
to charge at the officer with a crowbar-type instrument in his hand,"
said Capt. Bo Mathews with the Oklahoma City Police Dept. "The officer
retreated and fired his weapon, striking the subject." That suspect,
identified as 38-year-old Kirk Shields, was nearing the end of a sentence for
several charges including burglary and eluding police. But on Wednesday,
things changed. "Mr. Shields became irate for reasons that are not known
and assaulted staff outside of the Carver Center," Elliott said.
"Then he fled the facility." Police say before he was shot by
officers, Shields had assaulted a man, leaving him in the hospital. Elliott
says inmates' halfway houses are free to come and go as they please and most
aren't violent, so it's rare to have incidents like this, especially in such
a short time frame. "By and large most halfway house inmates aren't
trying to cause trouble," said Elliott. "They just want to get out.
They don't want to be under the state's thumb anymore. They just want to get
on with their lives." The DOC does not run the halfway house. It's
operated by CoreCivic, one of two major
correctional companies in the United States. Now, the DOC says 15 inmates are
being moved to Lexington's prison after reviewing their behavior during the
brawl. Officials say it’s not acceptable behavior for the halfway house. The
inmates are going back to prison. The suspect who was shot by an officer is
expected to survive and the officer is on paid administrative leave. CoreCivic released the following statement: "We are
cooperating fully with our government partner and local law enforcement as
they investigate these incidents. CoreCivic
Community is dedicated to delivering proven and innovative practices that
help individuals obtain employment, successfully reintegrate into society and
keep communities safe. Note: Carver
Transitional Center is a non-secure residential reentry center (halfway
house.) Residents are free to come and
go during the day for work, counseling and other reentry services, as is
standard practice for these types of facilities."
Jan
31, 2019 kfor.com
DOC inmate, halfway house ‘walk away’ injured in police shooting;
suspected in earlier assault
OKLAHOMA CITY - A Department of Corrections inmate and current resident
of a city halfway house was injured after he was shot by an Oklahoma City
officer on the city's northwest side Wednesday evening. According to Oklahoma
City Police, an officer was responding to a suspicious person call at a home
in the 2600 block of W. Park Place at around 6 p.m. when he spotted the man
with a "crowbar-type instrument" and chased after him. "The
officer chased him to the east side of the house and at this point the
suspect turned to the officer and the officer discharged his taser and this
did not work on the suspect," said Capt. Bo Mathews. "The suspect
continued to charge at the officer with a crowbar-type instrument in his
hand. The officer retreated and fired his weapon, striking the subject."
Mathews said the man was taken into custody and transported to a hospital
where he is expected to survive. The officer was not injured. Mathews said
police later learned the man had a fight at the Carver Transitional Center,
400 S. May, earlier in the day and was considered an escapee. An Oklahoma
Department of Corrections official confirmed to News 4 Wednesday night the
man is a DOC inmate who "walked away" from the halfway house, run
by Core Civic, a private prison company contracted by DOC. Mathews said it's
also believed the man is the suspect in an assault that happened earlier in
the evening, down the block from where the shooting took place, that sent
another man to the hospital. The conditions of both men are unknown at this
time and it's unclear if they knew each other. Mathews said it's also unknown
how many rounds the officer fired, or how many times the suspect was hit.
"You have a person that the officer shot, obviously has injuries. And
then also there was an altercation before the officer arrived, where the
suspect had beat up somebody and put that person in the hospital," said
Mathews. "Right now our homicide detectives are working the scene. I
think there are some people that saw the initial fight where the suspect we
had shot had beat up somebody and also we have witnesses, allegedly, to the
officer involved shooting." The suspect's name is not being released
until his family is notified. The officer has been placed on paid
administrative leave pending the outcome of the shooting investigation.
Apr 22, 2016 newsok.com
Search of Oklahoma City halfway house nets drug cache
Department of Corrections officers found drugs, alcohol and other
contraband in a sweep of the Carver Transitional Center on Tuesday. Methamphetamine,
marijuana, weapons and other contraband were found during a surprise search
of a halfway house in southwest Oklahoma City. Nearly 40 grams of marijuana,
a half gram of methamphetamine, alcohol and 26 cellphones were among the
contraband found Tuesday at the Carver Transitional Center, 400 S May Ave.,
according to a news release. Thirty officers with the Department of
Corrections conducted the three-and-a-half hour sweep of the facility, which
is under the overview of the DOC, but owned and operated by Corrections
Corporation of America. Corrections Director Joe M. Allbaugh
said inmates at a transitional center are under the same restrictions as in
state prisons. The inmates are allowed to leave during the day to work and
are required to pass through a security checkpoint when they return in the
evenings. Department of Corrections
officers found drugs, alcohol and other contraband in a sweep of the Carver
Transitional Center on Tuesday. [Photo Provided] Photo - Department of Corrections officers
found drugs, alcohol and other contraband in a sweep of the Carver
Transitional Center on Tuesday. “It is unacceptable for inmates to walk past
a security check point with the volume of contraband items that were found
inside the facility,” Allbaugh said. “This kind of
negligence will end immediately. I expect the full cooperation of CCA as we
review its safety protocols. “The difference with a contraband issue at a
facility like Carver is the inmates are literally walking in the front door
with items. At a regular prison facility, the inmates are sneaking it in
under the radar,” Allbaugh said. Also found during
the sweep were a bottle of vodka, two syringes, two knives, a screwdriver, a
pair of pliers, wire cutters and $596 in cash.
December 8, 2006 The Oklahoman
A project by a private corrections company to expand its minimum-security
center in Oklahoma City is in jeopardy after a state agency failed Thursday
to act on its proposal to sell bonds to finance the deal. Southern
Corrections System Inc., which is part of Avalon Correctional Services Inc.,
sought permission to raise $14.5 million through industrial development
revenue bonds. Avalon, based in Oklahoma City, has operations in Oklahoma,
Texas and Colorado. The Oklahoma Development Finance Authority earlier
approved the deal, but members of the Council of Bond Oversight tabled the
proposal. Council Chairman Cliff Elliott said the proposal lacked
information. About $300,000 was listed for making improvements and expanding
the Carver Center, 400 S May Ave., and about $1 million was proposed to
renovate the company’s Riverside Intermediate Sanction Unit in Tulsa from
minimum security to medium security. The state Corrections Department leases
space in both places to house state inmates. Southern Corrections also wanted
to refinance a $3.5 million bond issue, according to its proposal. Council
members, after wanting to know how the rest of the proposed bond issue would
be spent, were given documents during Thursday’s meeting that showed money
was to be spent to build a hangar for the company’s airplane, rebuild the
plane’s engines, refinance a loan to buy the plane and purchase vehicles. The
rest of the money went to unspecified or unclear purposes. "I don’t know
what a lot of these are,” Elliott said. Eric Gray, vice president and
corporate lawyer for Southern and Avalon, said after the meeting that a bond
closing was set for Dec. 15. "It doesn’t happen is the short answer,”
Gray said. "We’re just going to have to regroup. This is a total shock
to us.”
Central Oklahoma
Correctional Facility
McLoud, OK
Dominion
January 15, 2003
A deal that allows the
Department of Corrections to purchase a private prison and
transfer inmates from the Mabel Bassett Correctional Facility there could be
finalized as soon as next month. The
DOC believes moving offenders from Mabel Basset, where the state's
maximum-security female inmates are housed, to the Central Oklahoma
Correctional Facility in McLoud will save the
agency money. The private prison,
which houses about 575 female inmates, is about 25 miles east of downtown
Oklahoma City and can house about 1,100 offenders, Ward said. About 150 of
the inmates in the McLoud prison are from Hawaii
and Wyoming. "Our plan is to
continue to contract with those two states," Ward said. "We will
have enough bed space to continue to do that. It is our plan to do that as
long as it is mutually acceptable to all the parties." Edmond-based McLoud Correctional Services owns the prison and Dominion
Correctional Services, also based in Edmond, operates it. (AP)
October 25, 2002
The state Corrections Department moved a step closer Thursday to buying the
Central Oklahoma Correctional Facility in McLoud
when its governing board approved a resolution that would authorize the state
to spend up to $40 million for it. The plan calls for the state to
issue bonds that would allow the department to lease, then buy the
prison. The proposed budget also includes $8.6 million more for
contract prison bed space. Contract beds include private prisons and
county jails. (Daily Oklahoman)
October 24, 2001
Four Hawaii women inmates
who said they were sexually assaulted by prison guards in
Oklahoma will not be allowed to pursue their lawsuit here in
Hawaii. The four said they were abused at the privately-run Central
Oklahoma correctional facility -- they'd been sent there to
relieve overcrowding at Hawaii prisons. Judge David
Ezra agreed with the mainland-prison company. The trial will be held
in federal court in either Tulsa or Oklahoma City. (The Hawaii Channel)
August 16, 2001
Inmates and former staff members at an Oklahoma prison where some female
prisoners from Hawai'i are housed say illegal drugs are abundant there.
Wisconsin inmates who served time at the privately operated prison repeatedly
told monitors from their home state that drugs were widely available there.
Former prison employees told The Advertiser that the Oklahoma prison staff
seemed unable or unwilling to cope with the drug problem. A former
inmate from Hawai'i, recently paroled after serving time at the Central
Oklahoma Correctional Facility, said drugs were far more plentiful in
Oklahoma than at the Women's Community Correctional Center in Kailua, where
she had also served time. Inmates at the Oklahoma prison had access to
heroin, crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and marijuana, said the
inmate, who asked that her name not be used because, as a parolee, she feared
retribution from authorities. The state first sent inmates to the
Central Oklahoma Correctional Facility outside Oklahoma City in 1998 and is
negotiating a new contract with Dominion. The prison was operated by the
Sarasota, Fla.-based Correctional Services Corp. until December, when the
operation was taken over by Dominion. Former prison staff members such
as Sid Stell, who worked as a training officer,
captain and acting chief of security at the prison, said drugs were so widely
available by early last year that inmates would brazenly smoke marijuana in
the six prison dormitories. Linda Phipps, a former grievance officer
and compliance officer who worked at the prison until March, said:
"Drugs are rampant there. They are absolutely all over the
place." Sandra Green, who worked as a corrections officer at the
prison in 1999 and 2000, said she was astonished at how often corrections
officials turned up evidence of drug use. She estimated she smelled inmates
smoking drugs inside the prison on 10 occasions. Once, she said, she saw
inmates lined up out the door of a bathroom for a chance to smoke crack
cocaine. Stell was also responsible for
training corrections officers at the prison, and drugs were a problem partly
because the prison couldn't seem to recruit well-qualified staff.
(Honolulu Advertiser)
August 12, 2001
Three Hawai'i women who served time in a privately run Oklahoma prison claim
they were sexually assaulted by prison staff there, and a fourth woman
alleges she was "tortured" by prison officials after she complained
that a prison lieutenant was sexually preying on women inmates. One Kaua'i woman says she was forced to have sex with a
guard, became pregnant and underwent an involuntary abortion at a prison
medical facility. The four Hawai'i women are suing the Hawai'i
Department of Public Safety as well as Dominion Group, the company that
operates the Central Oklahoma Correctional Facility in McLoud.
The federal court lawsuits allege that "more than a dozen" women
locked up at the prison were raped or endured "unwanted sexual advances
and other forms of improper behavior" by prison staff. In the
early 1990s, there were similar accusations of sexual misconduct involving
female prisoners in Hawai'i. In a series of cases, about two dozen
corrections workers were fired or charged with crimes. The state paid nearly
$1 million to settle several lawsuits filed by female prisoners claiming they
were sexually abused. (Honolulu Advertiser)
Cimarron Correctional Facility
Cushing, OK
CCA -à CoreCivic
Jan
12, 2022 1600kush.com
Cushing prison employee accused of carrying tobacco & drugs into
facility
(Cushing,
Okla.) - A 30-year-old Stillwater man accused of bringing tobacco pouches and
Suboxone strips into the Cimarron Correctional Facility while he was an
employee on Dec. 29 has been ordered to appear in court on Feb. 1 with an
attorney on a felony charge of carrying contraband into the private prison in
Cushing. Nolan James Higgins, 30, was arrested at 7:44 pm on Dec. 29, 2021,
by Cushing Police Officer Jason Beal and held in the Payne County Jail until
New Year's Eve when he posted $10,000 bail on the charge punishable by one to
five years in prison plus a fine of $100 to $1,000 on conviction, court
records show. The Cushing police officer, who had prior experience as a
correctional officer, was sent to the private prison at 6:21 pm that night on
a report of an employee introducing contraband, his affidavit alleged. CCF
lead investigator Greg Jones "advised me Higgins had been caught
bringing in approximately 33 tobacco pouches and approximately 100 Suboxone
strips. I observed open tobacco pouches and thin, yellow-colored strips with
the number 8 stamped on them," laid out on a table in the conference
room, the Cushing officer alleged in his affidavit. Suboxone strips can be
used to treat an opioid addiction, according to an Internet search. "CCF
staff played a video showing Higgins enter the CCF lobby. As he attempted to
go into the metal detector, the metal detector indicated the presence of
metal. Higgins attempted to enter again with the same effect. "After a
few moments of standing in front of the metal detector, Higgins walked west
to the men's bathroom. Once he returned from the bathroom, he passed the
metal detector into the facility. "I was advised by CCF staff that the
front security guard had found the behavior to be suspicious and had the
bathroom checked. Inside the bathroom, two cans of Jack Links jerky chew had
been found with the contraband inside," the Cushing officer alleged in
his affidavit. After Higgins was advised of his Constitutional rights by the
officer, "Investigator Jones asked Higgins if he would explain how we
had gotten to this moment. Higgins admitted he had been dissatisfied at the
job and stressed. "He had agreed to meet in Stillwater to pick up
contraband, transport it into the jail, and give it to the inmates at the
cost of $1,000 a container brought in. He stated he had picked up the
containers today," at about 5 pm before his shift. "He did not
package the contraband and had thought there was something inside one of them
that was setting off the metal detectors, which is why he had disposed of
them in the bathroom. He stated he did not know exactly what was in the
containers prior but suspected at least the Suboxone," the affidavit
alleged. "After speaking with
Higgins, I placed him under arrest and transported him to the Cushing City Jail,"
the Cushing police officer wrote in his affidavit.
Sep
23, 20211 1600kush.com
Employee
accused of smuggling meth into Cushing
(Cushing, Okla.) - A 31-year-old Cushing man accused of smuggling
methamphetamine into the Cimarron Correctional Facility while he was employed
there on Sept.13 has been ordered to appear in court on Oct. 4 when he can
seek a preliminary hearing on the felony charge. If convicted of carrying
contraband into the Cushing private prison, Wesley Johnlee
Weiesnbach could be incarcerated for one to five
years and fined $100 to $1,000, according to the charge filed last week. Weiesnbach remains free on $2,000 bail, court records
show. Weiesnbach
was arrested at 6:41 pm on Sept. 13 at the prison by Cushing Police Officer
Kurt McKean, who had been sent there about 50 minutes earlier on a report
that an employee was introducing contraband into the facility, according to
his affidavit. CCF lead investigator Greg Jones "advised he had been
investigating Wesley, as he had previous knowledge Wesley was conspiring with
CCF inmates to introduce contraband into the facility, namely
methamphetamine. "Jones advised me he possessed numerous phone call
recordings between Wesley and various inmates in reference to the
introduction of contraband," the Cushing officer alleged in his
affidavit filed last week. "Inv. Jones led me to his office and showed
me three small water bottles which he seized from Wesley upon his entry into
the facility. It appeared the water bottles were not sealed and the liquid
contained within the bottles appeared to be slightly thicker than water.I suspected the substance
to be methamphetamine in liquid form," the Cushing officer alleged in
his affidavit. The Cushing officer performed a field test on a substance from
one of the bottles that was presumptive positive for methamphetamine, the
affidavit alleged. In the warden's office, "I asked Wesley what happened and he advised in August he formed a friendship
with an inmate he only identified as 'Roberts.' Wesley advised he gave
Roberts his person cell phone number on August 7 of 2021. Wesley advised
Roberts and he spoke on the phone with regularity and Roberts convinced him
to begin bringing items into the facility for the inmates," the Cushing
officer alleged in his affidavit. "Wesley advised he traveled to Prague
to pick up water bottles, red bull cans and two cans of nicotine to bring
into the facility. Wesley initially advised me he did not know the
individuals' names he picked up the contraband from. At that time, I gave
Wesley a sarcastic glare and he then told me the individuals were named
Georgina and Heather, but did not know their last names," the Cushing
officer alleged in his affidavit. "I asked him how much the inmates were
paying him to bring in contraband, and he advised $500 for two trips. Wesley
advised he successfully concealed one load of contraband and introduced it
into the facility in the previous weeks. Wesley advised me he did not know
what was in the bottles or the red bull cans," but suspected it was
illegal, the Cushing officer alleged in his affidavit. "I placed him
under arrest and transported him to the Cushing City Jail," the Cushing
officer wrote in his affidavit. "Prior to leaving the facility, Inv.
Jones provided me with a copy of Wesley's written statement to CCF and
advised he seized additional contraband from Wesley and intended on following
up with me at a later time to give me the items," including red bull
cans suspected of containing additional illegal substance and nicotine, the
Cushing officer alleged in his affidavit.
Jul
17, 2020 oklahomawatch.org
Oklahoma
Ends Contract with Troubled Private Prison In
Cushing
The
Oklahoma Department of Corrections is cutting ties with the Cimarron
Correctional Facility, a private prison in Cushing where four inmates died in
2015 during the deadliest prison fight in state history. More than 1,400
medium-security inmates are housed at Cimarron, according to state data. CoreCivic, a multi-billion dollar
private prison company, has owned and operated the facility since 1997. In a
written statement, CoreCivic said the prison is
closing “in order to help the Oklahoma Department of Corrections meet their
budget needs.” During a Department of Corrections board meeting Wednesday,
Chief Financial Officer Ashlee Clemons said the agency is expecting a multi-million dollar budget shortfall as the coronavirus
pandemic impacts state funding. CoreCivic said it
will work closely with Oklahoma officials to safely transfer inmates to other
facilities. A Department of Corrections spokesperson did not immediately
respond to requests for comment. The state’s imprisonment rate has dropped
considerably since early March. But as criminal cases and county jail
transfers resume, continuing the trend may be difficult. Cimarron
Correctional Facility has a turbulent history of inmate fights and staff
misconduct. On June 12, 2015, 11 inmates were hospitalized after a large scale gang fight broke out. Three months later, four
inmates died and three others were hospitalized in
the deadliest prison fight in state history. In June 2017, two female guards
accused of sexual misconduct with male inmates were charged with sex crimes.
One of the former guards pleaded guilty to a lesser computer crimes charge,
while the other case is still pending, online court records show. CoreCivic says they will continue to offer Cimarron
Correctional Facility as a “potential solution to meet the needs of other
government partners.” Private prisons in Oklahoma have historically accepted
inmates from across the country. Puerto Rico officials in 2012 sent 240 of
their inmates to Cimarron. In June 2013, three months after a large-scale
fight broke out at the prison, the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation brought its inmates back to the territory. In the late 1990s
and 2000s, the now-closed Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga
accepted inmates from Hawaii and Indiana. Hundreds of California inmates were
housed at the North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre in the 2000s and
early 2010s.
Feb 2, 2019 1600kush.com
Cushing
Prison Employee Admits Carrying Contraband In
Facility
(Stillwater,
Okla.) — A Chandler woman has admitted carrying contraband, described as cell
phones, marijuana and tobacco, into the Cimarron Correctional Facility in
Cushing while she was employed at the private prison on Jan. 4, 2018. Brooke LeDawn Dixon, 29, was placed on five years’ probation
with extensive conditions including being prohibited from visiting any
facility where inmates are housed, in accordance with a plea bargain approved
by Payne County Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler last week. Dixon was
ordered to have a substance abuse evaluation, perform any recommended
follow-up, undergo random drug testing, do 100 hours of community service and
pay a $500 fine, court records show. According to a prison worker who was
checking employees at the front lobby, “when Dixon went through the metal
detector, the metal detector went off,” Cushing Police Officer Bill McCarty
wrote in an affidavit. “Dixon went through the metal detector three times
before he contacted his shift supervisor,” the affidavit said. A shift
supervisor “had Dixon walk through the metal detector again, and the metal
detector did not clear Dixon,” the affidavit said. “Dixon stated she had met
a lady and received packages from the lady,” the affidavit said. “Dixon told
me she purchased a car in August and did not have the money to purchase the
tag. Dixon told me the tag was going to cost her around $800,” the Cushing
officer wrote in his affidavit. Dixon said that she was approached by an
inmate who “told her if she would bring some stuff in to him, he would
purchase her car tag,” the affidavit said. The inmate was convicted in 2008
of first-degree rape in Oklahoma County in 2005, for which he is serving a
30-year prison term, state Department of Corrections records show. The inmate
was also convicted of drug distribution, acquiring proceeds from drug
activity, and carrying a firearm, all in 2005 in Oklahoma County, DOC records
show. Dixon said that the inmate “instructed her to meet a lady in Edmond
where she received the three items,” the affidavit said. Dixon said she did not
know the lady or what was in the packages, the affidavit said. When the
Cushing officer opened the three items wrapped in black tape, one contained
five mini-cell phones, another had 1.6 ounces of what appeared to be pipe
tobacco, and another had 2.8 ounces of a substance that field-tested as
marijuana, the affidavit said. Since Dixon was given a deferred sentence last
week, she will not have a record of the offense if she successfully completes
the terms of her probation.
Oct 10, 2018 1600kush.com
Visitor Charged with Carrying Meth into Cushing Prison
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A visitor at the Cimarron Correctional Facility has
been charged with carrying methamphetamine into the private prison in Cushing
on Sept. 30, court records show.
Maria Luisa Lopez, 33, of Midwest City, remains free on $5,000 bond
pending a Nov. 8 court appearance with an attorney. A female employee said “she was working
the front lobby when she observed Lopez enter the visitors’ restroom,” on
Sept. 30, Cushing Police Officer Justin Sappington wrote in an
affidavit. The employee said “when
Lopez exited the restroom, she noticed a bulge in her cheek,” that contained
a baggy of a crystalline substance, the affidavit alleged. In an interview with the Cushing police
officer, “Lopez advised she was asked to make a one-time delivery into the
prison to her boyfriend,” the affidavit alleged. “Lopez told me she did not know what was
in the package, but knew it wasn’t good if she had to sneak it in. Lopez
advised she felt better not knowing what she was sneaking in,” the officer
alleged in his affidavit. “Lopez
stated that she attempted to hide the contraband in her cheek and was caught
by an employee,” the affidavit alleged.
The baggy of crystalline substance tested positive for
methamphetamine, the affidavit alleged.
Carrying contraband into a prison is a felony punishable by one to
five years in prison and a fine of $100 to $1,000, on conviction.
Jul 24, 2018
1600kush.com
Convict Charged With Stabbing
At Cushing Prison
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A former
prisoner at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing has been charged
with stabbing another inmate 21 times on Oct. 5, 2017, court records showed
today. Christian E. Fonseca, 21, could receive as much as a life prison term
if convicted of assault and battery with intent to kill after a former felony
conviction, according to the charge filed in Payne County District Court last
week. Fonseca has been scheduled to be arraigned on the Payne County stabbing
charge on Sept. 6, court records show. At the time of the stabbing at the
private prison in Cushing that was investigated by the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections, Fonseca was serving two concurrent 25-year prison terms for
robbing two Tulsa convenience stores in 2016 when he was 19, court records
show. His alleged victim, then 20, was serving a 15-year prison term for
possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in 2017 in Oklahoma
City, court records show. Fonseca and his alleged victim have been
transferred from the private facility in Cushing to another prison in
Oklahoma, DOC records show.
Jun
13, 2018 1600kush.com
Convict Charged with Stabbing Inmate at Cushing Prison
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A former convict at the Cimarron Correctional
Facility was charged today with assault and battery with intent to kill an
inmate at the private prison in Cushing on Oct. 5, 2017, in a case
investigated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Eduardo Leiva, 36, who has been transferred to the Oklahoma State
Penitentiary in McAlester, was charged with using an improvised knife to cut,
slash and stab another prisoner 21 times “inflicting deep, serious and
grievous wounds likely to produce death,” according to court documents filed
today by Payne County Assistant District Attorney Tom Lee. The victim
survived and was transferred to another prison in Oklahoma, court records
show. If convicted of the Cushing prison stabbing, Leiva
could be given as much as a life prison term, court records show. According
to court records, Leiva had been convicted of 11
counts of armed robbery in Oklahoma County in 2009 for which he is serving 10
concurrent 30-year prison terms and one concurrent 35-year prison term.
Apr 26, 2018 readfrontier.org
Charges dropped against all
prisoners accused of participating in prison fight that left four dead
Steven Ray Thompson, Johnathan
Richard Whittington, Phillip Wayne Jordan, Jr., Jordan James Scott, James
Augustine Placker, Gage Broom, and Korey L. Kruta were each charged in 2017 by the Payne County
District Attorney’s Office with participating in a riot, a felony that
carries a penalty of up to life in prison. The charges were filed two years
after the Sept. 12, 2015 fight between the Irish Mob and Universal Aryan
Brotherhood prison gangs at the privately-owned Cimarron Correctional
Facility in Cushing left four prisoners dead. Anthony Fulwider,
31, Kyle Tiffee, 23, Christopher Tignor, 29, and Michael Edwin Mayden
Jr., 26 were all killed during the melee. At the time the charges of
participating in a riot were filed, Payne County District Attorney Laura
Thomas said those charges were filed because there was not enough evidence to
charge any of the men with murder. Surveillance video from the prison was too
low-quality to establish who exactly stabbed who, and reliable witness
statements were also hard to come by, Thomas said at the time. However, on
April 18, a judge granted a request by defense attorneys that the
participating in a riot charge against Jordan be dismissed due to lack of
evidence after questions were raised about the prison’s employees who
identified the alleged assailants. On Friday, two days after the judge
dismissed Jordan’s case, Thomas filed motions to dismiss the charges against
the other six men as well. “At the time of the filing of the charges the
investigative report confirmed each defendant could be identified as a
participant by employees of the correctional facility,” Thomas’s motions to
dismiss state. “Some defendants have had preliminary hearings at which the
ability of employee/witnesses to identify individuals became questionable at
best.” One “critical witness” — Terrance Lockett, who was the only
correctional officer on duty in the unit at the time the fight erupted — had
later been arrested for attempting to bring drugs into the prison, Thomas’s
filing states. The District Attorneys Office also
discovered last Wednesday that it was prosecuting a second prison employee
who was listed as a witness in the case, Thomas said. “Each of the riot cases
stand on the same evidence as the other,” the filings states. At the time
Jordan’s case was dismissed by the judge, the Thomas’s office was already preparing
motions to dismiss all of the cases, Thomas said. During Jordan’s preliminary
hearing, correctional officers could not identify Jordan actively
participating in the riot in surveillance video of the fight, according to a
motion to dismiss filed by Jordan’s attorney. “From the preliminary hearings
that were held, the witness testimony on identification was not good at all,”
Thomas said. In the Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ investigator’s
report, witnesses had said they could identify with certainty the defendants
coming down the stairs in a group and what some of those defendants did,
Thomas said. “However, on the witness stand identification was not only not
clear, there was testimony that it was a group effort to identify
participants and the witnesses couldn’t even say who all was in the room,
much less whose handwriting was on the photo or who identified who,” Thomas
said. “In short, the evidence of identification disintegrated to the point
that our collective decision was that we did not have enough credible
evidence to make it past the ‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard we
would have at trial.” Meanwhile, the company that owns the prison, CoreCivic (formerly known as Corrections Corporation of
America), is still facing three civil lawsuits, two by family members of
prisoners who died and one from an injured prisoner who survived, stemming
from the fight. In one of those cases, involving Mayden’s
estate, CoreCivic joined several prisoners, some of
who had been charged in connection with the riot, as third party defendants,
meaning they could be held financially liable as well if the case is decided
in the plaintiff’s favor. Attorney J. Spencer Bryan, who is representing a
deceased prisoner’s family and a surviving prisoner in the civil litigation,
said that after learning that the criminal charges were being dismissed
because a lack of credible witnesses, he requested that an affidavit filed in
one of the civil cases by CoreCivic’s attorneys be
unsealed for the sole purpose of providing it to Thomas’s office. Bryan said
he could not divulge the contents of the affidavit because it is sealed. CoreCivic’s attorneys rejected the offer, Bryan said. The
affidavit by a “key staff member at the Cimarron Correctional Facility” which
is filed under seal in one of the civil cases and therefore not publicly
available, was mentioned in a June 16, 2017 court filing by CoreCivic in support of the company’s motion to deny
consolidation of two of the civil cases against it. “In the affidavit, the
staff member will discuss the incident of September 12, 2015 and the actions
of the inmate gang participants during the incident,” CoreCivic’s
filing states. A phone message late Tuesday afternoon to CoreCivic’s
attorney in the case was not immediately returned.
Apr 3, 2018 1600kush.com
Sex Charges Dropped Against Former Cushing Prison Employees
(Stillwater, Okla.) – Sex-related charges have been dropped against two
former female employees of the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, who
then admitted they had communicated with an inmate at the private prison by a
cell phone, which is prohibited, court records show. Both women were placed
on three years’ probation for unlawful access to a computer to violate
Oklahoma laws, Payne County Assistant District Attorney Debra Vincent told
KUSH in an email last week. Former
Cushing prison guard Sara Lynn Stelzer, 36, of
Stillwater, who was originally charged with sexual battery of an inmate in
March 2014, was investigated by Oklahoma Department of Corrections Agent
Randy Knight after CCF Investigator Joe Sebenick
interviewed the alleged victim at the request of another prisoner regarding
an inappropriate relationship between the alleged victim and the guard, court
records show. Another former
Cushing prison employee, Lisa Marie Shannon, 37, of Drumright, who was
originally charged with second-degree rape of an inmate on Dec. 15, 2015, was
employed at the private prison in Cushing from Oct. 8, 2007, until Feb. 1,
2017, according to an affidavit by DOC Agent Robert L. Hert
III. The prosecutor told KUSH, “we did discuss these dispositions with
representatives of DOC and they were satisfied that the significant
consequences of felony convictions was a satisfactory consequence from their
perspective.”
Oct 11, 2017 readfrontier.org
Documents and video detail deadly gang fight at private Cushing prison;
facility responded to riot by destroying records
There was terror in Terrance Lockett’s voice. The 52-year-old
correctional officer had only been on the job for about eight months, and a
chaotic and bloody scene was unfolding before him. The only officer on the
unit, Lockett watched as members of the Irish Mob and Universal Aryan
Brotherhood prison gangs warred before him. Lockett quickly yelled out on the
radio for help, but incorrectly identified the unit he was stationed in.
Interviews with other prison employees show Lockett was at first paralyzed,
and only after responding officers and nurses arrived did he finally marshal
a panicked inmate back into his cell. But even that didn’t go smoothly.
Prison records show Lockett put one inmate in his cell, but rather than
safely lock him in, Lockett pepper-sprayed the compliant man. Responding
correctional officers faced a dangerous situation — many of the prisoners
still held weapons, and other prisoners were unable to lock themselves down
thanks to a policy at the facility that prevented the dozens of prisoners
surrounding the scene from re-entering their cells. Before it was over four
gang members — two from each gang — were dead and four other inmates were
injured. It was the deadliest prison riot in Oklahoma history. And the prison
— privately run by Tennessee-based CoreCivic —
responded by violating state corrections policy by intentionally destroying
audio and video surrounding the event and heightened danger faced by
prisoners and responding staff by requiring cell doors be locked at all
times, an investigation by The Frontier has found. The Oklahoma Department of
Corrections Office of Inspector General’s administrative investigation report
on the Sept. 12, 2015, gang fight at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in
Cushing that left four prisoners dead also contradicts parts of a separate
“After Action Review Team” report ordered by former Corrections Director
Robert Patton to investigate and make recommendations to the department after
the prisoner deaths. Half of the After Action Review
Team appointed by Patton were officials who worked for the private prison
company. Two members of the team conducting that investigation were also
media spokespeople — one from DOC and the other from the private prison
company that owns the facility, CoreCivic (formerly
Corrections Corporation of America), the team’s report shows. The
administrative and criminal investigation reports by the department’s Office
of Inspector General, as well as surveillance video from inside the prison
obtained by The Frontier, also paint a clearer picture of what happened
before, during and after the bloody clash between members of the Irish Mob
and the Universal Aryan Brotherhood prison gangs assigned to the prison’s
Charlie North unit. The riot became the deadliest incident in Oklahoma
corrections history. None of the individuals allegedly involved in the fight
were charged with murder, though seven members of the Irish Mob were later
charged by the Payne County District Attorney’s Office with participating in
a riot, which carries a penalty similar to that of second-degree murder.
Records show that DOC’s investigators recommended at least two individuals be
charged with first-degree murder in the case. CoreCivic
was not penalized, reprimanded, or sanctioned by the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections, despite investigators finding evidence that the facility had
violated at least two policies required by DOC. Two lawsuits by the families
of prisoners killed in the clash and one lawsuit by a prisoner who was
injured have been filed against CoreCivic. However,
in one of the suits, CoreCivic has moved to require
prisoners allegedly involved in the fight — including the family of one
prisoner killed in the clash — to pay it, should the company be required to
pay civil damages for the death of one of the prisoners. Though the
Department of Corrections has released an incident report and the After
Action Review Team’s report on the fight, it has refused to release the
surveillance video, as well as its much more detailed administrative and
criminal investigations into what happened and the facility’s response. The
administrative report, which examined the incident and facility for
violations of policy, goes into greater detail than the After Action report,
offers information that contradicts part of the After Action report and
touches on the prison’s locked-door policy, which is not mentioned in the
After Action report. The After Action Review Team’s report states that “CCTV
video footage was preserved and processed for release to an OKDOC Inspector
General Officer.” The department’s administrative investigation found that at
least three Cimarron Correctional Facility staff members used handheld
audio/video recording devices to document the facility’s response to the
situation that was unfolding on Charlie North, a requirement by DOC for all
use-of-force incidents. However, when asked for the videos by DOC’s
investigators, the facility’s chief of security Larry Cox said he
intentionally deleted video from one of the device’s digital media cards. In
a statement to investigators, Cox wrote that “due to past training of not
recording any medical procedure, I deleted the video of staff performing
CPR,” the report states. A second handheld camera had failed to record, Cox
told investigators, and the card on a third camera was either overwritten or
the officer failed to turn the camera on, the report states. The facility
also failed to turn over to DOC investigators security camera video showing
the full shift of the lone correctional officer on duty the day of the fight,
the report states. The deletion of the video from the handheld camera and
failure to turn over the video showing the correctional officer’s full shift
were violations of Department of Corrections policy, as was allowing
non-security staff members into the unit before it was fully secure, the
report states. According to the After Action Review Team’s report, “the officer
assigned to the Charlie North unit, the COS (Chief of Security) and several
officers responding to the incident deployed inflammatory agents to gain
compliance from combative offenders.” The department’s administrative
investigation report states that the officer assigned to Charlie North did
not deploy his pepper spray until after the fight had ceased after being
yelled at by a supervisor to “do something,” and only then deployed his spray
on an offender who posed no risk to him. The After Action report also refers
to the containment of the incident to Charlie North “swift and effective.”
Yet, staff members interviewed by DOC investigators said bringing the inmates
under control was anything but swift and effective — even after pepper spray
was used by officers, prisoners would not comply with orders, and one shift
supervisor said it should not have taken 10 minutes to bring the inmates
fully under control. Later, several staff members and prisoners would blame
the prison’s always-locked cell door policy for the chaos and difficulty
getting control of the unit. The After Action report states that the
“facility was appropriately staffed on the day of the incident.” However,
several staff members told DOC investigators that the facility was
“short-staffed” that day. While all mandatory posts (such as unit officers)
were filled, several non-mandatory posts (such as yard or kitchen officer
posts) were not, staff members told DOC investigators. The facility was four
to eight correctional officers away from being fully staffed on the day of
the incident, according to the report. In addition, the prison’s policy
requires that the facility’s Central Control unit be manned by two officers
because of the multitude and importance of the duties there. On the day of the
incident, one of the officers stationed at Central Control had gone home
early, leaving one inexperienced officer alone to man the vital post, the
report states. Shortly after the incident, former Corrections Director Robert
Patton ordered a “Joint After-Action
Review” to be conducted by DoC and CCA in order
to “gather information to permit
Director Patton and/or other in the office of General Counsel for OKDOC
and/or Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) to evaluate the available
information and render advice.” Of the eight individuals appointed to the
after-action investigative team, four were Corrections Corporation of
America/CoreCivic officials or employees and four
were Oklahoma Department of Corrections officials, records show. Two members
of the investigative team were media and communications spokespeople —
Corrections Corporation Communications Director Steve Owen, and former
Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terri Watkins. Questions submitted to
DOC on Friday asking what qualified the media spokespeople to be part of the
investigative team, whether it was unique for half the investigative team to
be made up of private prison officials, and why some of the team’s findings
appeared to contract DOC’s administrative investigation findings were not
returned by publishing time Tuesday. The facility’s warden, Raymond Byrd, did
not return a phone message last week from The Frontier. In response to
questions about the facility’s Phase Program policy, issues raised in DOC’s
investigative reports on the incident, and lawsuits filed by families of some
of the prisoners killed, a spokesman for CoreCivic
issued a statement saying they could not comment on pending litigation.
Tennessee-based CoreCivic is one of the largest
private prison companies in the world and has facilities throughout the
country. In 2016, the company changed its name from Corrections Corporation
of America and began expanding its portfolio to include prisoner re-entry
programs, as well as leasing some of its empty facilities to government
entities. The company owns four prisons in Oklahoma — two of which it staffs
and operates through a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections
(Cimarron in Cushing and Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville), and one
of which it leases to DOC (North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre). The
fourth, Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga is empty, but the
company has expressed hopes that DOC will lease that facility as well. The
company also owns the majority of prisoner re-entry halfway house beds in the
state. In fiscal year 2016, during the year the incident at Charlie North
occurred, CoreCivic was paid $55.9 million for
contract bed space, and was paid $54 million for contract beds the following
year, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Cimarron
Correctional Facility has a history of violent incidents that occurred both
before and after the Sept. 12, 2015, riot, and some of the facility’s staff
have faced criminal charges for separate alleged criminal acts, ranging from
bringing in contraband to sex acts with prisoners. As first reported by KGOU,
the Department of Corrections regularly sent letters to CoreCivic
detailing contract violations in 2015, including violations that occurred in
relation to prisoner-related serious incidents. However, the Department did
not penalize the company for those violations by withholding payments, which
is allowed under the contract between the state and private prison company.
At least four such letters regarding contract violations were sent to the
Cimarron Correctional Facility in 2015, and most of the letters mentioned
previous correspondence about the contract breaches, according to the KGOU
report. Still, no money was withheld by the Department of Corrections as a
result. Cimarron Correctional Facility’s Charlie North unit is a two-story
medium-security unit with cells along the bottom and top floors surrounding a
“dayroom” common area where prisoners can watch TV, play games or socialize.
At the time of the fight, it was monitored by a single automatically rotating
camera on the ceiling in the middle of the unit. The video from the camera is
captured on a feed to the facility’s Central Control, and the camera could be
manually operated by correctional officers stationed in Central Control.
Officers on duty at Central Control are required to carry out many different
functions, the report states, including unlocking unit entry/exit doors and
calling for emergency transport if an injured inmates needs to be taken to a
hospital. Though facility policy stated that Central Control was to be
staffed by two officers, on that day it was staffed by only one — the second
officer on duty went home sick, DOC’s investigation states. The officer who
was left on duty at Central Control was an inexperienced correctional officer
with only three months experience in Central Control, according to the
report. One supervisor told DOC investigators that the officer’s lack of
experience “probably affected the response to the incident as well as the
camera video obtained,” and the officer who was on duty later told
investigators that he was “kind of new in Central and in there by myself,”
the report states. Other areas of the facility were also lacking staff that
day, the investigation states. The facility’s shift supervisor told
investigators that while all “mandatory” posts were filled, the facility’s
non-mandatory posts were short staffed, and that while full staffing of the
facility would probably consist of about 22 to 24 correctional officers, on
the day of Sept. 12, there were only 18 security staff on duty, the report
states. In June 2015, about three months before the fight, an incident
between two prison gangs that involved 33 prisoners and ended with 11
offenders being hospitalized had erupted at the facility. In response the
facility implemented a new “Phase Program” that would reward units of inmates
with privileges such as dayroom access, commissary and phone usage, for
collective good behavior, DOC’s investigative report states. However, as part
of the program, if an inmate on a unit that earned privileges did choose to
leave their cell, the cell had to be unlocked by a correctional officer and
the officer was required to search the prisoner for weapons, Unit Manager
Tommy Battles told investigators. After the prisoner was searched and cleared
and allowed to go about their business outside of the cell, the officer was
required to close the cell door and ensure it was locked, the report states.
If the offender then wanted to return to his cell, the correctional officer
would be required to unlock it, the report states. The main concept of the
program was to limit and control inmate movement and lessen the threat of a
disturbance being caused by prison gangs by preventing offenders from
retrieving contraband or weapons from their cell and bringing them into the
common areas of a unit, the report states. Implementation of the program “is
necessary to control the STG (Security Threat Group) affiliated inmate
population and maintain the safety and continued services and programs to the
general population,” Battles wrote in an Aug. 6, 2015, memorandum to the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections, notifying the department of the revisions
to the facility’s operational plan. However, as prisoners and facility staff
would soon learn, it also meant that if there was a gang disturbance in the
common area of a unit, prisoners who did not want to be involved would be
unable to voluntarily retreat to the safety of their cell. One correctional
officer was assigned to the Charlie North on the day of the fight — Terrance
Lockett, a 52-year-old who had worked at the prison for around eight months
on the day of the fight, but who said he had developed a rapport with some of
the prisoners housed on the unit, DOC records state. A lieutenant at the
facility told investigators that Lockett was a new officer and went through
the required training, but had little or no actual experience in an incident
like the one that erupted on Charlie North that day. An assistant shift
supervisor later told DOC investigators Lockett had a habit of not properly
patting down inmates when letting them out of their cell, and had received
disciplinary “coaching letters” for prior related actions, the report states.
However, when investigators requested Lockett’s disciplinary records from the
facility, they were told there were no prior disciplinary records for
Lockett, the report states. Lockett later told investigators that his
searches of inmates were “quick,” and that he might not have conducted pat
searches on every inmate or may have inadvertently missed a concealed weapon,
the report states. To determine whether Lockett had properly conducted
searches of the prisoners on Charlie North prior to the fight, investigators
requested video of his entire shift that day, but were given video showing
only the incident, the report states. The fight between members of the Irish
Mob and United Aryan Brotherhood at the facility on Sept. 12, 2015, left four
dead — two from each gang — and four others wounded, records of the incident
show. Killed in the incident were:
• Anthony Fulwilder, 31, who was serving a 23-year sentence on a
2003 conviction in Oklahoma County for six counts of robbery with a firearm
and two counts of shooting with intent to kill. According to Department of
Corrections records, Fulwilder was a validated
member of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood. He suffered multiple sharp force
injuries, according to the medical examiner, and died after being transported
to a Tulsa hospital via helicopter.
• Michael Mayden, 26, who was serving an eight-year split sentence
for felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen vehicle, and
possession of a vehicle with removed vehicle identification numbers.
Department of Corrections records state that Mayden
was a “prospect” for the Universal Aryan Brotherhood. A medical examiner’s
report listed the cause of death as being a stab wound to the left shoulder.
He died at the scene.
• Kyle Tiffee,
23, who was serving a five-year sentence from a 2011 conviction in Leflore
County of possession of a controlled dangerous substance and a two-year
sentence from a 2014 conviction out of Oklahoma County for assault and
battery on a law enforcement officer. DOC records state he was a validated
member of the Irish Mob. His cause of death was listed as multiple stab
wounds, according to the medical examiner.
• Christopher Tignor, 29, who was serving a five-year sentence for a
2010 conviction out of Oklahoma County on three counts of receiving,
possessing and concealing a stolen vehicle and one count of unauthorized use
of a vehicle. DOC records state that Tignor was a
validated member of the Irish Mob. His cause of death was listed as a stab
wound to the chest, and an autopsy showed meth in his system at the time of
his death.
Most of the prisoners DOC investigators attempted to interview declined to
speak with them or provided little to no information. A few said there had
been tension building between the Irish Mob and Universal Aryan Brotherhood
for a while, and others said the situation blew up unexpectedly. Others said
they sensed little tension between the two groups until a few minutes before
the fight when it began to get unusually quiet on the unit, the report states.
Lockett told investigators that a few minutes before the fight, some of the
black prisoners on the unit, who he said were affiliated with the Bloods
gang, began to ask him to let them into their cells on the top floor of the
unit, which he found unusual and caused him to suspect a problem. After
letting some of the prisoners into their cell, Lockett told investigators
that he turned to look over the unit and saw that all of the black inmates
had moved to the top floor and only white inmates were left on the bottom
floor. Though he did not tell investigators during his first interview with
them, in subsequent interviews with DOC investigators and in later
statements, Lockett said that a “shot caller,” or high-ranking member, of the
Bloods gang approached him and warned him to remain on the top run of the
unit. At that point, Lockett told investigators, he radioed for assistance.
Lockett said he was told to call back “if something happens,” the report
states. Lockett could not remember who had responded to him and the report
does not state whether other officers recalled hearing Lockett call for
assistance before the fight was underway. As he stood on the top run, Lockett
said he saw a group of white inmates he identified as Irish Mob walk along
the top run and then down the stairs to the first floor, where a group of
Universal Aryan Brotherhood inmates were located. Later, the Oklahoma State
Bureau of Investigation would enhance video from the unit’s surveillance
camera, and investigators would identify Steven Ray Thompson, 32; Phillip
Wayne Jordan, 34; Jordan James Scott, 25; James Augustine Placker,
31; Gage Broom, 25; and Korey L. Kruta, 28, as the
Irish Mob members who walked down the stairs, the report states. Those men
were later charged in the case as a result. Lockett said members of the two
groups began walking toward each other, not saying a word, and Lockett said
he began shouting for the two groups to stop, the report states. Several
other witnesses reported hearing someone shout “Sinn Fein, Mob Gang” (terms
associated with the Irish Mob) and then someone shouted “Wood” (a term
associated with the Uni versal Aryan Brotherhood). Then, by all accounts, all
hell broke loose on Charlie North. Lockett pleaded guilty in April to the two
charges in exchange for a two-year deferred sentence, court records show.
Cimarron Correctional Facility’s warden, Byrd, was asked by investigators
about Lockett, his training, and other issues that arose during the
investigation, according to the report. “In reference to unsafe practices,
Byrd stated the incident was ‘not about Lockett’ or other staff; it was about
IM (Irish Mob) and UAB (Universal Aryan Brotherhood),” the report states.
Byrd told investigators that the prison’s Phase Program had been
“beneficial,” the report states, though some inmates complained about being
locked in or out of their cell. However, multiple staff members and some
prisoners interviewed by DOC investigators were critical of the program, and
said that the locked cells made an already dangerous situation even worse for
both “because essentially when the incident started the inmates were locked
out of their respective cells and could not retreat to a safe place,” the
report states. Neither CoreCivic nor the Department
of Corrections answered questions by the Frontier about whether the facility
ended the program or cell door policy after the incident, though DOC did say
that the facility’s security plans were reviewed and updated and additional
training for CCA staff was offered and required. The incident resulted in
three lawsuits against CoreCivic — two wrongful
death suits by family members represented the estates of Mayden
and Tiffee, and a negligence lawsuit by a prisoner
injured in the melee, Cordell Johnson. The lawsuits allege that prior to the fight
there were a high number of serious incidents at the facility, a high rate of
contraband and drugs being brought into the facility, and that “issues with
staff violating the standards of conduct all demonstrated the absence of
control at the facility and the reckless disregard exercised in its
operation.” Mayden’s lawsuit also alleges that the
Charlie North unit
was “controlled by gangs,” and this should have been known by
the company given the high number of non-routine uses of force on the unit.
The suit also alleges that there were numerous violent incidents between gang
members on the unit both before and after the Sept. 12, 2015, fight, the
facility was understaffed or staff by unqualified individuals in an effort by
CoreCivic to keep its costs down, and that
incidents of contraband and drug trafficking by prisoners were unreported or
underreported by staff prior to the incident. “The incidents of contraband at
CCF, compared to state-run (non-private) facilities, demonstrates an
acceptance of criminal activity,” the suit states “which is further
demonstrated by poor training, poor staffing and unprofessional conduct by
staff.” In its court filings, CoreCivic denies the
allegations against it, and states that Mayden was
part of the fight “and received fatal injuries because of his participation.”
Earlier this year, attorneys for the Tiffee and Mayden family requested that the cases be consolidated.
However, CCA opposed this, though it not entirely clear on what grounds since
many of its filings in response were placed under seal by the court. In one
of its motions, CCA states that an opposing gang member did come into contact
with Mayden, but does not say who. Tiffee is listed by DOC as a member of the Irish Mob, and
Mayden is listed by DOC as a “prospect” of the
Universal Aryan Brotherhood. Later, CoreCivic would
be added a “third party plaintiff” in Mayden’s
lawsuit, and the seven individuals criminally charged in the matter added as
“third party defendants,” along with the estate of Tiffee.
In cases where a company or individual are held liable for some sort of
damage in a lawsuit, that company or individual can be named as a “third
party plaintiff” and add “third party defendants” who might share in the
liability, and request compensation from the third party defendants for any
damages it has to pay out if there is a judgement against it. Essentially, it
means CoreCivic is suing its former prisoners and
the estate of one of its former prisoners and asking that they be required to
pay the company compensation if it is required to pay damages in the Mayden case, said Spencer Bryan, a Tulsa attorney who is
representing the Tiffee estate in its suit against
Core Civic. Bryan or Jason Messenger, attorney for the Mayden
family, both said the move is common in civil lawsuits, but said they had not
seen it done by a private prison company before against prisoners. A
spokesman for CoreCivic declined to comment on the
move, and a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections declined to
comment on whether any similar legal actions by a private prison company has
occurred before.Oklahoma: Corecivic
deadly riot expose
Oct 10, 2017 1600kush.com
Convict Admits Trafficking Meth In Cushing Prison
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A convicted kidnapper, rapist and armed robber due
to be imprisoned for 60 more years has been given a concurrent 15-year
sentence for trafficking methamphetamine in the Cimarron Correctional
Facility in Cushing. Due to his criminal record, Reeco
Maurice Cole, 39, could have been given as much as a life prison term for
having 23.77 grams of methamphetamine in the private prison, to which he
pleaded guilty last week. As part of a plea bargain, Associate District Judge
Stephen Kistler ordered on Oct. 4 that Cole’s incarceration for the Payne
County crime run at the same time as his Okmulgee County 33-year prison term,
after which Cole is due to begin serving a 50-year prison term from Tulsa
County. “He requests immediate transport back to DOC,” the state prison
system, defense attorney Royce Hobbs told the judge. During a meeting with
Cimarron Correctional Facility Investigator Joseph Sebenick
on June 12, 2015, Cushing Police Officer Aaron Sherman was handed a baggy
“with three baggies with a green leafy substance and two compressed cylinders
with a green leafy substance, a baggy with 48 small baggies with a white
crystal substance and three large baggies with a white crystal substance, a
baggy with a small green rectangle pill and a baggy with a cell phone and a
CD disk with the contents of the phone,” an affidavit said. “Sebenick told me the cell phone was locked with a
passcode,” the Cushing officer wrote in his affidavit. Sebenick
said that the items were found in a cell that Cole shared with another
inmate, who was not charged, court records show. “Sebenick
told me he took the phone to the Okmulgee Police Department and spoke with
Detective James Ables,” who downloaded the contents of the cell phone, the
Cushing officer wrote in his affidavit. “Sebenick
told me the phone has multiple pictures stored of Cole along with photos
displaying a white crystal substance and a green leafy substance. “Sebenick told me in one of the photos Cole is sitting on
one of the bunks holding what appears to be five $100 bills. “Sebenick also told me in the pictures there are two
photos of a U.S. Department of Treasury check, which has the name and
address,” of a woman who was not charged, court records show. When the
Cushing officer field-tested the substances, they came back as positive for
methamphetamine and marijuana, the affidavit said. According to the state
Department of Corrections, Cole has been in prison for the past 17 and
one-half years while serving sentences imposed in 2000 for:
* kidnapping by extortion in Okmulgee County in 1999,
for which he was given a 33-year prison term due to be completed in 2028;
* carrying a concealed weapon in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he was
given a six-month jail term that he has completed;
* possessing a stolen vehicle in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he was
given a five-year prison term that he discharged in two years;
* armed robbery in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he was given a
concurrent 33-year prison term due to be completed in 2028;
* car theft in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he was given a 20-year prison
term that he discharged in 2015;
* attempted kidnapping by extortion in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he
was given a 10-year prison term that he discharged in five years;
* knowingly concealing stolen property in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which
he was given a five-year prison term that he discharged in two years;
* pointing a weapon in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a 10-year
prison term that he discharged in five years;
* first-degree rape in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a 20-year
prison term that he discharged in 2015;
* attempted rape in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a 20-year
prison term due to be completed in 2077;
* kidnapping in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a 10-year prison
term due to be completed in 2037;
* robbery by force in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a 20-year
prison term that he discharged in 2015;
* forcible oral sodomy in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a
20-year prison term due to be completed in 2057.
Oct 3, 2017
1600kush.com
Cushing Prison Inmate Charged with Putting Meth in Woman’s Drinking Water
(Stillwater, Okla.) – An inmate in the Cimarron Correctional Facility has
been charged with placing methamphetamine in a woman’s drinking water at the
Cushing private prison on Sept. 12 – five months after he arrived there to
serve a 25-year sentence for assault and battery with a deadly weapon. If convicted of committing a biochemical
assault after former felony convictions, Brandon Ray Perkins, 29, could be
given as much as a life prison term and a $10,000 fine, court records show.
Perkins has been scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 2, court records show. In
the felony charge filed last week, methamphetamine was described as “a toxic,
noxious and possible lethal substance,” that caused injury and illness to the
woman at the Cimarron Correctional Facility. According to court records,
Perkins had previously been convicted of: assault and battery with a deadly
weapon in Cleveland County in 2015 for which he was given a 25-year prison
term in April of 2017; second-degree burglary in Oklahoma County in 2013 for
which he was sentenced in 2013 to eight years in prison followed by seven
years of probation; possession of methamphetamine and a firearm in Oklahoma
County in 2013 for which he was sentenced in 2013 to a concurrent eight years
in prison followed by seven years of probation; using a vehicle to facilitate
the intentional discharge of a firearm, unauthorized use of a vehicle and
possession of a firearm in Oklahoma County in 2008 for which he was sentenced
in 2011 to a 10-year prison term plus two concurrent five-year prison terms
followed by 10 years of probation.
Sep 19, 2017 1600kush.com
Convict Gets 10-year Prison Term For Stabbing Inmate In Cushing Prison
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A former inmate in the Cimarron Correctional
Facility, who has been transferred to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in
McAlester, has been given a 10-year prison term for repeatedly stabbing an
inmate at the private prison in Cushing on June 10, 2015, court records show.
Payne County District Judge Phillip Corley ordered on Sept. 8 that the
sentence for Michael A. Littlejohn, 22, run concurrently with a 14-year
prison term he is serving for committing an armed robbery in Tulsa County in
2012 when he was 17. Littlejohn was originally prosecuted as a youthful
offender in the Tulsa County armed robbery for which he was sentenced to 15
years in the custody of the Office of Juvenile Affairs in 2012, court records
show. Eight months later, Littlejohn was bridged over to the state prison
system to serve 14 years, court records show. Littlejohn was also convicted
of two counts of assault and battery on a juvenile detention employee and one
count of placing fluid on a government employee, both in Pottawatomie County
in 2013, for which he was given two concurrent two-year prison terms of which
he served about one year, court records show.
Jul 27, 2017 1600kush.com
Convicts Charged With Attacking Two Cushing Prison Guards
(Stillwater, Okla.) – Two inmates, one a convicted murderer and the other
a convicted burglar, have been ordered to appear in Payne County District
Court on Aug. 9 for arraignment on charges of attacking the same two guards
at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing. Both convicts have been
transferred from the private prison in Cushing to Oklahoma State Penitentiary
in McAlester, according to state Department of Corrections records. Convicted
killer Kyle Dewayne Morris, 26, has been charged with hitting, striking and
contending with two corrections officers at the Cushing prison on April 7,
court records show. Morris is serving a 35-year prison term, followed by
probation for the rest of his life, for first-degree murder in 2013 in Hughes
County, court records show. Morris had previously been convicted of assault
with a dangerous weapon, possession of a sawed-off shotgun or rifle, reckless
conduct with a firearm, and malicious injury of property in 2007 in Hughes
County, for which he was given four concurrent one-year sentences in 2011, of
which he served about five months between September 2012 and February 2013,
DOC records show. Morris had also been convicted of eluding a police officer,
using a weapon in a felony, and possessing a drug in 2011 in Pottawatomie
County, for which he was give three concurrent three-year prison terms in
2011, of which he served one year. Convicted burglar Braden Kabe Birdsong, 20, has been charged with using a three
and one-half inch metal bar sharpened to a point to stab one of the same
corrections officers twice in the neck and stomach, and also hitting,
striking and contending with the other officer at the Cushing prison, also on
April 7, court records show. Birdsong is serving two concurrent 10-year
prison terms for first-degree burglary in 2013 and carrying contraband into a
jail in 2014, followed by seven years of probation for second-degree burglary
in 2013, all in Oklahoma County, DOC records show.
May 23, 2017 readfrontier.org
Violent incident at Cimarron Correctional Facility nothing new for state’s
private prisons
CUSHING — A fight that left five correctional officers injured at the
privately-owned Cimarron Correctional Facility on Wednesday was the latest
violent incident at the prison that has resulted in injury or death. Around 9
p.m. Tuesday, a prisoner at the facility did not comply with orders,
according to an Oklahoma Department of Corrections media release, and a
correctional officer deployed pepper spray. Other inmates began to assault
the officer as well as other officers who were assisting, and after more
pepper spray was deployed the melee quickly ended, according to DOC. Five
correctional officers were taken to a nearby hospital where they were treated
and released, the media release stated. No prisoners were injured. The
Cimarron Correctional Facility, which houses around 1,600 prisoners of both
medium and maximum security level, is owned by Tennessee-based CoreCivic (formerly known as Corrections Corporation of
America). A spokesman for CoreCivic directed all
questions about the incident to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
Department of Corrections spokesman Mark Myers said the department is
investigating what happened, but unless criminal charges are filed it’s
unlikely the investigation will be made public. Oklahoma’s Open Records Act
exempts law enforcement investigatory files from public release, even after
an investigation has been closed. Myers said that the prison has yet to send a
serious incident report to DOC. In previous years, media reports have
indicated the company has failed to submit incident reports to the department
in a timely manner. From 2012 to 2016, a third of all homicides committed in
Oklahoma prisons occurred in the two state-contracted CoreCivic
facilities, though they held only a little more than 10 percent of the
state’s prisoners, according to data from the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections. About 46 percent of all prison homicides from 2012 and 2016
occurred in the state’s three private prisons, the data shows. The facility
has had several violent incidents over the past several years, including a
unit-wide riot in 2013 and at least two riots in 2015. In 2016, a video
surfaced of another prisoner fight at the facility. The cell phone video,
obtained by KWTV, shows a prisoner being picked up by other inmates and
thrown from the second floor of the facility. In July 2015, more than 11
prisoners were injured after a riot at the facility that involved a gang
fight between the Indian Brotherhood and the Hoover Crips. Then, only two
months later, the deadliest prison riot in Oklahoma Department of Corrections
history occurred at the facility — a gang fight between the Irish Mob
and the United Aryan Brotherhood at the facility’s Charlie North unit. That
incident left four prisoners dead, according to court records filed in both
criminal and civil cases after the incident. Seven individuals allegedly
involved in the fight were charged last month with participating in a riot — a felony
that carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Though two of the prisoners
killed in the riot were Irish Mob members, all of the individuals charged in
that case are members of the Irish Mob, said Payne County District Attorney
Laura Austin Thomas. Video surveillance shows Irish Mob members gathering on
the second floor of Charlie North before walking downstairs and starting the
fight with members of the United Aryan Brotherhood, she said. “Here we don’t
have any evidence whatsoever that we can find, that there was a UAB group
down there waiting and ready to do battle. What you can see is total
surprise,” Thomas said. “They may be really bad people, but in that scenario
they found themselves in, they had a right to defend.” Payne County District
Attorney Laura Austin Thomas. Courtesy. Thomas said the only surveillance
video of the fight came from an automatically panning camera in the unit. The
quality of the video was poor, and the attack began right as the camera was
panning away from where the fight started, she said. “You can’t do
identification based on watching the video,” Thomas said. Witnesses’
reluctance to testify, contamination of DNA evidence on the murder weapons
after the fight, and the subsequent arrest and conviction on unrelated drug
charges of the only correctional officer who witnessed the incident, made
getting first-degree murder convictions unlikely, Thomas said. Instead,
Thomas said, the charges of participating in a riot that resulted in death,
which carries the same penalty as second-degree murder, are what can actually
be proven with the available evidence. Thomas said there had been a riot
prior to the September 2015 riot that was not reported to her office, and
that she later met with Department of Corrections and private prison
officials to inquire why. “My questions were, ‘Why wasn’t this riot reported
to me?’ And their answer was they didn’t consider it a riot. They considered
it something else,” she said. At the time of the September 2015 riot,
department officials told media that the incident was not considered a riot,
though Oklahoma law defines a riot as three or more people acting together to
use force or violence outside the law. Thomas said prison officials have told
her that a new, better camera system has since been installed, but the number
of incidents that go on there has been some cause for concern. “That’s a
scary prison,” Thomas said. “Maybe all of them are scary, but that one is a
scary prison.”
May
17, 2017 newson6.com
Brawl
Involving Inmates, Guards At Cimarron Prison Under Investigation
Authorities
are investigating an incident involving prisoners and guards at the
in Cushing from Tuesday night. It happened around 9 p.m. Investigators
say an inmate refused to comply with orders and a guard responded with pepper
spray. A melee ensued, involving several other inmates assaulting the guard
and other guards who rushed in to help. According to a release issued by the
facility, five guards were taken to a local hospital where they were treated
and released for non-life threatening injuries suffered in the brawl. No inmates
were reported injured. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) is
investigating the incident. The Cimarron Correctional Facility is privately
owned and operated by CoreCivic. The following is a
statement from CoreCivic: CoreCivic
is fully cooperating with the investigation being conducted by the Oklahoma
Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General. The following is a
statement from the DOC: On May 16, 2017 around 9:00 p.m. an inmate at the
Cimarron Correctional Facility refused to comply with orders, and a
correctional officer deployed pepper spray. Several inmates assaulted the
officer, and other correctional officers who responded to assist. The
incident quickly came to an end when more pepper spray was deployed. Five
staff members were injured, and taken to a nearby hospital where they were
treated and released for their injuries, no inmates were injured. The
incident is currently under investigation by the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections Office of Inspector General. The Cimarron Correctional Facility
is a private prison owned and operated by CoreCivic.
Nov 23, 2016 1600kush.com
Cushing Prison Visitor Due in Court on Marijuana Charge
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A Stillwater woman has been ordered to appear in court
on Dec. 5 when she can seek a preliminary hearing on a felony charge of
bringing marijuana into the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing. Rakista Hampton, 32, who was a visitor at the private
prison, remains free on $2,500 bail on the felony charge that carries a
maximum penalty of a five-year prison term and a $1,000 fine on conviction.
Inmate Ta Ray Marquez Brown, 28, who is serving a 30-year prison term for
drug trafficking and carrying a firearm after a felony adjudication in
Garfield County on 2007 convictions, has been charged with possessing
marijuana at the Cimarron Correctional Facility, but no court date has been
set for him. Cushing Police Detective Rachel Hentges
was sent to the private prison owned by the Corrections Corporation of
America on April 12 about a visitor who brought contraband into the facility
on March 19, an affidavit said. During visitation, Hampton was seen passing
an object to Inmate Brown, the affidavit alleged. “Hampton denied all
allegations of handing contraband to Offender Brown during the visitation,”
the affidavit said As Hampton was leaving the prison, she was given a
visitation suspension form and asked a correctional officer, “When they find
the stuff on him, what will the Cushing Police Department do to me?” the
affidavit alleged. A shift supervisor said that he received a call from
Hampton after she left the prison in which she said she had not known
Offender Brown long and confirmed he did have contraband on him, the
affidavit alleged. “Hampton continued to inquire about what would happen to
her if contraband was found on Offender Brown,” the affidavit alleged. The
next day, the contraband passed to Offender Brown by Hampton was recovered
when the inmate “gave up,” the substance, the affidavit alleged. In a written
statement, “Ta Ray Brown took responsibility for the contraband, admitted Rakista Hampton passed it to him, and that the item was
‘a balloon of weed,’” the affidavit alleged. When the substance was
field-tested by the Cushing officer, it was presumptive positive for the presence
of marijuana, the affidavit alleged.
Oct 31, 2016 care2.com
Guard Merely Watched as Prisoners Killed Each Other, Lawsuit Alleges
Four dead and no one held accountable. This describes the aftermath of
the deadliest prison fight in Oklahoma history. According to a new lawsuit,
the brawl was “highly predictable” and should have been prevented were it not
for lackadaisical behavior from the prison’s guards and management alike. On
Sept. 12, 2015 at Oklahoma’s Cimarron Correctional Facility, located in Cushing,
members of both the Irish Mob and the United Aryan Brotherhood were seen
gathering in one of the facility’s housing units. Usually, this is a strong
indication of an impending fight. But according to a new lawsuit, an on-duty
guard witnessing the amassing prisoners merely watched as “nothing more than
a spectator.” Cimarron Correctional Facility is managed by the Corrections
Corporation of America. CCA is the largest, most profitable private prison
company in the United States. The newly filed lawsuit claims the facility,
because of “corruption,” was essentially run by the gangs housed there. And
as for the Sept. 12 fight, guard Terrance Lockett is accused of doing nothing
to stop the coming violence. Lockett denies that he was a willing “spectator”
— instead, he claims he had told management that something terrible was about
to happen, before being instructed to notify them again when the violence
actually began. Only after the fight finally broke out did guards respond.
Gear-equipped riot forces entered the housing block and began pepper spraying
every inmate, including Kyle Tiffee — whose family
has filed the lawsuit against CCA — who, along with three others, had already
been fatally stabbed. In either case, the lawsuit goes on to allege that the
prison staff was well aware that both gangs had created weapons using
fixtures used to light the prison interior. However, the lawsuit claims that
the CCA management chose not to remove and fix the lighting “for financial
reasons.” These fixtures remained even after the deadly incident, the lawsuit
goes on to allege. Footage of the fight and the actual sequence of events
does exist. However, it is being withheld by CCA who “claims the video is
exempt from the Oklahoma Open Records Act” based on the argument that it is a
“law enforcement record.” This is something of a problem, as CCA is not
actually registered with Oklahoma as a law enforcement agency — meaning it
has no legal bearing on which to keep the video private. Private prisons in
the United States have developed an increasingly sour reputation, a trend
that seems to be finally leading to serious headaches for the industry. In
mid-August the U.S. Department of Justice formally announced an order to the
U.S. Bureau of Prisons to either cancel or allow the eventual expiration of
their contracts with private prison operators. This came on the heels of a
DOJ report which found that, among other things, private prisons were not
only more costly to run but that they were particularly more dangerous for
both inmates and staff than their government-run counterparts. At present, at
least 20,000 inmates across the United States, alongside a number of prison
staff in at least 24 prison facilities, are engaged in strikes, one of the
largest of its kind in modern history. This began nearly two months ago and
seems to be only picking up steam, with more and more prisoners refusing to
perform work duties and others even refusing to eat. Private prisons have
proven quite clearly that they cannot function to anyone’s benefit — not to
taxpayers’, not to inmates’ and not to the staff who work in them. Their use
in the United States must be abolished, and not just at the federal level.
Oct 25, 2016 1600kush.com
Former Cushing Prison Employee Admits Bringing Drugs Into CCF
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A former Cushing prison employee — who admitted
bringing methamphetamine and marijuana into the Cimarron Correctional
Facility on the instruction of a convicted killer — has been ordered to begin
serving a seven-day jail term on Nov. 4 as a condition of a six-year deferred
sentence. Mykah Summer Joy Wayman, 24, of
Stillwater, pleaded guilty on Oct. 19 before Associate District Judge Stephen
Kistler, who told her that she must have a substance abuse evaluation, follow
any recommendations, undergo random drug tests, comply with the
methamphetamine registry, perform 50 hours of community service and pay
$2,160 in fines and assessments plus court costs. When Wayman was arrested at
the private prison in Cushing at 11 a.m. on Nov. 17, 2015, Corrections
Corporation of America administration “requested Wayman to remove her CCA
shirt and she was given an orange in color DOC (Department of Corrections)
shirt,” an affidavit said. Wayman said an inmate “approached her and made
comments about knowing her children,” including their names and ages,
according to an affidavit by Cushing Police Officer Jonathan Hall. “Wayman
said she did not know how he knew this information,” the affidavit said.
Wayman said that the inmate said he knew her grandfather and where he worked
in Stillwater, according to the affidavit. Wayman said that the inmate told
her to go to her grandfather’s workplace at a fast-food restaurant and pick
up a package, the affidavit said. “Wayman said she did this with fear that
something would happen to her family,” the affidavit said. “Wayman said she
was approached by an extended cab pickup and given a black cylindrical
object,” to deliver to the Cushing prison inmate, the affidavit said. “Wayman
said she brought this item in and was questioned by CCA administration while
entering work,” the affidavit said. “Wayman told me that she was completely
honest with administration when questioned,” the Cushing officer wrote in his
affidavit. The inmate, who is serving a 15-year sentence for first-degree
manslaughter in 2012 in Oklahoma County and a concurrent 13-year sentence for
possessing a precursor with intent to manufacture a drug in Logan County in
2003 after his probation was revoked in 2013, has been transferred from the
private prison in Cushing to Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, DOC
records show. The cylinder that Wayman brought into the Cushing prison had
two plastic baggies containing 69 grams of marijuana and a baggy containing
15 grams of methamphetamine, the affidavit said.
Sep 7, 2016 tulsaworld.com
Fatal prison fight among many gang-related incidents at privately run
Cimarron Correctional Facility
CUSHING — The estate of a man who died in a September 2015 fight at
Cimarron Correctional Facility filed suit Tuesday against the prison’s
managing company and an unidentified inmate. The lawsuit alleges that staff
at the Cushing prison were complicit in allowing contraband to collect in
inmates’ cells and encouraged competition in drug trafficking that added to
tension in an already volatile unit. The estate of one of four inmates who
died, Kyle Tiffee, 23, filed the petition in Payne
County District Court seeking damages for negligence on the part of
Corrections Corp. of America, a Nashville, Tennessee-based company that
manages Cimarron and Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville. The document
provides new details on the Sept. 12 fight between members of the Irish Mob
Group and the United Aryan Brotherhood in Cimarron’s Charlie North unit that
left Tiffee, Anthony Fulwider,
Michael Mayden Jr. and Christopher Tignor dead and seven others injured. The men who live in
Cimarron’s Charlie North unit began “grouping,” which is indicative that an
incident is “imminent,” about an hour before the fight began, according to
the petition. It says the Irish Mob members went downstairs in the unit that
afternoon, where they were met by members of the United Aryan Brotherhood.
Both groups then attacked each other using weapons made from light fixtures
in their cells, the document states. A nurse ran to the scene during the
melee — a fight that lasted about two minutes, records show — to render aid
to a dying inmate, while the correctional officer supervising the unit
reportedly stayed on the upper run. That officer, identified as Terrance
Lockett, was the only officer on the unit the afternoon of the fight and,
according to the petition, made little effort to intervene. Lockett was
dismissed from Cimarron in February after being caught hiding marijuana in
his crotch area on facility grounds, according to a probable cause affidavit
in his pending felony case in Payne County. He is set for a Sept. 27
preliminary hearing. “Knowing that (Lockett) called (CCA supervisors) for a
response that wasn’t coming, the lone guard on Charlie North did not lock down
the unit, utilize officer presence or command presence, attempt to intervene
or even use his (pepper) spray,” the lawsuit states. “He remained on the
upper run and became nothing more than a spectator to the deadliest incident
in Oklahoma prison history.” The unit where the fight occurred has a
disproportionately high number of serious incident reports and is a hub for
drug trafficking that is enabled by “underpaid or undertrained” staff, the
petition states. Tiffee’s estate goes on to say
that the prevalence of contraband at Cimarron compared to Department of
Corrections-run facilities “suggests a much higher tolerance for criminal
activity, unprofessional behavior, inadequate staffing, poor training and
staff corruption.” The DOC also released an updated copy of the facility’s
report on the fight to the Tulsa World on Tuesday afternoon. It paints a
different picture of Lockett’s actions that day, stating the then-officer
took action after he noticed white inmates separating into groups. The
incident report does not classify the altercation as being racially motivated
despite the documented involvement of two white gangs. “The groups began
fighting with and without weapons,” the report states. “Officer Lockett began
giving loud verbal directives to the offenders to stop fighting. At
approximately (4:41 p.m.), Officer Lockett called for an emergency response
team to assist with the incident.” The officers used multiple types of
restraint devices and a combined 21.85 ounces of pepper spray to end the
fight, and found nearly two dozen weapons and a cellphone in a subsequent
search of the housing unit, the DOC says. A Tulsa World investigation in
February found that the fight last September was one of many serious
incidents reported at Cimarron in 2015. Other incidents included large-scale
inmate-on-inmate assaults, seizures of homemade weapons, three arrests of
staff who were caught smuggling contraband inside the facility and
allegations of sexual assault perpetrated by staff against inmates. Tulsa
attorney J. Spencer Bryan, who represents Tiffee’s
estate, told the World the DOC has denied his request for a video of the
September fight. When the World made the same request, DOC spokesman Alex Gerszewski said the agency would not release the video
“for security reasons,” as the Inspector General’s Office is not yet finished
with its investigation. Payne County District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas
said Tuesday no charges have been filed in connection with the homicides, and
said the DOC has not yet provided her office with a final incident report. A
CCA spokesman did not respond to a call and email seeking comment on the
lawsuit as of Tuesday evening. “I do know they interviewed 122 inmates, all
of which saw nothing,” Thomas said of the Inspector General’s investigation.
“I know I have reviewed lots of video, but you can’t see a thing. You can see
injuries, but you can’t see anyone hurting another person. I think it’s
because their camera system is so poor that I’m quite sure all the inmates
knew when the cameras were panning to what areas.
You cannot see anyone until after (the fight’s) over with.” The lawsuit also
targets the inmate who caused the injuries that killed Tiffee,
although that person’s identity is unknown.
Casualty list -- Inmates killed or injured in Sept. 12, 2015, Cimarron
Correctional Facility fight (name, age, reason for imprisonment):
Killed
Anthony Fulwider, 31, convicted of robbery with
a firearm
Christopher Tignor, 29, convicted of possession of
a stolen vehicle
Kyle Tiffee, 23, convicted of possession of a
controlled substance
Michael Mayden Jr., 26, convicted of possession of
a stolen vehicle
Injured
Brandon Maxwell, 22, convicted of second-degree murder
Christopher Shepherd, 42, convicted of first-degree murder
Cordell Johnson, 24, convicted of possession of a controlled substance
Jared Cruce, 34, convicted of possession of a
controlled substance with intent to distribute
Jesse Hood, 31, convicted of assault and battery on a police officer
Korey Kruta, 26, convicted of kidnapping
Shawn Schneider, 31, convicted of second-degree forgery
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting
the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented
civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and
educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive
force for social change.
Jun 24 , 2016 1600kush.com
Four Accused of Marijuana Possession at Cushing Prison
(Stillwater, Okla.) – In apparently unrelated cases, four individuals
were charged Thursday in Payne County District Court with possessing
marijuana at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing. An inmate, Taray Marquez Brown, 28, was accused of possessing the
drug on April 12 inside the Cushing private prison, court records show.
Sheila Russell, 51, of Sapulpa, was accused of bringing the drug on April 23
into the Cushing prison, court records show. Rakista
Hampton, 32, of Stillwater, was accused of bringing the drug on March 19 into
the Cushing prison, court records show. Khala
Sherie Lewis, 24, of Oklahoma City, was accused of bringing the drug on June
20 into the Cushing prison, court records show. All of the cases were
investigated by staff of the Cimarron Correctional Facility and the Cushing
Police Department, court records show.
Jun 22, 2016 1600kush.com
Cushing Prison Sergeant Jailed on Child Sexual Abuse Charge
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A Cushing
man who told an investigator that he is a sergeant at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility was arraigned Monday from the Payne County Jail where
he is being held on $50,000 bail on a child sexual abuse charge. If
convicted, John Scott Floro, 25, who is 6’7” and
weighs 220 pounds, could be imprisoned for 25 years to life, according to the
charge filed Monday by Payne County Assistant District Attorney Debra
Vincent. The alleged victim, a
6-year-old boy to whom Floro is related, made a
disclosure at school on March 31, Cushing Police Officer Rachel Hentges alleged in an affidavit. The Cushing police
officer interviewed Floro at the Cushing Police
Department at 6:30 p.m. on April 7, according to her affidavit. “John Floro reported he was employed with Cimarron Correctional
Facility and had been for four years. He stated he was a sergeant over
Segregation Max. “Floro reported that prior to his
employment with CCA (Corrections Corporation of America), he was overseas in
the military. He indicated he was in the Army National Guard and continued to
have monthly commitments to the Guard,” the Cushing police officer wrote in
her affidavit. Floro denied that he made the boy
perform oral sex on him, the affidavit said. “He did not appear bothered or
disgusted by the questions; he calmly denied them,” the affidavit said. “Floro maintained that he did not know where the
allegations were coming from. Floro told me he was
not a ‘sexual predator,’” the Cushing police officer wrote in her affidavit.
“He denied he had ever been accused of sexual abuse and never been accused of
touching someone inappropriately,” the affidavit said. “During the
investigation, I received Floro’s schedule, time
cards, dates of leave, training record, and employment dates,” the Cushing
police officer wrote in her affidavit. The boy made the disclosure of sexual
abuse by Floro while he was in Floro’s
care, the affidavit alleged.
Jun 14, 2016 kgou.org
Department of Corrections Slow To Address Private Prison Contract Breaches,
Records Show
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections uses three private prisons, run by
two companies, to help ease overcrowding. There are contracts in place to
ensure the facilities abide by state rules, but the state doesn’t always take
options available to it when private facilities fail to live up to their
obligations. Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, Okla., is miles away
from any major highway. The road quickly turns from pavement to gravel once
you reach the far side of the prison. Barbed wire fences surround the taupe
buildings with red roofs, and a white water tower emblazoned with the city’s
name marks the entrance to the facility. “It's a very dangerous prison, it's
had a lot of problems here,” state Rep. Bobby Cleveland, R-Slaughterville, says as he stands across from the
facility. The lawmaker is on the House Criminal Justice and Corrections
Committee, and he says he spends lots of time touring prisons across the
state. Any facility can be dangerous, Cleveland says, but this prison is
where four inmates died in September. Another inmate was thrown over a
railing earlier this year. “I'm in favor of private prisons,” Cleveland says.
“I have no problem with private prisons. Without the private prisons in
Oklahoma, we'd be in a heck of a shape.” But he says they have to run well.
Cimarron Correctional Facility, owned and operated by Corrections Corporation
of America, saw multiple breaches of contract in 2015, according to letters
obtained by KGOU through an open records request. “When you have this kind of
a problem here at this particular prison and you have DOC people on staff
here, it's even more troublesome,” Cleveland says. The state’s Department of
Corrections has two contract monitors at the Cushing prison. They work inside
the facility and make sure the prison follows policies and procedures in the
state’s contract. If an issue isn’t resolved quickly or adequately, DOC
spokesperson Terri Watkins says something called a letter to cure goes out.
It formally tells the prison: “this needs to be fixed.” “If they don't take
the appropriate action in the appropriate amount of time, we can withhold
funds from them,” Watkins says. The state sent Cushing four of these letters
in 2015. Two letters came after the prison sent in late, inaccurate or
incomplete reports following what the department calls “serious incidents.”
Watkins describes those events as ones typically involving multiple inmates.
Another letter to cure reprimanded Cimarron Correctional Facility for failing
to follow rules related to required cameras during serious incidents. All
three mentioned previous correspondence about the breaches of contract. “The
assigned contract monitor, since earlier occurrences of non-compliance has
had several discussions with facility staff that (sic.) has oversight of
security processes for purpose of correcting process of non-compliance,
however with no success,” a Jan. 21, 2015, letter from the Department of
Corrections noted. There had been memos urging the prison to correct
shortcomings, conversations between state employees and private prison staff,
and notes of earlier occurrences of non-compliance. This was not the first
warning. Despite that, the state chose not to withhold money. “It's not one
of those things necessarily where you look at it go, ‘They ignored you,’”
Watkins says. “No, we may have had a disagreement over at what level you do
this. I think the biggie is: that option is available to us. And if we choose
to take it, we can choose to take it,” Watkins says. The state agency has
withheld money from private prisons before. In fiscal year 2016, the state
assessed more than $120,000 in monetary damages when facilities released
inmates on an incorrect date. “And we’re talking a day or two early or late,”
Watkins says. The fines ranged from $2,500 - $112,500 across the three
prisons. Most letters to cure issued to the private facilities in recent
years have included a disclaimer warning wardens the state “will consider
withholding of payments for non-performance,” but since 2012, the only
damages have been related to the errant releases. The final letter sent to
Cimarron Correctional Facility last year arrived in October, when DOC told
the prison it was waiting on incident reports dating back to March. The
Cushing prison had already received a similar letter about its reporting
process in January 2015, and the facility responded by promising to ‘meet all
expectations. According to the letters’ dates, the prison followed reporting
procedures for incidents inside the prison for a maximum of two months before
falling months behind. When asked why it took the Department of Corrections
more than six months to issue a letter to cure, Watkins paused for several
seconds. “In all likelihood, they either did not realize that the reports
were not getting done in the proper amount of time, or they were working with
the facility in order to try to get them to comply,” she said. Watkins says
prisons have to report “almost everything” and insists contract monitors
aren’t missing major incidents. The late reports could’ve been related to
something as simple as forcefully removing an inmate from a cell, Watkins
says, not necessarily violent events. Corrections Corporation of America, the
parent company of Cimarron Correctional Facility, declined repeated requests
for an interview. Back at the Cushing prison, state Rep. Bobby Cleveland
wonders why the state opted against levying fines. He’s concerned by what he
calls “mismanagement” at the Department of Corrections. “I think the
responsibility is to DOC. They have to make sure that these private prisons
are following the letter of the law. They've got to follow these policies to
a ‘t.’ There's just no excuse, and there's no room for mistakes,” he says.
Cleveland and Terri Watkins agree there’s no room for mistakes. But Cleveland
questions the abilities of the state’s contract monitors to keep things
running smoothly and argues there might need to be more public eyes within
private prison walls. “The DOC needs to be monitoring it,” Cleveland adds.
“And they need to be monitoring it a little closer than what they are.”
May 3, 2016 1600kush.com
Cushing Prison Inmate Accused of Meth Trafficking Due in Court
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A convicted kidnapper, rapist and armed robber due
to be imprisoned for 61 more years has been ordered to appear in Payne County
District Court on June 15 for a pretrial hearing on a charge of trafficking
methamphetamine inside the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing. Due to
his criminal record, Reeco Maurice Cole, 37, could
be given a sentence of 12 years to life and a fine of $25,000 to $200,000 if
convicted of having 23.77 grams of methamphetamine in the private prison
where he remains incarcerated. During a meeting with Cimarron Correctional
Facility Investigator Joseph Sebenick on June 12,
2015, Cushing Police Officer Aaron Sherman was handed a baggy “with three
baggies with green leafy substance and two compressed cylinders with green
leafy substance, a baggy with 48 small baggies with white crystal substance
and three large baggies with white crystal substance, a baggy with a small
green rectangle pill and a baggy with a cell phone and a CD disk with the
contents of the phone,” an affidavit alleged. “Sebenick
told me the cell phone was locked with a passcode,” the Cushing officer wrote
in his affidavit. Sebenick said that the items were
found in a cell that Cole shared with another inmate, who has not been
charged, court records show. “Sebenick told me he
took the phone to Okmulgee Police Department and spoke with Detective James Ables,”
who downloaded the contents of the cell phone, the Cushing officer wrote in
his affidavit. “Sebenick told me the phone has
multiple pictures stored of Cole along with photos displaying a white crystal
substance and a green leafy substance.“Sebenick
told me in one of the photos Cole is sitting on one of the bunks holding what
appears to be five $100 bills. “Sebenick also told
me in the pictures there are two photos of a U.S. Department of Treasury
check, which has the name and address,” of a woman, who has not been charged,
court records show. When the Cushing officer field-tested the substances,
they came back as positive for methamphetamine and marijuana, the affidavit
alleged. According to the state Department of Corrections, Cole has been in
prison for the past 16 years serving sentences imposed in 2000 for:
* kidnapping by extortion in
Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he was given a 33-year prison term due to
be completed in 2028;
* carrying a concealed weapon in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he was
given a six-month jail term that he has completed;
* possessing a stolen vehicle in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he was
given a five-year prison term that he discharged in two years;
* armed robbery in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he was given a
concurrent 33-year prison term due to be completed in 2028;
* car theft in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he was given a 20-year
prison term that he discharged last December;
* attempted kidnapping by extortion in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which he
was given a 10-year prison term that he discharged in five years;
* knowingly concealing stolen property in Okmulgee County in 1999, for which
he was given a five-year prison term that he discharged in two years;
* pointing a weapon in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a 10-year
prison term that he discharged in five years;
* first-degree rape in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a 20-year
prison term that he discharged last December;
* attempted rape in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a 20-year
prison term due to be completed in 2077;
* kidnapping in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a 10-year prison
term due to be completed in 2037;
* robbery by force in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a 20-year
prison term that he discharged last December;
* forcible oral sodomy in Tulsa County in 1999, for which he was given a
20-year prison term due to be completed in 2057.
Apr
13, 2016 1600kush.com
Woman Accused of Bringing Marijuana into Cushing Prison
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A Tulsa woman was arraigned Monday from the Payne
County Jail on a felony charge of bringing marijuana into the Cimarron
Correctional Facility in Cushing on Sunday. Crystal Ann Mack, 29, remains
held on $2,500 bail pending a May 11 court appearance with an attorney, court
records show. If convicted of bringing marijuana into the private prison,
Mack could be incarcerated for as much as five years and fined $1,000, court
records show.
Mar 23, 2016 kgou.org
Despite Continued Violence, Private Prisons 'Only Relief Valve' For
Overcrowding
Oklahoma’s three privately-operated prisons house roughly one-third of
the the state’s imprisoned population and cost the
Department of Corrections more than $92 million last year. But a recently released
video offers a glimpse into a series of violent disturbances at one facility.
The video, from what appears to be a contraband cell phone, shows a group of
inmates throwing another prisoner over a balcony onto the floor below. It’s
the most recent violent incident at the privately-run Cimarron Correctional
Facility in Cushing, but it’s not the first. Four inmates died during an
outbreak in September in the deadliest recorded event in the Department of
Corrections’ history. Before that, a fight broke out in June that sent nearly
a dozen inmates to the hospital. Interim Director Joe Allbaugh
says many incidents at all prisons are gang-related. “We don't have the
flexibility in our system to segregate these gangs, so they are together in
close quarters and so sometimes things happen,” Allbaugh
said. DOC officials say they plan to make changes to the Cushing facility’s
operations because of the deadly incident more than six months ago. But so
far, none has gone into effect. And this month’s disturbance is still under
investigation. Even though private prison companies say they deliver equal or
superior service, Allbaugh says he’s seen some
differences. “Sometimes private prisons are a little more lax with their
population than we would like to see when we have incidents like what
happened Thursday night,” he said. Brady Henderson, the legal director for
the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, says his organization receives “a
great deal” of complaints from Oklahoma prisoners. “I would say we get roughly
double the number per capita from private prison inmates from public prison
inmates,” Henderson said. He says the complaints range from safety concerns
to lack of appropriate food and medical care. There’s no definitive study on
privately- versus publicly-run prisons. There are studies showing financial
and performance benefits for both private-sector and state facilities.
Corrections Corporation of America -- or CCA -- runs the Cushing prison and
declined multiple requests for a recorded interview, but Len Gilroy from the
libertarian group Reason Foundation says all prisons face similar challenges.
“You can have very bad incidents that will happen in well-managed prisons,
and that can be in well-managed public prisons and in well-managed
private-sector prisons,” Gilroy said. The benefit to private facilities, he
argues, is what he calls a healthy tension. “If a private contractor
continued to have performance issues and continually failed to live up to the
expectations of the contract, the state government has the ability to fire
that operator and either install its own state people in there or hire
another outside company,” Gilroy said. Allbaugh
insists there’s no talk of ending CCA’s contract for the Cushing facility.
There are other options, he says. For instance, Allbaugh’s
agency could issue a notice to cure, which lets the contractor know about
shortfalls and gives the company a predetermined amount of time to remedy the
situation. “It is kind of a formalized process that the contract calls for,
that way you don't get in a he said, she said routine,” Allbaugh
said. Oklahoma’s Department of Corrections last sent a notice to cure to a
private prison in October to inform Cimarron Correctional Facility it was
over seven months behind in reporting use of force standards and reportable
incidents. According to DOC’s contract with CCA, a prison is given five days
to submit proper forms. The letter says the state was waiting on reports
dating back to March 2015. The ACLU’s Brady Henderson says this points to a
practice of concealing records within corrections systems. “Even in public
facilities, there's an incredible amount of secrecy, there's an incredible
lack of transparency. It's already hard to know. It gets 10 times harder with
a private facility,” Henderson said. Reason Foundation’s Len Gilroy disagrees
and says private prisons are typically under more scrutiny than state-run
institutions. Corrections Interim Director Joe Allbaugh
says for now, his agency is stuck. “As much as I don't think the state ought
to be doing business with private prisons, I'm glad they're around because
they're our only relief valve available to us during this crunch.” Editor's
Note: The Reason Foundation identifies itself as a libertarian organization,
whose motto is "Free Minds and free Markets." Private prison firms
such as Corrections Corporation of America are among its contributors.
Mar 17, 2016 ksn.com
Drone carrying cell phones discovered at Oklahoma prison
CUSHING, Okla. (AP) – Oklahoma prison officials say a drone carrying
three cellphones has been confiscated at a private prison after a guard
spotted flashing lights approaching the facility. Oklahoma Department of
Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh said in a press
release Wednesday a team of prison officers at the Cimarron Correctional
Facility in Cushing found the drone after it crash landed on the prison
grounds. A plastic bag containing three cellphones had been affixed to the
drone. Allbaugh says prison officials are
investigating the incident. It is the second time a drone with contraband
attached to it has been recovered at an Oklahoma prison. In October,
officials at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester discovered a drone
carrying drugs, tobacco, hacksaw blades and a cellphone had crash landed
after apparently clipping some razor wire.
Mar 14, 2016 news9.com
Oklahoma Inmate Records Cell Phone Video Of Man Tossed Over Balcony
CUSHING, Oklahoma - A shocking prison fight in Cushing was caught on
camera and now the Oklahoma Department of Corrections is investigating. An
inmate recorded it on his cell phone. It shows a group of inmates hurl
another inmate off a second floor balcony last Thursday. Part of the prison
is on lockdown right now. The video shows inmates surround a guy on the 2nd
floor and then toss him over the railing backwards and head first. He landed
hard and does not appear to move in the video. “The other guys run over and
they grab my friend, each grab a leg and just flip him over. He has no idea
it's even coming,” said a woman who was on the phone with the inmate when he
was jumped. “He just lands knocked out, on the floor, on the cold concrete,
just laying [sic] there.” This all happened in Cushing at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility, which is privately owned by Corrections Corporation of
America, or CCA, and contracts with the Department of Corrections. “I'm on
the phone with him and it just goes, like, just drops. I hear nothing except
for a bunch of yelling,” the friend told News 9. Last year, News 9 covered a
deadly fight at the same prison that took four lives. After this latest
fight, several people sent News 9 the video. Friends and family said it was
shocking to see. “I started bawling,” the friend said. “If you are not
perfect, don't be judging these people.” There is now a full investigation by
DOC and CCA. The investigation could lead to charges. DOC spokesperson Terri
Watkins said the cell phone video is proof of one of the worst problems at
prisons, which is contraband involving phones, drugs or weapons. The DOC said
two inmates went to the hospital after the fight, including the man thrown
off the balcony. He had lacerations on the back of his head, but Watkins said
the injuries happened just before he was tossed over. He and the other
injured inmate are both back at the prison now. CCA Director of Public
Affairs Jonathan Burns released a statement: “CCA is committed to maintaining
a correctional environment that is safe and secure for inmates, our staff and
the communities we serve. On March 10,
there was an inmate-on-inmate incident that took place at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility. Our staff quickly brought the situation under control.
Two inmates were transported to local hospitals for treatment of non-life
threatening injuries and subsequently returned to the facility. As is standard practice after any incident
such as this, the involved housing unit has been placed on lockdown. CCA and
the Oklahoma Department of Corrections are also investigating the incident
accordingly.” Some of the information in this news story may have been
provided by law enforcement with the request News 9 inform the public of,
and/or assist in locating a person in connection with, a police
investigation. News 9 can make no independent verification of the accuracy of
the information, photographs and/or video provided to it by police or other
law enforcement agencies.
Mar 14, 2016 tulsaworld.com
Two hospitalized after violent incident at Cushing prison that was
captured on video
CUSHING — Authorities confirmed Monday that they are investigating a violent
incident at a Cushing private prison, which was captured partially on video,
that sent two people to the hospital on Thursday. Oklahoma Department of
Corrections spokesperson Alex Gerszewski said a
fight broke out at the Cimarron Correctional Facility, and that at least one
unit in the prison was placed on lockdown. Two people were hospitalized with
non-life-threatening injuries and have since returned to the facility, he
said. A 30-second clip of the incident was posted to YouTube on Sunday. The video
shows someone being thrown over a rail onto a concrete floor about one story
below. The recording, which appears to be from a cellphone camera, is of poor
quality and is titled "Cushing homicide," though authorities denied
any fatalities occurred during the fight. Someone can be heard saying, "Oooooh, they threw him off" at about the 10-second
mark before the video shows the man lying on the ground. Gerszewski
confirmed Monday that the man shown in the video was one of the two who were
hospitalized. It's not clear who took the video, as the name on the YouTube
account does not match anyone currently in DOC custody, but Gerszewski said officers at Cimarron are working to find
out who had the camera or phone. Cimarron is managed by Corrections Corp. of
America, a Nashville, Tennessee-based company that has a contract with the
DOC to house inmates in multiple security levels. The facility was the
subject of a Feb. 21 story in the Tulsa World that discussed at length
reports of violent altercations in the prison last year, including a Sept. 12
fight between two white gangs that killed four inmates and a June 10 brawl
between 33 inmates that hospitalized 11 people. The homicides are still under
investigation. CCA spokesperson Jonathan Burns said in a statement Monday
that the company is working with the DOC to investigate the Thursday incident
and that CCA is "committed to maintaining a correctional environment
that is safe and secure for inmates, our staff and the communities we
serve." The names of those involved in the altercation have not been
released. Neither Burns nor Gerszewski would
confirm if Thursday's fight was gang-related. "Our staff quickly brought
the situation under control," Burns said.
Feb 9, 2016 1600kush.com
Cushing Prison Visitor Jailed on Meth Trafficking Charge
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A visitor at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in
Cushing has been jailed on $10,000 bail on a charge of trafficking
methamphetamine, court records showed today. Johnny Lee Barnard Jr., 52, of
Sand Springs, was arraigned Friday from the Payne County Jail in the case
investigated by Cushing Police Officer Bill McCarty. The Cushing officer was
sent shortly before 10 a.m. on Jan. 31 to the private prison where a
corrections officer said “he was told by the suspect the package contained
marijuana,” but when the corrections officer cut it open, crystals were in
the package also, an affidavit alleged. Another corrections officer had
observed in visitation that Barnard passed an inmate an object, which was
then retrieved from the prisoner, McCarty’s affidavit alleged. A corrections
officer said that when he cut open the contraband and saw a green leafy
substance, “a crystal substance also fell out of the bag along with a cell
phone and a phone charger,” the affidavit alleged. “I observed a plastic bag
wrapped in black electrical tape on the desk,” McCarty wrote in his
affidavit. A field test on a small portion of the crystal substance was
positive for methamphetamine and another test on the leafy substance was
positive as marijuana, the affidavit alleged. Barnard said that “there was
marijuana in the package, but did not know there was meth in it,” the
affidavit alleged. “When asked how he came in possession of the contraband,
Barnard stated, ‘a guy dropped it off at his house; he did not know what was
in it,’” the affidavit alleged. “The total weight of the crystal substance
was 85.6 grams,” in three bags of presumptive methamphetamine, the affidavit
alleged. The plastic bag of presumptive marijuana weighed 44.1 grams, the
affidavit alleged.
Jan 30, 2016 1600kush.com
Convicted Rapist Accused Of Attacking Cushing Prison Guard Due In Court
Monday
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A convicted rapist accused of attacking a male
guard at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing has been ordered to
appear in Payne County District Court on Monday on a felony charge of assault
and battery on a corrections officer. If convicted of his latest charge,
Orlin Wilson Dill, 46, who has been transferred from the Cushing prison to
the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, could receive an additional
five years’ incarceration, court records show. According to an affidavit by
Cushing Police Officer Christopher Haywood, on June 12, 2015 at 2:34 p.m., a
guard went to the Cushing Police Department to report an assault at the
private prison. The guard said that at about 8:30 a.m. that day, while “he
assisted in serving breakfast in Charlie South pod,” he opened Dill’s cell
and advised him to retrieve his breakfast, the affidavit said. The guard said
when “Dill ordered him to retrieve his breakfast,” the guard responded by
closing the cell door, but Dill stuck his foot out and blocked the guard from
shutting the door, the affidavit alleged. When the guard ordered Dill to
remove his foot blocking the door, Dill punched the guard in the face with a
closed fist, the affidavit alleged. The guard said “he disengaged while
blocking Dill’s punches,” before striking Dill in the face in defense, the
affidavit alleged. The guard said “Dill then began attempting to reach his
inflammatory agent spray canister,” which the guard secured with one hand
while using his other to hold Dill to the wall, the affidavit alleged. “At
this point, Dill bit him (the guard) on the right side of his forehead,” the
affidavit alleged. The guard then hit Dill in the face and began giving Dill
orders to the ground, which Dill refused to comply with, the affidavit
alleged. The guard said “he then deployed his inflammatory agent to Dill’s
face,” and Dill surrendered, the affidavit alleged. The guard said that he
was assessed by the facility’s medical staff, who advised that he seek
further outside care, so he went to the Cushing hospital where he received
three stitches to his forehead, according to the affidavit. According to the
state Department of Corrections, Dill has an extensive criminal record. At
age 21, Dill was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in
Tulsa County, for which he was given a two-year prison term in 1992, but
served about one year, DOC records show. About six months after he was
released, Dill was convicted of grand larceny in Tulsa County, for which he
was given a two-year prison term in 1993, but served less than one year, DOC
records show. Less than two years later, Dill was convicted by a jury of
first-degree rape in Tulsa County, for which he was given a 20 and one-half
year prison term in 1996, but served only about 12 years, DOC records show.
While Dill was serving his rape sentence, he was convicted in 1999 of
possessing contraband in a penal institution in Alfalfa County, for which he
was given a five-year prison term in 2008, but served about two years, DOC
records show. After Dill was paroled on that offense in 2010, he was
convicted of drug possession and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon
in Mayes County, for which he was given two concurrent nine and one-half year
prison terms that he began serving in 2012, DOC records show.
Jan 12, 2016 1600kush.com
Cushing Woman Arraigned on Charge of Bringing Contraband into Prison
(Stillwater, Okla.) A Cushing woman was arraigned Monday on a felony
charge of bringing cell phones, which are considered contraband in prison,
into the Cimarron Correctional Facility while she was employed there in
October. If convicted of possession of contraband in a penal institution,
Megan Ann Hood, 25, could be given a prison sentence of 20 years to life,
according to the felony charge filed by Payne County First Assistant District
Attorney Kevin Etherington. Hood
remains free on $5,000 bond pending a Feb. 10 court appearance with an
attorney. Cushing Police Officer Bill
McCarty alleged in an affidavit, “Hood told me she was bringing the cell
phone to an inmate who was going to pay her $2,000 for the cell phones. “Hood
told me the money was going to be used to help her get away from her abusive
husband. “I then asked Hood if she had brought any other cell phones into the
facility. Hood stated that she had brought in one more. “After speaking with
Hood, I escorted Hood out of the facility.” The Cushing police officer had
been sent to the private prison shortly after 1 p.m. on Oct. 17, 2015, “in
reference to an employee bringing in cell phones,” according to his
affidavit. A female correctional officer said that “she was working security
at the front desk when Megan Hood came in to work,” the affidavit said. “When
Hood passed through the metal detector, it continually would go off,” the
affidavit alleged. Another female correctional officer “then escorted Hood to
intake where another metal detector called the BOSS chair is located,” which
“indicated something was located in the center portion of Hood’s body,” when
she sat in the chair, the affidavit alleged. Hood was then escorted to the
warden’s officer where another female correctional officer was waiting, the
affidavit said. “Hood was brought in
and asked why the metal detectors kept going off. “Hood stated that she had
two cell phones stuck inside her,” the affidavit alleged. The female
correctional officer then went to the restroom with Hood, who removed the
cell phones and gave them to her, the affidavit alleged. "The item was
approximately two inches wide, one inch thick and four inches long. The item
was wrapped with black electrical tape,” the affidavit said. When the Cushing
police officer returned to the police station, he opened the item that he
received from the correctional officer, the affidavit said. “Inside were two
cell phones,” the affidavit alleged.
Nov
10, 2015 newsok.com
Oklahoma:
Stabbed CCA inmate was on drugs and had cell phone
CUSHING—One
of the inmates killed in a bloody prison fight at the Cimarron Correctional
Facility had methamphetamine in his bloodstream and a cell phone in his
pocket, according to an autopsy report released Monday. Christopher Tignor, 29, died of a stab wound to the chest. He was
also stabbed in the face and his back was slashed, the state medical examiner
said. A blood test revealed Tignor had been using methamphetamine, according to the
report. He had a black Samsung cell phone in
his pocket. Also released Monday was
the medical examiner's report on Michael Mayden,
26, which showed the inmate died from a stab wound to his left shoulder that
partially collapsed his lung. Mayden also was
stabbed in the left arm. Mayden's blood test was
negative for drugs and alcohol. The Sept. 12 disturbance at the private
prison left four inmates dead. Homemade knives were discovered at the scene,
the medical examiner reported. Autopsy reports on Anthony Fulwilder
and Kyle Tiffee are pending.
Sep
29, 2015 1600kush.com
Ex-Cushing
Prison Guard Gets Probation for Bringing Contraband to Inmate
(Stillwater,
Okla.) – A former female guard at the Cimarron Correctional Facility, who
admitted being paid by a convicted rapist for bringing contraband to him in
the private prison in Cushing, has been placed on five years’ probation with
extensive requirements including having a mental health evaluation and
follow-up. Pawnee native Alyson Frances Posey, 25, who moved from Cushing to
Stillwater due to being a domestic violence victim, said that accepting money
to take tobacco to an inmate was “the absolute biggest mistake I have ever
made,” according to a pre-sentencing investigation. Without an agreement with
the prosecution regarding her sentence, Posey had pleaded guilty to a
two-count charge of receiving more than $500 from an inmate for providing him
tobacco and bringing the contraband into the Cushing prison. As a condition
of her probation under a deferred sentence, Associate District Judge Stephen
Kistler ordered Posey on Sept. 18 to maintain employment, perform 200 hours
of community service and pay $425 in fines and assessments, court records
show. In the background report compiled by the state Department of
Corrections, Posey said, “I was working at the Cushing prison. I was
approached by an inmate. I took tobacco into him and continued to tell him
I’m not gonna do it anymore. “They tried to accuse me of sleeping with
inmates, but that wasn’t true. “I tried to quit my job, but the guy (inmate)
I was taking the tobacco in for demanded I stay,” Posey said in the
background report. Probation and Parole Officer Billy Laster of the
Stillwater office recommended that the judge give Posey probation under a
deferred sentence. “This offense does not appear to be a pattern of criminal
behavior. The motive behind the crime was for financial gain as evidenced in
Posey receiving the money from an inmate. “Her behavior may have also been
influenced by the reported threats made against the father of one of her
children,” the probation and parole officer noted in his report to the judge.
The inmate to whom Posey admitted taking tobacco was listed in the two-count
charge as Reeco Cole, 36, who is serving an 80-year
sentence at the Cushing prison for first-degree rape, attempted rape,
forcible oral sodomy, kidnapping, robbery by force, and pointing a weapon,
all in Tulsa County in 1999, DOC records show. Oklahoma DOC Internal Affairs
Agents Casey Hamilton and Randy Knight interviewed Posey, then a Corrections
Corporation of America Correctional Officer, at the Cushing Police Department
on March 29, 2013, an affidavit said. “Posey stated she was approached by
Cole during job training on Dec. 24, 2012. Posey stated Cole provided her
with his cellular telephone number and instructed her to call him,” the
affidavit said. “Posey stated Cole told her he was owed money by the father
of one of her children,” who is incarcerated at another prison in Oklahoma,
the affidavit said. Posey said that Cole told her she would have to pay off
his debt “or he would have him touched, meaning assaulted,” the affidavit
said. “Posey stated she would bring tobacco into the facility twice a week
and did so approximately seven to eight times from January to February 2013,”
the affidavit said. “Posey stated she also met with an unidentified female in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, on two separate occasions to pick up packages of which she
did not know the contents,” the affidavit said. “Posey provided her a GE
Money Bank Green Dot card and stated Cole would put money on the card for
bringing him packages,” the affidavit said. “Posey admitted to sending nude
photographs of herself to Cole and allowed the photographs to be observed by
Agents Hamilton and Knight,” the affidavit said. “Following Posey’s
interview, she provided the transaction from her Green Dot account. Agent
Hamilton found 13 cash credits posted to her account on six separate dates
totaling $735,” the affidavit said. “Agent Hamilton was not able to determine
who posted the money to Posey’s account,” the affidavit said. “On April 3,
2013, Hamilton conducted an interview with Reeco
Cole,” who denied having any relationship with Posey, the affidavit said.
“Cole stated he never received contraband from Posey and denied having
conversations with her on a cellular telephone. “Cole stated he is currently
‘level 4’ and would not do anything to jeopardize his levels. Cole stated he
would deal with the consequences; however, he maintained his innocence,” the
affidavit said. In addition to his Tulsa County cases, Cole is serving a
concurrent prison term totaling 33 years for armed robbery, kidnapping by
extortion, car theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, knowingly concealing
stolen property and carrying a concealed weapon, all in 1999 in Okmulgee
County, DOC records show.
Sep
18, 2015 kgou.org
Deadly Prison Stabbings The Result Of Gang Feud
The
head of an Oklahoma prison workers group says the stabbing deaths of four
white inmates at a private prison in Cushing were the result of violence
between two white prison gangs that also spilled over into other state
prisons. Oklahoma Corrections Professionals Director Sean Wallace says
Saturday's killings resulted from a feud between the Irish Mob and the
Universal Aryan Brotherhood. Wallace says on the same day the deadly
stabbings took place at the Cimarron Correctional Facility, there were large
fights at two other state prisons and a stabbing at the Oklahoma State
Reformatory in Granite. Neither the Department of Corrections nor the company
that runs the Cushing prison — Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of
America — would confirm a motive for the stabbings, which are under
investigation.
Sep 16, 2015 tulsaworld.com
Autopsies show all four inmates in Cushing prison fight died from stab
wounds
CUSHING
— All four inmates who were killed during and after a violent incident at a
private prison Saturday died from multiple stab wounds, the Oklahoma Medical
Examiner's Office reports. Anthony Fulwilder, 31,
and Kyle Tiffee, 23, died from sharp force
injuries, and Michael Mayden, 26, and Christopher Tignor, 29, were killed by multiple stab wounds, said
spokeswoman Amy Elliott. The four men, all from Oklahoma, were involved in a
violent incident on Saturday at the Cimarron Correctional Facility, a private
prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America. Three of the inmates
died in the altercation and a fourth died from his wounds later that day, a
CCA spokesman confirmed Sunday. Four other inmates suffered injuries.
Sep
15, 2015 newsok.com
Four inmates died after a "disturbance" Saturday at a
Corrections Corporation of America prison in Cushing, Oklahoma.
CUSHING
— The state Corrections Department released the names of four inmates who
were reportedly stabbed to death during a “disturbance” Saturday at a
sprawling private prison in this Oklahoma town best known for its ties to the
oil and natural gas industry. While prison officials could not confirm it
Monday, a search of The Oklahoman's archives suggests the weekend melee is the
deadliest single incident involving inmates in state history. Three inmates
died just before 5 p.m. at the Cimarron Correctional Facility, operated by
the Corrections Corporation of America, and a fourth offender later succumbed
to wounds suffered during the attack. Four others were wounded, and three of
them remain hospitalized. The incident lasted two minutes, according to CCA
and the state Corrections Department, and an additional 38 minutes was needed
to secure the unit it took place on. Cushing Police Chief Tully Folden said while his officers were the first to respond
to scene, they only secured the perimeter until paramedics arrived. Terri
Watkins, spokeswoman for the state Corrections Department, said the agency
handles all homicide investigations inside prisons, often allowing local
police to assist as a courtesy. “Our inspector general's office will complete
the report and submit it to the district attorney,” she said Monday. The
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has been requested to provide crime
scene investigation assistance, said agency spokeswoman Jessica Brown.
The
dead
•Anthony
Fulwilder, 31, was convicted in 2003 of shooting
with intent to kill and armed robbery in Oklahoma County. One of his tattoos,
according to prison documents, is often affiliated with white pride or white
separatism prison organizations.
•Michael
Mayden, 26, originally was charged with assault
with a deadly weapon in 2009 but later had the charge reduced to a
misdemeanor. Mayden was sent to prison for violating
his probation in 2012, court records show. One of his aliases was “Nutty,”
records show. Mayden's convictions were out of
Oklahoma County.
•Kyle
Glen Tiffee, 23, had a lengthy criminal record,
including charges of conspiracy to possess a controlled dangerous substance,
grand larceny and unauthorized use of credit and debit cards. In 2012, Tiffee was convicted of assaulting a “law officer” and
given an additional two years in prison.
•Christopher
Tignor, 29, was a petty thief convicted of numerous
burglary and possession of stolen property charges in 2010. He also was
convicted of possession of a controlled substance that same year. All of his
charges originated from Cleveland and Oklahoma counties, records show.
The
hospitalized
•Jesse
Hood, 31, of the Tulsa area, has a lengthy criminal record and was most
recently convicted of assaulting a police officer in 2013, which earned him
four years in prison. According to the prison system's online records system,
Hood has numerous tattoos, including a swastika on his chest.
•Cordell
Johnson, 24, was convicted of drug charges and domestic abuse by
strangulation in 2011. He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars when he was
barely 20.
•Jared
Cruce, 33, a career criminal, has been convicted of
drugs charges, several alcohol-related charges and assaulting a police
officer. He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars in 2011. Over the course of
his criminal career, he faced felony charges in Cleveland, Grady, McClain, Pittsburg
and Oklahoma counties.
All
of the dead inmates and those sent to local hospitals with injuries were
white, records show. Prison officials did not answer questions on Monday
about whether race played a role in the inmates' deaths and injuries.
Family
reactions
In
the wake of the inmates' deaths, loved ones have said little in public. For
the most part, calls to presumed relatives and family members were not
returned. Justin Mayden, older brother of victim
Michael Mayden Jr., told The Oklahoman that he's
been told by authorities “not to talk to anybody until the investigation is
done.” However, he did post some details about his brother's death to a
GoFundMe page on Sunday.
Sep
15, 2015 1600kush.com
Woman Arraigned on Charge of Bringing Meth into Cushing Prison
(Stillwater,
Okla.) – A Tulsa woman was arraigned Friday on charges of bringing
methamphetamine and tobacco into the Cimarron Correctional Facility in
Cushing on Sept. 6. Luchanna Monique Brackeen, 35, remains free on $2,500 bail pending an Oct.
13 court appearance with an attorney on the two-count felony charge. If
convicted of bringing methamphetamine into the Cushing private prison, Brackeen could be incarcerated for one to five years and
fined $1,000. If convicted of bringing tobacco, which is considered
contraband, into the Cushing prison, Brackeen could
be given a one-year prison term and a $500 fine, court records show.
Sep
14, 2015 newsok.com
A
fourth inmate at a Corrections Corporation of America facility in Cushing,
Oklahoma, died Sunday after an incident Saturday claimed three other inmates'
lives.
CUSHING
— A fourth inmate is dead after an altercation at a private prison Saturday.
None of the inmates have been identified by the Corrections Corporation of
America. The disturbance began late Saturday afternoon at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility in Cushing. The incident last about two minutes and was
confined to one housing pod. The facility was secured within 40 minutes of it
occurring, according to a news release Sunday from CCA. Three other inmates
remain stabilized in hospitals. The facility remained under lockdown Sunday,
according to the release.
Sep
13, 2015 nbcnews.com
Three
Inmates Dead, Five Hurt in 'Disturbance' at Oklahoma Prison
Three
inmates are dead and five others were injured after a "disturbance"
at a correctional facility in Oklahoma Saturday, the corporation that runs
the prison said. The 40-minute "inmate disturbance" at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility was put down by staff at around 4:39 p.m. local time
(5:39 p.m. ET), Corrections Corporation of America said in a statement. No
facility staff members were hurt, the company said. The names of the inmates
who were killed and injured were not immediately released. The facility was
on lockdown and inmates were confined to their housing pods Saturday, and an
investigation was under way, the company said. The disturbance occurred in
one housing pod, the company said. Cimarron Correctional is a 1,720-bed
facility and houses medium- and maximum-security inmates for the state
corrections system, the company said. The facility is about 60 miles west of
Tulsa. The Corrections Corporations of America operates four correctional
facilities in Oklahoma. It manages prisons and other facilities in 20 states,
and calls itself "the nation's fifth largest corrections system."
In June, between 200 and 300 inmates were involved in a brawl at the prison.
Eleven prisoners were taken to hospitals after the fight and the facility was
placed on lockdown. The fighting occurred among inmates in three separate
housing units. No correctional workers were injured, The Associated Press
reported.
Aug
7, 2015 corrections.com
Two
Cushing prison inmates charged with assaulting guards
Two
inmates at a private prison in Cushing were charged Wednesday with assaulting
a correctional officer. The charges stem from separate incidents that
happened in April and June. Denyreo Donnell Leslie
Chairs, 26, was charged in Payne County District Court with assault and
battery on a correctional officer, and possession of contraband in a penal
institution. Corey Antoine Hightower, 35, was charged with assault and
battery on a correctional officer. According to court documents, Chairs
assaulted Cimmaron Correctional Facility officer Steve Leon on June 2. Chairs
also had a cellphone in his possession at the Cushing prison, which violates
state statutes. According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections website,
Chairs is imprisoned in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. He was
convicted in May 2013 for shooting with intent to kill and possession of
forged notes or instruments.
Jun
18, 2015 stwnewspress.com
Oklahoma:
CCA prison locked down after 7 days
CUSHING
– Seven days after 200-300 prisoners brawled, Cimarron Correctional Facility
remains under lockdown, and investigators are trying to determine what
prompted the violence. June 10, between 200 and 300 inmates at the private
prison were involved in a brawl that sent 11 prisoners to hospitals.
All the injured prisoners had returned to the Corrections Corporation of
America operated prison by Monday, said Terri Watkins, state department of
corrections spokeswoman. The facility remains under lockdown, and there
aren’t any plans to change the status while the investigation is ongoing,
Watkins said. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company was founded in 1983 and
operates 60 detention facilities in 21 states and the District of Columbia,
according to the company’s website. Fighting occurred among inmates in three
housing units in the facility that houses a maximum of 1,650 medium- and
maximum-security inmates. None of the inmates
injuries were life threatening. No prison personnel were injured and the
facility didn’t sustain any damages, Watkins said. The investigation is
looking is focusing on what sparked the violence and if any weapons were
used, she said. CCA spokesman Steven Owen told the Associated Press the fight
lasted about 40 minutes before correctional officers regained control. Local
law enforcement officers responded as part of standard backup procedures. Payne
County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Kevin Woodward said deputies were enroute to
the prison when they received a call saying prison personnel had everything
under control. The general public wasn’t in any danger, Watkins said.
Jun
12, 2015 foxnews.com
Officials say 200-300 inmates involved in fight at private prison in
north-central Oklahoma
CUSHING,
Okla. – Corrections officials say from 200 to
300 inmates were involved in a brawl at a private prison in north-central
Oklahoma and that the facility is on indefinite lockdown. State Department of
Corrections spokeswoman Terri Watkins says 11 offenders were taken to
hospitals after the fight Wednesday afternoon at the Cimarron Correctional
Facility in Cushing, 50 miles southwest of Tulsa. Watkins says seven remain
hospitalized Thursday, and that none have life-threatening injuries. She says
the medium-security prison has been placed on indefinite lockdown while
officials investigate. The facility houses 1,650 inmates. Steve Owen,
spokesman for prison operator CCA in Nashville, Tennessee, says the fight
lasted about 40 minutes and that the cause is under investigation. Owen says
no correctional workers were injured and that public safety was never
threatened.
Jun 10, 2015 news9.com
Injuries
Reported Following Riot At Cimarron Correctional Facility
CUSHING, Oklahoma - Several people were being treated for injuries after a
riot at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, Wednesday evening.
Multiple units from the Payne County Sheriff's office and the Oklahoma
Highway Patrol (OHP) were called in to help get the situation under control.
The rioting began sometime after 5 p.m. News 9 is told that everything was
under control by 6 p.m. What caused the riot is not known at this time. From
Bob Mills SkyNews 9 HD, multiple EMSA vehicles were
parked in front of the vehicle. There has not been any official word on the
total number of injuries or the severity. A total of 12 inmates were
transported offsite to an area hospital for treatment. All injuries were
non-life threatening, and two inmates have already been taken back to the
correctional facility. The facility remains on lockdown. The Cimarron
Correctional Facility is a private facility and not a part of the state
department of corrections. The CCF is a medium and maximum security facility.
It can hold approximately 1,650 inmates, 180 of whom in its maximum security
wing.
May
26, 2015 1600kush.com
Cushing Prison Inmate Accused Of Cell Phone Possession
Due In Court
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A convicted armed robber and
drug offender from Oklahoma City has been ordered to appear in Payne County
District Court on Friday with an attorney on a felony charge of possessing
two cell phones, which are considered contraband, in the Cimarron
Correctional Facility in Cushing on Oct. 1, 2014. Lasean
Dontae Wilson, 35, who remains in the private prison, had two cell phones on
his bed, Oklahoma Department of Corrections Fugitive Apprehension Agent
Robert L. Hert III alleged in an affidavit.
“According to a disciplinary hearing report dated Oct. 15, 2014, signed by Lasean Dontae Wilson, Wilson pleaded guilty to being in
possession of the cellular telephone discovered on Oct. 1, 2014,” the
affidavit alleged. Wilson also admitted to cell phone possession to the DOC
agent, the affidavit alleged. Because of his criminal record, Wilson could be
given a sentence of four years to as much as life in prison if convicted,
court records show. Wilson has been incarcerated for six years while serving two
concurrent 10-year prison terms for armed robbery and assault and battery
with a deadly weapon, both in 2008 in Oklahoma County, followed by a 10-year
probationary term, DOC records show. Wilson was previously incarcerated for
cocaine and marijuana possession in 2003 in Oklahoma County, for which he
originally received a probationary sentence that was changed to two
concurrent eight-year prison terms of which he served about three years, DOC
records show. Wilson was also convicted of drug possession in 2007 in
Oklahoma County, for which he was given an eight-year probationary sentence,
DOC records show. Wilson had previously been convicted of cocaine possession
in 2002 in Oklahoma County, for which he originally received a deferred
sentence that was changed in 2004 to five years of probation, DOC records
show.
05/11/2015
1600kush.com
Former
Cushing Prison Inmate Gets Two Years' Incarceration for Attacking Guard
(Stillwater,
Okla.) – A former Cushing prison inmate, who appeared in court shackled in
leg irons with a belly chain, was given a two-year prison term Friday for
repeatedly punching a guard in the face at the Cimarron Correctional Facility
last summer. Jacob Tyson Gonsalves, 21, will begin serving that sentence
after he completes a seven-year prison term for escape from arrest or
detention and second-degree burglary in McCurtain County in 2011, as part of
a plea bargain approved in court Friday. On his release from prison,
Gonsalves will be required to pay a $100 fine, $35 to the victim’s compensation
fund and restitution if any is determined, Payne County District Judge
Phillip Corley ordered. Gonsalves, who admitted the attack at the Cushing
prison in court Friday, is now being held at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary
in McAlester, state Department of Corrections records show. Video
surveillance from the private prison in Cushing showed that Gonsalves punched
at the guard approximately 15 times with his right arm in the area of the
head, face and torso, Cushing Police Officer Rachel Hentges
wrote in an affidavit. A minute after the incident began at 5:16 p.m. on July
20, 2014, “another guard approached and appeared to spray Gonsalves with
pepper spray,” the affidavit said. Gonsalves did not stop fighting the guard
until the guard took him to the ground and other guards were able to help
subdue him, the affidavit said. The guard told the Cushing police officer
that he was in the dining hall “when he observed Offender Jacob Gonsalves
looking inappropriately at a female guard,” the affidavit sad. The guard said
“he escorted Gonsalves out of the dining hall and spoke to him about his
behavior,” the affidavit sad. The guard said “Gonsalves became angry so he
attempted to restrain him using handcuffs,” the affidavit said. The guard
said he put handcuffs on Gonsalves’ left wrist and “was attempting to
handcuff the right hand when Gonsalves punched him in the face,” the
affidavit said. The guard said “during the struggle, he maintained his hold
on the handcuffs on Gonsalves’ wrist while Gonsalves struck him repeatedly in
the face and head,” the affidavit said. The guard said “the response team
arrived and subdued Gonsalves using chemical agents and physical restraints,”
the affidavit said. “I observed multiple minor injuries,” on the guard,
including a small cut on the right side of his nose, a large cut above his
right eye and several small cuts around the inside of his left eye and on his
nose, the Cushing police officer wrote in her affidavit. The Cushing officer
also saw a series of abrasions on the guard’s scalp on the right side above
the temple area and extending to the crown of his head, the affidavit said.
“I also observed two raised and apparently swollen areas near the base of his
head on the left and right sides. “There were also several red marks on the
right side of the (guard’s) head which were similar in size, color and
shape,” the Cushing officer wrote in her affidavit. Corrections Corporation
of America Investigator Joseph Sebenick wrote in a
report that he interviewed Gonsalves, who admitted he assaulted the guard “by
striking him three or four times,” the affidavit said.
Apr
21, 2015 1600kush.com
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A Guymon man who was originally accused of raping his
cellmate in the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing has accepted a plea
bargain for a two-year prison term on a reduced charge of aggravated assault
and battery, court records showed today. Raul A. Salcedo, 24, pleaded guilty
to the amended charge for which he was given a two-year prison term followed
by three years of probation, with credit for time served, on April 10, court
records show. Salcedo had been convicted in 2012 of drunk driving and
concealing stolen property in Texas County for which he was incarcerated
until March 2014 when he began serving the probationary part of his
sentences, court records show. While Salcedo was being held in the private
prison in Cushing in September 2013, he was accused of anally raping his
cellmate in an incident investigated by Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Internal Affairs Agent Randy Knight, court records show. Salcedo admitted to
performing a sexual act with his cellmate, but claimed that it was consensual,
Knight alleged in an affidavit.
Apr
4, 2015 1600kush.com
(Stillwater,
Okla.) – An inmate in the Cimarron Correctional Facility was charged Thursday
with attacking a man with a homemade sharpened object called a shank in the
private prison in Cushing on March 13. If convicted of possessing the weapon
in a correctional facility after a former felony conviction, Aaron E. Eyob,
29, could be given a sentence of 20 years to life in prison, according to the
charge filed by Payne County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin
Etherington. If convicted of the additional count of assault and battery with
a dangerous weapon after a former felony conviction, Eyob could be given a
10-year prison term and a $10,000 fine, court records show. According to the
state Department of Corrections, Eyob has been incarcerated for the past 10
months on a five-year prison sentence, to be followed by 10 years of
probation, for possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana with
intent to distribute in Oklahoma County in 2013. Eyob has also been serving a
concurrent five-year prison term, to be followed by five years of probation,
for possession of marijuana in Payne County in 2013, court records show. Eyob
also was convicted of assault and battery on an emergency medical technician
in 2011 in Tulsa County, for which he was given a four-year prison term of
which he served less than half, DOC records show. Eyob also was convicted of
second-degree burglary and grand larceny in 2009 in Tulsa County, for which
he was given a two-year prison term, of which he served about one year,
followed by probation for one year, DOC records show.
Jul
14, 2014 1600kush.com
(Stillwater,
Okla.) -- A former prison guard at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in
Cushing, who was originally charged with sexual battery of an inmate, was
placed on one year's probation Friday on a reduced charge of committing an
act resulting in gross injury offensive to public morals. Malinda Gayle Canaday, 34, of Stillwater -- whose surname was
originally listed as Dunn on the now-dismissed felony sexual battery charge
-- was later listed as having the last name of Frisbie,
which was changed to Canaday on her written guilty
plea to the misdemeanor charge, court records show. The defendant -- then
listed as Dunn -- was questioned in March 2013 after an inmate "admitted
to having a relationship with Dunn to CCF Investigator Joe Sebenick," Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Internal Affairs Agent Casey Hamilton alleged in an affidavit. The inmate,
who has been transferred from the private prison in Cushing to another
facility, "stated the relationship began with them writing letters to
one another approximately two months prior to the interview," the
affidavit alleged. The inmate "stated they would write letters and Dunn
would talk to him about her personal life," the affidavit alleged. The
inmate "stated Dunn would allow him to leave his cell during counts to
clean," the affidavit alleged. The inmate "stated they started with
kissing and holding one another in the office restroom and later progressed
to having sexual intercourse," once in February and once in March of
last year, the affidavit alleged. The inmate "stated Dunn brought him
food and snacks, but nothing else. He stated they had discussed bringing
contraband into the facility; however, she had not done so," the
affidavit alleged. "On March 21, 2013, Agents Hamilton and Randy Knight
interviewed CCA (Corrections Corporation of America) Correctional Officer
Malinda Dunn at the Cushing Police Department," during which she
admitted to having had sexual intercourse with the inmate twice, the affidavit
alleged. "She stated their relationship began with writing letters to
one another, and eventually progressed to having sexual intercourse,"
the affidavit alleged. She said that the inmate "asked her to bring
Skoal chewing tobacco into the facility but she declined," the affidavit
alleged. According to state DOC records, the inmate has been in prison since
2010 on a seven-year sentence for a Tulsa County second-degree burglary --
after which he will begin serving a five-year sentence for possession of contraband
by an inmate in 2011 in Atoka County.
The
inmate also has Tulsa County convictions for:
*
attempted car burglary in 2006;
*
second-degree burglary in 2006;
*
concealing stolen property in 2006;
*
car burglary in 2006;
*
eluding an officer in 2007;
*
possession of a stolen vehicle in 2007;
*
false pawn declaration in 2007.
Prior
to being incarcerated on his 2010 second-degree burglary conviction, the
inmate served less than two years in prison on his earlier charges, DOC
records show. Since the felony sexual battery charge was dropped by the
prosecution against the former Cushing prison guard on June 27, the maximum
penalty she could have received for committing "an act which grossly
injured the person or property of another and which was offensive to public
morals," was one year in jail and a $500 fine, court records show.
Jul
2, 2014 1600kush.com
(Stillwater,
Okla.) -- A Cushing woman was charged today with sexual battery of an inmate
in the Cimarron Correctional Facility while she was employed as a nurse at
the private prison in January. Kristi Anne Tate, 44, was mailed a letter
today notifying her of the felony charge on which she was advised to appear
in court on Aug. 5 or a warrant would be issued for her arrest. If convicted
of the felony charge investigated by the state Department of Corrections,
Tate could be sentenced to 10 years in prison, court records show.
05/19/2014
1600kush.com
(Stillwater,
Okla.) -- A former Cimarron Correctional Facility inmate has been ordered to
appear in Payne County District Court on May 30 for a preliminary hearing on
a charge of raping his then-cellmate in September. Neither the alleged
victim nor the defendant remain in the private
prison in Cushing, court records show. If convicted of anally raping his
cellmate by force, Raul A. Salcedo, 23, could be sentenced to a prison term
of not less than 20 years, court records show. The alleged incident at
the Cimarron Correctional Facility was investigated by Oklahoma Department of
Corrections Internal Affairs Division Agent Randy Knight, according to an
affidavit. The alleged victim reported that on the first day he was assigned
to the same cell as Salcedo, he was forced to perform oral sex on Salcedo,
according to Knight's affidavit. The alleged victim reported that two
days later, he was forced off his bed and anally raped by Salcedo, according
to Knight's affidavit. When he was interviewed, Salcedo admitted to
performing an intercourse act with his cellmate, but he said that it was
consensual, the affidavit said. A sexual assault examination was
performed on the alleged victim at the Stillwater Medical Center, the
affidavit said. At the time of the alleged incident, Salcedo was serving a
two-year sentence he was given in 2012 for knowingly concealing stolen
property in Texas County in 2010, state DOC records show.
Mar
31, 2014 1600kush.com
(Stillwater,
Okla.) -- A former employee of the Cimarron Correctional Facility has been
charged with sexually battering an inmate at the private prison in Cushing
and bringing him contraband, described as a cell phone and tobacco. Linda
Juanita Bogaski, 49, of Bethany, has been advised
by a letter from the Payne County District Attorney's Office that she must
appear for arraignment on the two-count charge April 24 or a warrant will be
issued for her arrest. In the two-count felony charge filed last
week, Bogaski was accused of touching the body of
an inmate between Christmas and New Year's Day while she was an employee of
the prison in Cushing. Bogaski was also accused of
bringing tobacco and a cell phone, which are contraband within the prison,
and giving them to the inmate between Dec. 1 and Jan. 7. If convicted of both
counts, the former Cushing prison employee could be incarcerated for seven
years and fined $2,500, court records show.
11/04/2013
1600kush.com
(Stillwater,
Okla.) -- A former female guard at the Cimarron Correctional Facility -- who
is accused of being paid by a convicted rapist for bringing contraband to him
in the private prison in Cushing -- has been scheduled to appear in
court Thursday on a two-count charge. Alyson Frances Posey, 23, of Pawnee,
could be incarcerated for three years and fined $6,000 if convicted of
receiving money from an inmate for providing goods to him and bringing
contraband, described as tobacco, into the Cushing prison. The inmate
was listed in the allegation as Reeco Cole, 35, who
is serving an 80-year sentence at the Cushing prison for first-degree rape,
attempted rape, forcible oral sodomy, kidnapping, robbery by force, and
pointing a weapon, all in Tulsa County in 1999, state Department of
Corrections records show. Oklahoma DOC Internal Affairs
Agents Casey Hamilton and Randy Knight interviewed Corrections Corporation of
America Correctional Officer Posey at the Cushing Police Department on March
29, an affidavit said. "Posey admitted to introducing contraband into
the facility for offender Recco Cole; however she denied having a sexual
relationship with him," Hamilton alleged in an affidavit filed in court
records last week. "Posey stated she was approached by Cole during job
training on Dec. 24, 2012. Posey stated Cole provided her with his cellular
telephone number and instructed her to call him," the affidavit alleged.
"Posey stated Cole told her he was owed money by the father of one of
her children," who is incarcerated at another prison in Oklahoma, the
affidavit alleged. Posey said that Cole told her she would
have to pay off his debt "or he would have him touched, meaning
assaulted," the affidavit alleged. "Posey stated she would bring
tobacco into the facility twice a week and did so approximately seven to
eight times from January to February 2013," the affidavit alleged.
"Posey stated she also met with an unidentified female in Tulsa,
Oklahoma, on two separate occasions to pick up packages of which she did not
know the contents," the affidavit alleged. "Posey provided her GE
Money Bank Green Dot card and stated Cole would put money on the card for
bringing him packages," the affidavit alleged. "Posey admitted to
sending nude photographs of herself to Cole and allowed the photographs to be
observed by Agents Hamilton and Knight," the affidavit alleged.
"Following Posey's interview, she provided the transaction from her
Green Dot account. Agent Hamilton found 13 cash credits posted to her account
on six separate dates totaling $735," the affidavit alleged. "Agent
Hamilton was not able to determine who posted the money to Posey's
account," the affidavit said. "On April 3, 2013, Hamilton conducted
an interview with Reeco Cole, "who denied
having any relationship with Posey, the affidavit said. "Cole stated he
never received contraband from Posey and denied having conversations with her
on a cellular telephone," the affidavit said. "Cole stated he is
currently 'level 4' and would not do anything to jeopardize his levels. Cole
stated he would deal with the consequences; however, he maintained his
innocence," the affidavit said. In addition to his Tulsa County cases,
Cole is serving a concurrent prison term totaling 33 years for armed robbery,
kidnapping by extortion, car theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, knowingly
concealing stolen property and carrying a concealed weapon, all in 1999 in
Okmulgee County, DOC records show.
10/22/2013
1600kush.com
(Stillwater,
Okla.) -- A convicted murderer is due to
appear in court on Nov. 5 on charges of choking and forcibly anally raping a
man at Cimarron Correctional Facility while they were incarcerated in the
private prison in Cushing last summer. The defendant, Terry Joe Hammons, 29,
who is now being held at Lexington Correctional Center, is serving a life
prison term for first-degree murder in Pottawatomie County in 2007, state
Department of Corrections records show. If convicted of first-degree rape
after a former felony conviction and assault and battery by strangulation
after a former felony conviction, Hammons could be sentenced to life in
prison without parole -- plus 10 years. The alleged June 29 attack was
investigated by the Cimarron Correctional Facility, the Oklahoma State Bureau
of Investigation, and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, according to
court documents. Twenty witnesses were listed on the two-count felony charge
that was filed last week in Payne County District Court.
May 11, 2013
www.newson6.com
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Puerto Rico's corrections
secretary says he is canceling a $9.1 million program under which the U.S.
territory had sent hundreds of inmates to a prison in Oklahoma. Jose Negron
Fernandez says the island has enough space and money to absorb the inmates
and the last of them are returning Saturday. Puerto Rico's previous
administration had signed the agreement with Corrections Corporation of
America to send as many as 480 male inmates to the Cimarron prison in
Cushing, Oklahoma. The island of 3.7 million people currently has more than
12,000 inmates, with an overall capacity for nearly 14,000 prisoners.
Mar 6, 2013
tulsaworld.com
A private prison operator declined to call a four-hour
Sunday disturbance at Cushing prison a riot, even though inmates smashed
windows, breached security doors and were pepper sprayed after fashioning
weapons from destroyed property, records show. In a written statement,
Corrections Corporation of America characterized Sunday's incident at the Cimarron Correctional Facility as "inmates
being disruptive in one of the housing units." The company emphasized in
its statement that there were no reported inmate or staff injuries and
"minimal property damage." "Facility management and staff
isolated the inmates involved and the situation was resolved," CCA
spokesman Mike Machak said in an email to the Tulsa
World. He called it a "disruptive event" that involved a single
housing unit, which holds prisoners on behalf of the Puerto Rican government
that CCA supervises under a contract. No Oklahoma inmates under the authority
of the Department of Corrections were involved, officials said. The Cushing
prison has 1,720 beds, with about one-third reserved for the Puerto Rican
prisoners. DOC holds about 18,000 inmates at all security levels and about
5,000 inmates are held in private prisons in the state, records show. Through
an Open Records Act request, the Tulsa World obtained emails and incident
reports showing the incident began sometime around 1 p.m. Sunday. It took guards
nearly five hours before all offenders were secured and returned to their
cells, records show. An email from the facility's DOC contract monitor
described the aftermath and damage and said the incident had all the elements
"of a major disturbance." According to a prison incident report,
the disturbance started as a dispute between the Puerto Rican inmates and
staff after several inmates refused to go on lockdown for the 2 p.m. inmate
count unless they spoke to the unit manager or an assistant warden. A captain
entered the unit and noticed that offenders from all three pods were
"congested against the glass windows and pod doors," the report
states. Around 2 p.m., the inmates breached a door on the unit, and all staff
members were removed from the unit. "The offenders breached in the
rotunda area and began breaking property and equipment located in the rotunda
and on the pods," the report states. The inmates smashed windows, broke
locks and electrical equipment, destroyed computers and telephones and knocked
holes in walls, records show. "Inmates had fashioned weapons out of
destroyed property and were throwing items at staff as they entered the
pod," the report states. "Bean bag rounds and pepper balls were
used to gain compliance and protect staff." The inmates were secured in
their cells by 5:41 p.m., according to the report. During the disturbance,
the Cushing Police Department and Payne County Sheriff's Office were notified
and provided "outside perimeter support," Machak
said. "The incident is under review at this time, and that review will
determine appropriate disciplinary actions, including referral for criminal
charges regarding the destruction of property," he said. Inmates
destroyed desks, computers, printers, telephones, televisions and microwaves,
a Playstation unit and video games, according to an
email obtained by the World. The records did not contain a cost estimate of
the damage. The contract monitor, a DOC employee, wrote in an email that the
entire unit had the odor "of OC (pepper) spray and chemical gas
lingering in the air, causing staff and this monitor to use tear gas mask to
enter unit." Staff were using fans to settle the chemical gas dust and
pull in fresh air, he said. The Puerto Rican offenders will remain on
lockdown status until further notice, officials said. Last year, DOC
officials proposed an amendment to state law governing operations of private
prisons housing out-of-state inmates. The amendment would have forced
companies housing such inmates in Oklahoma to provide information if
requested by DOC on riots, escapes or serious incidents. DOC would have been
able to fine companies that did not comply, under the proposal. Currently,
CCA and other private prison operators are required to provide information to
DOC on incidents involving Oklahoma inmates but not those from other
jurisdictions. A Senate bill proposing the change authored by Sen. Don
Barrington, R-Lawton, passed a vote of the public safety committee, but the
measure has since been pulled, his staff said. The change was proposed in
response to a December 2011 prison riot at CCA's North Fork Correctional
Facility in Sayre, where 46 inmates were injured and scant information about
the riot was released by the company. Cimarron Correctional Facility,
Capacity: 1,720 General population, Oklahoma beds: 900, Oklahoma
restrictive housing: 40, Puerto Rico beds: 480, Puerto Rico restrictive
housing: 120, Medical unit: 7, Beds Not In Use: 120, Contractor per diem:
$44.03
January 10, 2013 Associated Press
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Two Puerto Rican prison officials on their way to a
private prison in Oklahoma to pick up at least one inmate were killed
Thursday in a head-on collision in northern Oklahoma, authorities said.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph said the crash occurred about
5 a.m. on Oklahoma 177 between Stillwater and Perkins when a vehicle driven
by Michell Maria Anastasia, 49, of Perkins, crossed the center line of the
highway and collided with the van carrying four Puerto Rican officials.
Anastasia and Mayra Ramirez, 54, and Eliezer Colon Claussells,
both of Puerto Rico, all died as a result of the collision, the patrol said.
Two passengers in the van were taken to a Stillwater hospital in serious
condition with head and other injuries, according to the patrol. Randolph
said witnesses told troopers that Anastasia's vehicle appeared to be speeding
when it crossed the center line into the southbound lane and crashed into the
van. The van was headed to the Cimarron Prison Facility in Cushing, which is
owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America. The
prison houses medium- and minimum-security inmates, including about 400
Puerto Rican inmates, through a contract with the Puerto Rico Department of
Corrections, company spokesman Steve Owen said. "This was an extradition
team from Puerto Rico," Owen said. "Whenever an inmate is ready to
be released, discharged, paroled or whatever, Puerto Rico sends a team to
pick them up." "This team was en route to
the facility when the accident occurred," he said. The prison also
houses inmates from Oklahoma under a contract with the state. Cushing is
about 70 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.
August 22, 2012 KUSH
Two inmates at the Cimarron Correctional Facility have been ordered to appear
in court Aug. 30 on charges of attacking a guard at the private prison in
Cushing. Prosecutor Mike Kulling told KUSH that the
inmates are being held in the Cimarron Correctional Facility for Puerto Rico
and that he does not yet have information on their crimes or sentences. The
prisoners, Miguel Cabrera Quiara, 33, and Rafmar De Leon Santana, 25, have been charged together
with pushing and hitting a guard on July 23. The guard reported the alleged
assault the following day to the Cushing Police Department, according to an
affidavit by Cushing Police Detective Adam Harp. The guard said that he was
"walking around giving laundry bags to each inmate," and that when
he opened a cell door, "inmate Rafmar pushed
the cell door into his chest," the affidavit alleged. The guard said
that "both Miguel and Rafmar came out of their
cell and started to push him," the affidavit alleged. The guard said
"that he tried to run away towards the first floor and that both inmates
chased him and began assaulting him," the affidavit alleged.
July 7, 2011 KUSH
A convicted double murderer who has been serving two life prison terms
without the possibility of parole since 1991 has been ordered to appear in
court July 11 on a charge of punching a guard in the face at Cimarron
Correctional Facility in Cushing. If convicted of assault and battery on a
private prison employee, Bennie Dwight Jones, 39, could receive a maximum
penalty of an additional two-year prison term and a $1,000 fine, court
records show.
May 3, 2011 KUSH
A former guard at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing was
ordered Monday to stand trial on a charge of bringing two cell phones and
several pouches of tobacco into secure areas of the private prison in
Cushing. Danny James Galbreath, 24, of Broken Arrow, waived his right Monday
to a preliminary hearing on the felony count of bringing cell phones into the
prison -- which are considered contraband in a penal facility. Galbreath
remains free on $15,000 bail pending his arraignment in district court on May
27 on the two-count charge including the misdemeanor count of bringing
tobacco into the prison -- which is also considered contraband. Galbreath was
arrested at the prison shortly after noon on Jan. 5, by Cushing Police
Officer Carson Watts, who was sent there on a report of an employee bringing
contraband into the prison, court records show. Prison Chief of Security
Donald Steer told the Cushing officer that an inmate had provided information
that Galbreath "has been bringing cellular phones and tobacco into the
facility," Watts wrote in an affidavit. "Chief Steer then showed me
a written statement completed by Corrections Officer Galbreath admitting to
bringing in the contraband," Watts alleged in his affidavit. "I
asked Corrections Officer Galbreath what he has brought into the prison. He
told me two cellular phones and several pouches of tobacco," Watts
alleged in his affidavit. "Corrections Officer Galbreath told me that he
received $100 per phone and $50 per pouch of tobacco," Watts alleged in
his affidavit. "I asked Corrections Officer Galbreath how he got paid to
bring in the contraband, and he told me that he had to meet an inmate's
mother at her residence and she gave him the money," Watts alleged in
his affidavit. "Corrections Officer Galbreath continued to say that he
would then take the money, and use a portion of the money to purchase a $20
cell phone or the tobacco," the affidavit alleged. Galbreath said he got
the phones inside the prison by taping them to the inside of his forearm, the
affidavit alleged. "Corrections Officer Galbreath said that when the
metal detectors would go off, the officer would pat-search him, but would not
search the underside of his forearm," the affidavit alleged. "I
asked how he got the tobacco into the prison and he said that he would put
the tobacco into bags of chips when he walked into the prison," the
officer alleged in his affidavit.
February 7, 2011 KUSH
A teenage visitor to the private prison in Cushing who admitted smuggling
marijuana into the Cimarron Correctional Facility on Valentine's Day of last
year has been placed on two years' probation. Yesenia Ochoa, 19, must pay a
$500 fine, $100 to the victims' compensation fund, $50 to the District
Attorney's Drug Fund and $150 for a state crime bureau laboratory fee. She
must perform 50 hours of community service by July 21. If the Oklahoma City
teen successfully completes her probation, she will not have a criminal
record for bringing marijuana into the Cushing prison, since she was given a
deferred sentence on Jan. 21. She was arrested by Cushing Police Officer
Carson Watts on Feb. 14, 2010, at about 11 a.m., an hour after he and Cushing
Police Officer Bill McCarty were sent to the Cimarron Correctional Facility,
court records show. "Captain Christian (of the prison staff) told me
that a visitor, Yesenia Ochoa, was seen passing something to an inmate, Roy
Smith, while in the visitation room and when the inmate was asked what the
object was, he replied 'marijuana,' Watts wrote in an affidavit.
"Yesenia told me, 'I brought some stuff in.' I asked Yesenia if she knew
what the 'stuff' was, and she said 'no,' Watts wrote in his affidavit.
"Yesenia told me that she is always getting calls from different people
wanting her to do things for them and for Roy. "Yesenia told me that
about a month ago, she had received a call from a man that wanted her to take
an item to Roy. I asked Yesenia if she knew who the man was and she said,
'no.' "I asked Yesenia how she got the item into the prison and she told
me that she had it inside the front of her pants. "Yesenia said that
once she got to the visitation room, she unzipped the front of her pants,
took the object out, and passed it to Roy," the Cushing officer wrote in
his affidavit.
January 11, 2011 KUSH
A Broken Arrow man was charged today with bringing two cell phones and
several pouches of tobacco into secure areas of the Cimarron Correctional
Facility in Cushing on Jan. 5. Danny James Galbreath, 24, was released on
$15,000 bond Friday following his arrest in the case investigated by Cushing
police, a jail spokesman said. He was ordered to return to court on Jan. 13
with an attorney for arraignment on the two-count charge.
December 11, 2010 KUSH
A former case manager at the Cimarron Correctional Facility was placed on two
years' probation Friday for bringing cell phones, which are considered
contraband, into the private prison in Cushing. Tamara D. Davidson, 52, had
pleaded guilty to the felony charge, which carries a maximum penalty of a
five-year prison term and $1,000 fine. Since she was given a deferred
sentence, Davidson will not have a criminal record if she completes
probation. As part of a plea bargain approved in court Friday by Associate District
Judge Stephen Kistler, Davidson was ordered to obtain full-time employment,
take a life skills course, pay a $250 fine, and perform 50 hours of community
service within six months. Cushing prison investigator Joe Sebenick told Cushing police on April 23 that on April
21, "case manager Tamara Davidson attempted to come through the lobby
into the facility with three cell phones," Cushing Police Detective Adam
Harp wrote in an affidavit. "During the screen process (at the prison),
the front desk employee suspected an unusual object being viewed in the x-ray
machine. "It was later discovered that Davidson was attempting to
introduce contraband, three cell phones into the facility for three
inmates," the affidavit said. "Investigator Sebenick
interviewed Davidson who admitted to attempting to introduce the contraband,
three cell phones to three different inmates. "The cell phones were
inside the Subway sandwich at the time she was attempting to get it through
security. "Davidson told Investigator Sebenick
that she is having financial difficulties, and this was the first attempt on
her part to have tried to introduce contraband into the facility," the
affidavit said. When the Cushing police detective interviewed Davidson by
phone on April 23, "Davidson admitted that she attempted to get three
cell phones into the prison by placing the phones in a Subway sandwich.
"Davidson said that she was going to give the phones to three inmates
for a total of $300. Davidson said that she was given $100 for one of the cell
phones by an inmate and used the rest to buy diapers, etc. "Davidson
said that she wanted to make more money because her house payment and
insurance went up and needed to pay bills," the affidavit said.
October 11, 2010 KUSH
A Cimarron Correctional Facility visitor pleaded guilty Friday to bringing
marijuana and tobacco into the Cushing private prison to an inmate on his
birthday. Lisa Victoria Frazier, 31, of Ada, had been jailed for three weeks
after being arrested on a bench warrant for failing to appear in court in
June. She was freed on a personal recognizance bond Friday by Associate
District Judge Stephen Kistler, who ordered her to return to court on Dec. 10
for sentencing. She was originally arrested by Cushing Police Officer Carson
Watts in March for delivering marijuana and contraband to inmate Notice
Burns, Cushing Police Detective Adam Harp wrote in an affidavit. Burns, who
has a long criminal history, is serving 15 years in prison for drug
distribution, drug possession, endeavoring to distribute drugs and bringing
contraband in jail, all in 2007 in Pontotoc County, records show. In Payne
County, Burns admitted that he possessed marijuana in the Cushing prison on
March 28, for which he received a five-year prison term concurrent to his
Pontotoc County sentences on June 18. When Frazier was interviewed by prison
Investigator Joe Sebenick and the Cushing police
detective the day after her arrest, she admitted "she has been
delivering narcotics and contraband into the prison every weekend for the past
six months," the affidavit said. Regarding the March 28 incident,
"Frazier admitted to Officer Watts that she brought the marijuana and
tobacco wrapped in black electrical tape and gave it to inmate Burns during
visitation," the affidavit said. "Frazier admitted to Officer Watts
that inmate Burns asked her to get the items from Oklahoma City and deliver
them to him at the prison," the affidavit said.
August 22, 2010 The Oklahoman
More than 2,000 state inmates could be displaced from private prisons if a federal
contract to house criminal illegal immigrants is awarded here. The move could
cost the state Corrections Department and Oklahoma taxpayers millions of
dollars. Corrections Corporation of America officials told state corrections
authorities in July they intended to offer three Oklahoma-based prisons to
the Federal Bureau of Prisons. They are: Cimarron Correctional Facility in
Cushing, Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville and the empty Diamondback
Correctional Facility in Watonga. "There shouldn't be any surprise when
something like this happens," said Justin Jones, state Corrections
Department director. "Their product is the incarceration of criminals
and it's a for-profit business." If the contract is awarded, it could
affect the placement of 1,800 medium security prisoners at Cimarron and
Davis, and 360 maximum-security inmates at Davis, corrections officials said.
The department is operating with a more than $40 million budget deficit.
Federal officials would use the private prisons to house low-security male
inmates, primarily criminal illegal immigrants who are Mexican citizens with
one year or less to serve. The business of incarceration -- Federal contracts
typically pay between $60 and $65 daily per prisoner, Jones said. Oklahoma
has one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the country. They range from
about $42 for minimum security inmates to about $57 for maximum security. If
the prisoners are moved, that could mean an increase of as much as $15 per
prisoner, Jones said. Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Steve Owen
wouldn't comment on rates discussed with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for
the contract. Offers are being accepted from companies in New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Arizona and Texas, and would require 3,000 beds, according to a bid
request from the bureau. Bids are competitive, often based on geographic
needs, Owen said. Earnings increase -- Corrections Corporation of America
earlier this month reported their second-quarter earnings had increased
nearly two percent in 2010 to $419.4 million from $412 million in 2009. The
increase was fueled by a jump in inmate populations and a boost from new
contracts with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It notes the opening of a
center in Mississippi to house about 2,500 illegal immigrants convicted of
crimes and awaiting deportation. "We've openly been marketing our empty
prisons," Owen said. "There is a demand and a need for prison
services." Corrections Corporation of America is the largest for-profit
prison company in the U.S. It currently houses about 75,000 individuals in
more than 60 prisons and detention centers in the country, according to
information on the company website. It partners with the Federal Bureau of
Prisons, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
states and municipalities. In 2009 financial statements, competitor GEO Group
officials reported, "We believe that this federal initiative to target,
detain, and deport criminal aliens throughout the country will continue to
drive the need for immigration detention beds over the next several
years." GEO Group recently bought Cornell Cos., operator of Great Plains
Correctional Facility in Hinton. The company has offered use of the prison
for federal inmates as well. This month, officials at the prison announced
they would be laying off nearly 300 employees and sending more than 1,700
inmates back to Arizona. No Oklahoma prisoners are housed there. Even county
jails are responding to the need for federal bed space. Tulsa County
officials entered into an agreement with U.S. Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement in 2007. Garvin County also has an agreement with the agency to
house and transport federal detainees. Displaced inmates and jobs -- Jones
said if the bid by Corrections Corporation of America is accepted, the most
challenging task would be finding room for the nearly 360 maximum-security
prisoners being held at Davis. There are not enough open maximum-security
beds in the state to keep them there, he said. This might result in prisoners
being shipped out of state -- the first time it's happened since the
mid-1990s. "Obviously this would be a huge burden to families of those
prisoners," he said. "It would also probably cost us more." At
the same time state officials worry about prison beds, the question looms
about how Oklahoma jobs will be affected. The possibility of jobs returning
to the Watonga area is a bright spot. More than 300 Corrections Corporation
of America employees lost their jobs when the Diamondback prison closed there
in May. More than 2,000 inmates were returned to Arizona. It was the largest
employer in the area. Owen said company officials are anxious to get the
prison running again. He said he's not sure how employment would be affected
at Davis and Cimarron if the bid is accepted. In 2007, nearly 200 Cornell
employees at the Great Plains Correctional Center in Hinton lost work after
the state Corrections Department and the company failed to come to an
agreement about reimbursement rates. The company then negotiated a contract
for Arizona inmates.
August 13, 2010 Oklahoman
A Muskogee federal court jury Thursday found that a private prisons operator
violated the employment rights of a shift supervisor by terminating his job
when he was deployed to Iraq as a combat adviser. Jurors recommended that
Corrections Corporation of America be ordered to pay veteran Dennis Weems, of
Terlton, about $53,000 for violating his employment
rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act,
an attorney in the case said. The federal act prohibits employers from
denying initial employment, re-employment, retention in employment, promotion or any benefit of employment to a member of the
military on the basis of his or her military service. Weems contended in the
lawsuit that Corrections Corporation of America discriminated not only
against him, but also against other members of the uniformed services who
were called to active duty. About the case -- Tulsa attorney Daniel Sullivan,
who represented Corrections Corporation of America, strongly denied his
client makes it a practice to discriminate against military employees, saying
the corporation has been recognized by G.I. Jobs as one of the "Top 100
Military Friendly Employers" in the country. In Weems' case, however,
Sullivan acknowledges mistakes were made. Sullivan said the human resources
person at CCA's Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing had left and the
person performing those duties sent letters containing improper statements to
Weems on two occasions. The first letter, dated Sept. 8, 2008, stated the
employer had processed paperwork indicating that Weems had "voluntarily
resigned ... based on the fact that you have been deployed on military leave
for a period that extends beyond 30 days." Sullivan said Weems was terminated
from the payroll system to accommodate his military service but should not
have been told that he was considered to have voluntarily resigned. "It
was an error," Sullivan said. "Unfortunately, as in a lot of cases,
when one error is made it seems to get compounded." In this case, the
compounding occurred when Weems returned from his military service and sought
his job back, the attorney indicated. Sullivan said Corrections Corporation
offered to reinstate Weems in his previous position with full pay, but attached
an acceptance letter sent to all new hires stating that he would be an
"at will employee" who could be "terminated, with or without
cause, at any time at the discretion of either the company or myself."
Other allegations -- Sullivan said Weems should not have been sent that
attachment because of his military service. Weems had been deployed more than
180 days, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act
has a provision that states because of that service, he could only be fired for
cause the first year after his return, Sullivan said. In his lawsuit, Weems
contended he wasn't the only military employee of Corrections Corporation of
America who was discriminated against. He said one employee who had been
earning $14 an hour before being deployed to Iraq was required to begin his
employment anew at a rate of $8.50 an hour after his return. In another case,
Weems said his CCA supervisor ordered him to convince another employee who
received deployment orders to accept a part-time position before leaving so
he could be put in a part-time job upon his return. Weems said he
"refused to become a part of the scheme."
January 20, 2010 KUSH
A former inmate in Cushing's private prison was charged Friday with
repeatedly stabbing another inmate in the Cimarron Correctional Facility with
a home-made knife on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Defendant Andy
Quintana, 26, has been transferred to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in
McAlester where he is serving an 8-year prison term he was given four years
ago for drug trafficking in Oklahoma County in 2002, state Department of
Corrections records show. If convicted of his Payne County charge of assault
and battery with a dangerous weapon after a former felony conviction,
Quintana could be given an additional 10-year prison term, according to the
charge filed Friday. His alleged victim, Jose Gomez Jr., 29, who remains in
the Cushing prison, is currently serving two concurrent five-year prison
terms for escape from a penal institution and drug possession, both in 2006
in Tulsa County, DOC records show.
October 10, 2009 KUSH
An inmate in Cushing's private prison -- who was sent to the lockup in Payne
County after being convicted of escaping from another prison -- was charged
Wednesday with possessing marijuana while incarcerated in the Cimarron
Correctional Facility on Sept. 26. Robert Lee Brown, 24, could receive as
much as a 20-year prison term and a $10,000 fine if convicted of possessing
the illegal drug in the Cushing prison, court records show. Brown arrived at
the Cimarron Correctional Facility in February 2008 to serve a two-year
sentence for escaping from the Department of Corrections in Osage County, DOC
records show.
October 6, 2009 KUSH
An inmate in Cushing's private prison has been ordered to stand trial on a
charge of assault and battery on a guard at the Cimarron Correctional
Facility. Christopher A. Cardwell, 23, Monday waived his right to a
preliminary hearing on an accusation that he punched Correctional Officer
Craig Sharp in the face numerous times on May 22. Cardwell, who is 6'5"
and weighs 200 pounds, could be given as much as five more years in prison if
convicted of the felony charge on which he is due to be arraigned in trial
court on Oct. 16. Cushing Police Officer Adam Harp wrote in an affidavit,
"I asked inmate Cardwell if Sharp had disrespected him or provoked him
and he said no that he was just doing his job. "Inmate Cardwell said
that he was sorry for assaulting Sharp and that Sharp had never been
disrespectful towards him in the past." The inmate said that on May 22
at about 6:45 p.m. "Sharp approached them in the Alpha South Unit
dayroom and told them to lock up -- meaning to return to their cells.
"Inmate Cardwell said that lately it has been rough on him due to him
not being able to receive letters from his girl and other situations.
"Inmate Cardwell said that he felt that the recreational time was not
enough and did not want to lock up. Inmate Cardwell said that he told Sharp
that he was not going to lock up. "Inmate Cardwell said that Sharp
looked down towards his duty belt as to grab hardcuffs
and that he hit him in the face no less than four times nor more than ten.
"Inmate Cardwell said that he knew that the first three punches hit
Sharp in the face area," the affidavit alleged. The incident was
reported at the Cushing Police Department by Sharp on May 29, a week after it
occurred, court records show. "Sharp said that he asked inmate Cardwell
to lock down, meaning to go back to his cell. Sharp said that inmate Cardwell
told him that he did not want to lock down -- that he needs to ship, meaning
that he was afraid to go back to general population. "Sharp said that
after inmate Cardwell made the comment that he hit him two to three times
with a closed fist in the face area. "Sharp said that inmate Cardwell
continued to hit him, but that he had blocked his punches. "Sharp said
that he was able to get help and eventually control inmate Cardwell.
"Sharp said that his glasses broke due to inmate Cardwell assaulting
him. "I asked Sharp if he sufferred any
injuries from the assault and he said no," Harp wrote in his affidavit.
April 30, 2009 KUSH
A Stillwater Man has been with smuggling marijuana into the Cimarron
Correctional Facility in Cushing. Jerome Wendell Williams, 25, was formally
charged April 29th by the Payne County District Attorney's office with
bringing contraband into a penal institution. If convicted, Williams faces up
to five years in prison and a fine of up to 1000 dollars. According to court
documents, Williams was employed by the prison.
December 16, 2008 Tulsa World
Taking a tougher approach, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections has
withheld more than $589,000 in payments to private prison operators in the
past year because of staffing shortages. Cimarron Correctional Facility in
Cushing has had five payments of $40,000 or more withheld since December for
failing to fill vacancies within 45 days, including several positions in the
medical field. In April, the state withheld $59,191 in payments because 19
positions remained unfilled within 45 days. Among them was a clinical
supervisor slot that DOC officials said had been open for 457 days. The Davis
Correctional Facility in Holdenville also has had about $76,000 in payments
withheld since August because of staffing incidents. Both facilities are
owned by Corrections Corporation of America, based in Nashville. A company
official says it has had difficulty filling medical positions because of a
nationwide shortage. In addition to the money it has already withheld, the DOC
has another $50,000 in fines pending for November. The DOC has withheld
payments to private prisons in 28 instances since last December for failing
to fill positions in a timely manner. The department's decision to penalize
private prisons financially for contract violations stems from a
recommendation made in a performance audit of the Department of Corrections
requested last year by the Oklahoma Legislature. "The audit felt like we
were giving too many warnings to private prisons and that we needed to start
doing more liquidated damages," DOC Director Justin Jones said last
week. An official with the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, which
sought information on the fines, said the organization is concerned whether
private prison contractors are actually fixing the problems, or simply paying
the fines. Mark Beutler, director of
communications, said Monday that OPEA is sponsoring legislation in the
upcoming legislative session that will make contractors more transparent.
"We believe contractors should be held more accountable in reporting
violations and also in the ways they are spending taxpayers' money," Beutler said. Calling the shortage of medical personnel a
problem for prisons, Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Steve Owen
said the company is making a good faith effort to fill its medical services
vacancies as quickly as possible. Until the positions are filled, Owen said
the facilities will hire part-time employees or pay overtime to prevent a
drop-off in services. "This is hitting us in the wallet, but it's not
costing the taxpayer," Owen said. The state has about 4,540 inmates
housed in three private prisons in the state. In addition to the CCA
facilities in Cushing and Holdenville, the third private prison that
contracts with DOC is the Lawton Correctional Facility. The Lawton facility
has had about $23,000 in fines since last December, including about $10,000
that is pending for November. The facility is owned by the GEO Group Inc. of
Boca Raton, Fla. The performance audit, which was released Dec. 31, 2007,
said the enforcement of liquidated damages provisions in the state's contract
with private prisons was extremely rare and time-consuming. "DOC's
process is somewhat cumbersome in that it requires multiple levels of
consideration by executive staffs," the audit report said. It called
DOC's failure to use liquidated damages effectively "a serious problem
with DOC's management process" that has eroded the credibility of the
contract monitoring system. In the past, DOC has used more informal sanctions
in response to contract breaches, which sometimes resulted in adjustments in
a facility's population level. "As system crowding worsens, however, the
flexibility to reduce population in response to problems diminishes
significantly," the audit reported.
March 4, 2008 KUSH
A visitor at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing has been placed on
five years' probation for possessing marijuana and money at the private
prison -- both of which are considered illegal contraband in a penal institution.
Melissa Shalone Simien, 39, of Tulsa, had pleaded
guilty to the felony charge, which was filed after a drug detection dog at
the prison alerted on her, court records show. In accordance with a plea
bargain Friday, she was given a five-year deferred sentence and ordered to
pay a $500 fine, a $50 contribution to the District Attorney's Drug Fund and
$150 for a state crime bureau laboratory fee, court records show. She was
also ordered by Associate District Judge Robert Murphy Jr. to perform 150
hours of community service within a year and complete a drug and alcohol
evaluation, as well as any required follow-up, court records show. Simien was
arrested on July 9, 2005, at the Cushing prison where she had gone to visit
inmate Darrius Payne, then serving an eight-year sentence from Tulsa County
for drug possession with intent to distribute, state DOC records show. He
also had served time for robbery, burglary and escape, DOC records show.
December 29, 2007 KUSH
A visitor at the Cimarron Correctional Facility, who admitted in court
documents that she had marijuana and money at the private prison in Cushing,
has a plea bargain to receive probation at her Jan. 25 sentencing for
possessing contraband in a penal institution. Melissa Shalone
Simien, 39, of Tulsa, told authorities, "I drove someone's car to
Cushing Correctional Center to visit a friend," whom she had dated
before he went to prison, according to court documents. Although she pleaded
guilty in September to Associate District Judge Robert Murphy Jr., Simien
complained in a background report compiled by the state Department of
Corrections in November, "For two years and four months, I have been
going back and forth to court, for something that I didn't do." Simien's
plea bargain calls for her to receive a five-year deferred sentence, pay a
$500 fine, contribute $50 to the District Attorney's Drug Fund, pay $150 to
the state crime bureau laboratory for a drug analysis, and perform 150 hours
of community service, court records show. Simien admitted in the background
report that she was convicted in Louisiana of food stamp frand
and receiving welfare assistance by fraud in 1996, for which she said she
paid restitution. She was arrested on July 9, 2005, at the Cushing prison
where she had gone to visit inmate Darrius Payne, then serving an eight-year
sentence from Tulsa County for drug possession with intent to distribute,
state DOC records show. He also had served time for robbery, burglary, escape
and failure to comply with a personal recognizance bond, DOC records show.
May 9, 2007 Cushing Daily Citizen
The mother of an inmate in Cushing's private prison has been placed on
probation for three years for smuggling the drug Valium into the Cimarron
Correctional Facility during a visit on Labor Day. While she was visiting her
son, Donna Maxine Kirby, 47, was watched on a video monitor by correctional
officers in the prison, an affidavit by Correctional Officer Berl Stinson said. At her sentencing, Donna Kirby was
also fined $500, ordered to contribute $50 to the District Attorney's Drug
Fund, assessed a $150 fee for a state crime bureau laboratory test and told
to complete cognitive behavior training, court records show. Her husband,
Charles Oliver Kirby Jr., 60, who had the drug in his right sock, was charged
with his wife as a co-defendant with smuggling contraband into a penal
institution. Charles Kirby was placed on probation for three years, fined
$500, ordered to contribute $50 to the DA's Drug Fund, assessed a $150 fee
for a state crime bureau laboratory test, told to complete a drug and alcohol
evaluation, as well as any follow-up, and ordered to perform 50 hours of
community service, and continue mental health treatment. The Kirbys were sentenced by Payne County Associate District
Judge Robert Murphy Jr. on April 27 in accordance with their plea bargains.
They had pleaded guilty in February. The Kirbys
were arrested last September on warrants and released from jail after posting
$5,000 bond each on the felony charge, which carries a maximum five-year
prison term and $1,000 fine on conviction. "Donna Kirby apologized for
bringing the item of contraband into the prison and stated that her reason
for doing so was the fact that her inmate son had been threatened by other
inmates if he did not provide them with contraband," the affidavit said.
August 11, 2006 KTEN
An Oklahoma judge is refusing to dismiss charges against eight black
inmates in connection with a fatal Cushing prison riot. The inmates claim
they were selectively prosecuted based on race because no white inmates were
charged. But a Payne County judge says no evidence was presented to support
their claim. About 40 black inmates allegedly beat about 20 white inmates
with baseball bats and horseshoes in a recreation area at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility in March 2005. Adam Gene Lippert of Davenport, a member
of a white prison gang, was slain and 20 inmates were injured. Inmate Eric M.
Johnson, a convicted killer from Tulsa County, is charged with first-degree
murder. Others were charged with participating in the riot.
June 6, 2006 Cushing Daily Citizen
A convicted murderer pleaded guilty Tuesday to stabbing an inmate at the
Cimarron Correctional Facility, about three weeks after a racially-motivated
riot at the Cushing private prison that left one inmate dead and 15 injured.
David Jovann Davis, 25, was given a 20-year prison
term concurrent with a life sentence he is serving on a 1998 conviction for
first-degree murder in Muskogee County. Payne County District Attorney Rob
Hudson said that Davis accepted a plea bargain Tuesday rather than go to
trial this month on the assault and battery with a dangerous weapon charge in
the Cushing prison stabbing. "We believe this conviction will keep him
from ever being eligible for parole. We expect that he will die in
prison," Hudson said. Davis was charged with stabbing inmate Jeremy Deeter, 29, three times in the neck with a homemade knife
in a dayroom "right in front of guard witnesses," on April 15,
2005, prosecutor Tom Lee said.
April 25, 2006 Cushing Daily Citizen
A Cushing woman has been charged with possession of marijuana at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility while she was working at the private prison in Cushing
as a guard. Niki L. Ventris, 27, was arrested by
Cushing Police Officer Adam Harp after a drug dog hit on her vehicle in the
prison parking lot on April 8, an affidavit said. Ventris,
who was released from jail after posting $5,000 bond, pleaded not guilty at
her arraignment April 10. She is due to return to court May 8 when she can
ask for a preliminary hearing on the felony charge.
December 28, 2005 Cushing Daily
Citizen
A visitor to Cushing's private prison who was arrested after a drug dog hit
on her hands during a narcotics checkpoint inside the facility has been
placed on probation for five years. Suzanne Putnam, 41, will not have a
criminal record if she successfully completes probation, since she was given
a deferred sentence as part of a plea bargain Dec. 23. Putnam admitted
carrying the prescription drugs, Xanax and Diazepam, into the Cimarron
Correctional Facility on Nov. 22, 2004, when she also had marijuana and drug
paraphernalia in her car, according to her guilty plea.
December 2, 2005 KOTV
An update on a riot at a private prison in Cushing earlier this year, where
one inmate was killed. The riot was caught on tape and one inmate has been
charged with murder. The judge has now set a trial date. Eric Johnson is
accused of killing Adam Lippert in the Cimarron Correction facility in
Cushing. The riot in question happened back in March and was caught on a
prison surveillance camera. The riot occurred in the recreation area of the
prison. Adam Lippert was fatally stabbed during this riot and the defense
attorney says this video will show that his client was several yards away
from Lippert during the brawl.
August 18, 2005 Oklahoman
The Cushing prison is in lockdown and an inmate who was stabbed Tuesday
morning still is in a hospital, a prison spokeswoman said Wednesday. The two
inmates accused of attacking him have been moved to segregated housing, said
Linda Hurst, warden’s assistant at the Cimarron Correctional Facility.
Although two inmates are accused in the stabbing, Hurst wouldn’t say whether
the victim suffered multiple stab wounds.
August 17, 2005 KOTV
For the third time this year, an inmate has been stabbed at the same Oklahoma
prison. It happened at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing. It's a
private prison, which remains on lockdown following the stabbing on Tuesday.
Officials say the inmate was stabbed in the chest and abdomen, but his
injuries are not life-threatening. Two people are in isolation and a weapon
was confiscated after the stabbing.
August 10, 2005 Oklahoman
Four inmates accused of participating in a prison riot in which an inmate was
killed were ordered Tuesday to stand trial in Payne County District Court.
Payne County Special Judge Phillip Corley found probable cause that Cedric D.
Poore, 31; Eugene Gutierrez, 33; Shawn P. Byrd, 32; and Jason J. Williamson,
22, participated in the March 22 riot at Cimarron Correctional Facility that
left inmate Adam Lippert dead from stab wounds. The four men have been
charged with participating in a riot that resulted in a death.
June
24, 2005 The Daily Oklahoman
Inmate work programs will be added at two state prisons in the coming
months. The Corrections Board on Thursday approved two new service
partnership programs: one with Jacobs Trading Co., based in Plymouth, Minn.,
and another with The Oklahoman, based in Oklahoma City. The Jacobs Trading
Co. will pay $5.15 to $5.50 an hour for inmates to repackage items for sale
at Dollar General and other discount stores. About 15-20 inmates will be
employed at first with a target roster of 30-32 inmates. The program will be
at the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft. It was formerly at the
Cimarron Correctional Facility, a private prison in Cushing.
June 20, 2005 The Association Press State
& Local Wire
A drug-smuggling ring that provided inmates at a
private prison with marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroine will be the focus of a multi-county grand jury
investigation that begins Tuesday. Officials have tracked more than
$200,000 coming from 14 states used to buy the drugs for inmates at the
Lawton Correctional Facility, said Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma
Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control. At least 100 inmates are
suspected customers. Inmates and their families organized the shipments
and a guard suspected of helping run the operation brought the drugs from
Oklahoma City, according to court records. Former correctional officer
Michael McClain is accused of being the main supplier. "He could
get whatever they wanted as long as they paid," Woodward said.
McClain resigned in February, said Pablo Paez, a
spokesman for Geo Group Inc., which owns the private prison. The prison
houses about 1,900 medium- and minimum-security inmates. About one in five
were convicted of drug crimes. Inmate Darrin Brewer, 38, told
investigators he was facilitating drug deals while incarcerated in Lawton,
Tim Coppick, an investigator with the Department of
Corrections, wrote in a warrant filed in Oklahoma County. Brewer is on parole
after serving time for trafficking and delivering narcotics. Brewer
said he orchestrated the operation by using a cell phone McClain smuggled
into the prison. Inmates are not allowed to have cell phones.
Investigators uncovered a similar scheme last year at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility, a private prison in Cushing. That prison is owned by
Corrections Corporation of America. Five people, including a guard, were
charged.
July
13, 2005 Oklahoman
Two of seven inmates charged in connection with a riot at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility in Cushing will stand trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Eric M. Johnson will go to trial for first-degree murder, according to the
Payne County District Attorney's office. Cedars More will be tried for
participating in a riot that resulted in death. He originally was charged
with first-degree murder, but prosecutors amended it. Adam Lippert, 32, was
stabbed to death March 22 during the Cimarron riot.
June 4, 2005 Stillwater
News Press
A seventh man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of a
prison inmate during a riot at the Cimarron Correctional Facility.
Prosecutors this week charged Mark Anthony Ford, 30, in the March 22 murder
of Adam Lippert after law enforcement officers identified him while reviewing
videotapes of the riot, according to an affidavit written by Cushing Police
Officer Curtis Booher. Lippert, 32, died as a
result of stab wounds sustained during the riot, according to Booher's affidavit. Lippert was stabbed in the face,
scalp, chest, abdomen, shoulder, elbow, arm and trunk, according to the
affidavit.
April 23, 2005 Tulsa World
A convicted Tulsa County murderer who was serving a life sentence at
Cushing's Cimarron Correctional Facility made repeated stabbing motions
toward an inmate who was slain in a March 22 melee at the private prison,
court documents allege. Eric M. Johnson, 31, one of six inmates who are
charged with first-degree murder, was identified from a videotape of the
incident as fighting with the inmate who was killed, according to an
affidavit by state Department of Corrections investigator Tim Coppick. "The riot only lasted a few minutes, but
when the mayhem was over, Lippert had been beaten and fatally stabbed, and
more than a dozen other inmates were seriously injured," Payne County
District Attorney Rob Hudson said in a news release. "This became an
issue between whites and blacks. It is gang-related," Hudson said in a
telephone interview about the melee in a recreational area at the prison,
which is owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America. Oklahoma
State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said Friday that a
number of knives, bats and horseshoes were confiscated.
April 22, 2005 Oklahoman
First-degree murder charges were filed Thursday against six inmates
involved in a race-related prison riot last month that left one inmate dead
and 13 others injured. Payne County District Attorney Rob Hudson said he
anticipates the death penalty will be sought against some of the men. He said
as many as 20 more men could be charged with lesser crimes, including assault
and battery with a deadly weapon. As many as 65 prisoners in two gangs fought
March 22 in a recreational area of the privately operated Cimarron
Correctional Facility. One inmate, Adam Lippert, 32, was fatally stabbed
during the riot in which inmates used aluminum bats, horseshoes and homemade
weapons. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown
said about 40 black inmates attacked about 15 white inmates. Eric Marquel Johnson, 31, who already is serving a life
sentence for murder, was identified as the man who stabbed Lippert, Brown
said.
March 30, 2005 Tulsa World
The longest lockdown in the history of Cimarron Correctional Facility
moved into its second week Tuesday as an investigation continued into last
week's gang-related brawl that left one inmate dead and 15 injured. More than
100 prisoners have been interviewed by Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
agents, who for the past week have spent every day, including Easter, at the
private prison, said OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown. The investigation is
expected to take several weeks, she said. The fight is believed to have
involved about 60 inmates, some using aluminum bats, horseshoes and homemade
weapons, as they fought in an outdoor part of the gymnasium on March 22.
"The problematic thing is the sheer magnitude of it, the number of
people involved, who was culpable; identification will be an issue,"
Payne County District Attorney Rob Hudson said.
March 24, 2005 Tulsa World
An inmate who was killed in what might have been a gang-related brawl
Tuesday at the Cimarron Correctional Facility was tattooed with symbols of
the Aryan Brotherhood, a white-supremacist prison gang. Prison spokeswoman
Linda Hurst said Wednesday that she would not comment on what sparked the fight
or whether it was racially motivated while the investigation into the
incident is ongoing. The slain inmate was identified as Adam Gene Lippert,
32, of Davenport, who had been in the private prison since Dec. 2 on a
10-year sentence for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine in Lincoln
County. About 100 prisoners were in the gymnasium when the brawl began about
1:20 p.m. Tuesday, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica
Brown said. Hurst said she did not know how many prisoners were involved in
the fights, but she estimated the number at "between 40 and 60." It
took about 10 minutes for the staff to bring the situation under control, she
said. Brown said she did not have any information on the cause of Lippert's
death or the injuries he suffered. "All I know is baseball bats were
used" in the brawl, she said. No arrests had been made, Brown said.
Hurst said eight inmates including Lippert, and not six as reported earlier,
were taken to hospitals in Cushing, Stillwater and Tulsa, and that eight
other inmates whose injuries were "not as significant" were treated
in the prison's medical unit.
March 24, 2005 Oklahoman
Investigators said Wednesday at least 100 inmates may have been involved in
the Cimarron Correctional Facility prison riot that left one dead and 13
others injured. One inmate is in critical condition and another is in serious
condition after gang members attacked each other Tuesday with metal softball
bats. An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma said the
organization is investigating the role of the guards in the prison. No guards
were injured. "It's made me really concerned what's going on
there," ACLU staff attorney Tina Izadi said. The fight at the private
prison broke out between gangs at an outdoor recreation area about 1:20 p.m.
Tuesday, and was under control within 10 minutes, prison spokeswoman Linda
Hurst said. Hurst said the prisoners broke into the recreation room
where softball bats are stored. She said she didn't know how the bats were
taken because the area is supposed to be secure. Authorities are using
surveillance videotape to investigate.
March 23, 2005 Oklahoman
One inmate was killed and five others were injured, one critically, when
gang members, some armed with bats, rioted Tuesday afternoon at the Cimarron
Correctional Facility, officials said. The fight at the private prison
in Cushing broke out between two gangs using an outdoor recreation area about
1:20 p.m., and was under control quickly, prison spokeswoman Linda Hurst
said. "Initial indications are that it was gang-related, with an
undetermined number of inmates using recreation equipment located in the gym
as weapons to assault another group of inmates," Hurst said. Softball
bats were used as weapons, she said, although she did not know what was used
to kill the inmate. Jessica Brown, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau
of Investigation, said, "As far as we know, it was a bat that was
used." Inmates normally get bats by checking them out at the gym, Hurst
said, but she did not know whether they were checked out in this instance.
The Cushing facility is accredited by the American Correctional Association.
February 4, 2005 Cushing
Daily News
A visitor who is accused of carrying controlled drugs into Cushing's private
prison is due in court Monday when she can ask for a preliminary hearing on
the felony charge. Suzanne Putnam, 40, could receive as much as a five-year
prison term and $1,000 fine if convicted of carrying contraband into the
Cimarron Correctional Facility. Putnam, of Oklahoma City, is accused of
bringing the drugs, Xanax and Diazepam, into the Cushing prison during a
visit on Nov. 22, 2004, court records show. The drugs are used as muscle
relaxers, Cushing Police Sgt. Jack Ford said Tuesday. Putnam also is also alleged
to have had marijuana and drug paraphernalia in her possession on the same
day. If convicted of those misdemeanors, she could receive as much as two
years' incarceration and a $2,000 fine.
January 24, 2005 Cushing Daily News
A convicted murderer who is serving a life sentence in Cushing's private
prison was given five more years Friday after pleading guilty to having a
$100 bill in the Cimarron Correctional Facility. Possession of money by an
inmate is considered contraband and carries a sentence of five to 20 years on
conviction, according to the felony charge. Melvin T. Perry, 53, had a folded
$100 bill between the sole and upper part of his left shoe on Aug. 30 when he
was searched as he left the visiting area at Cimarron Correctional Facility,
an affidavit by Cushing prison investigator Curt Booher
said. His wife, Gracie Lee Perry, 58, of Spencer, allegedly admitted to
authorities that she brought the money into the prison in her left front
pocket and then slid it across the table to him during her visit, the
affidavit said.
February 20, 2004
State agents are looking for a man they suspect of funneling drugs into a
private prison in Cushing, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said
Thursday. Agents executed a search warrant at the Forest Park home of
Loy Eugene Driver, 33. Driver was not there, but agents found 2 pounds of
marijuana, a pound of rock cocaine, $10,000 cash and several weapons. The
drugs have a street value of about $8,300. Mark Woodward, bureau
spokesman, said Driver has been supplying drugs to Cimarron Correctional
Facility. Driver's record includes convictions for second-degree
murder, eluding a police officer and possession of a controlled substance,
state corrections records show. The bureau said Driver was released
from prison in 2001. Records show he is under state supervision.
Woodward said Driver was involved in a drive-by shooting that resulted in a
death. The bureau states that since Driver's release, he's been charged
with two counts of drug possession, possession of a firearm after a felony
conviction and eluding police. The investigation began last fall.
Cimarron Correctional Facility officials' inquiry led to the arrest of Steven
Zoope Williams, 27. Williams was a
correctional officer and is accused of making a deal to bring methamphetamine
to an inmate. He was charged in January with one count of trafficking illegal
drugs and two counts of using a telephone to facilitate the commission of a
felony. Drug activity isn't uncommon in prisons, corrections department
spokesman Jerry Massie said. Many inmates were drug users before their
incarceration. "That's why we emphasize interdiction," Massie
said. "People are always trying to get drugs into the
system." (Oklahoman)
January 31, 2004
A correctional officer has been accused of making a deal to deliver
methamphetamines to an inmate at the private Cushing prison where he
worked. Steven Zoope Williams, 27, of Cushing
was charged Thursday in Oklahoma County District Court with one count of
trafficking in illegal drugs and two counts of using a telephone to
facilitate the commission of a felony. Williams was arrested Oct. 1
after an Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control agent
delivered about five ounces of methamphetamines to him, a court affidavit
states. (Oklahoman)
January 6, 2004
Prisoners at a northern Oklahoma prison were locked in their cells after they
beefed about a new, low fat "heart-healthy" menu by boycotting the
cafeteria, officials say. The prisoners remained locked up over the
weekend at the Cimarron Correctional Facility, a privately run prison,
because they objected to meals that take ground beef out of some dishes and
replace it with lower fat ground turkey, said Linda Hurst, the prison's
programs manager, on Tuesday. "As a precautionary measure, we
locked them down to investigate if there was anything more serious than a
boycott," Hurst said. Hurst said the situation at the prison was
not volatile and prisoners returned to the cafeteria on Monday
The typical dinner menu may include turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes,
gravy and peas. "The meatloaf is where the heart-healthy diet comes
in," she said. Hurst said the new menus have been used for a few
months in order to reduce the fat in prisoners' diets. Some of the inmates
said they would rather not eat than take another bite of turkey
loaf. The Cimarron Correctional Facility, with about 900 inmates,
is operated by the Corrections Corporation of America. A spokesman for
the Oklahoma prison system said it has no plans to introduce heart-healthy
meals for its prisons state-wide. (Yahoo.com)
May 6, 2003
An inmate who was being held in a private prison in Cushing was ordered
Monday to stand trial on a charge of attacking a guard at the Cimarron
Corrections Facility last year. Because of his criminal record, Jerome
Shaun McCoy, 35, could receive as much as a life prison sentence if he is
convicted of assault and battery on an employee of a private prison
contractor, according to prosecutor Jack Bowyer. (Tulsa World)
August 29, 2002
Two former inmates
at Cushing's private prison were arraigned Wednesday on charges of assaulting
two female Cimarron Correctional Facility guards in separate
attacks. Both alleged assaults occurred last winter, but charges
were not filed until last week, court records show. In an incident two months
earlier at the Cushing prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America,
inmate Joe Lopez Jr., 29, who is serving 10 years for second-degree burglary,
was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for an alleged
Dec. 27 razor-blade attack on corrections Officer Brenda Hadix.
(Tulsa World)
August 23, 2002
STILLWATER -- A
convicted sex offender who was severely beaten in Cushing's private prison
does not want to testify against his alleged assailant, a convicted killer,
prosecutor Tom Lee said Thursday. The assault and battery with a
dangerous weapon case was dismissed since the victim "had no desire to
prosecute nor to testify" at a preliminary hearing Wednesday against the
inmate accused in the attack, Lee said. After the Aug. 17, 2001,
attack in the Cushing prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America, Perosi was moved to the Diamondback Correctional Facility
in Watonga, another private prison operated by CCA, corrections officials
said. (Tulsa World)
August 1, 2002
A Payne County jury
deliberated for nine hours before convicting an inmate of possessing
marijuana at Cushing's private Cimarron Correctional Facility in
November. The jury Wednesday recommended a five-year prison term,
the minimum possible, for Thomas Kye Thompson, 25, who served as his own
lawyer at the three-day trial. The jury also recommended a $2
fine for Thompson for possession of drug paraphernalia, a piece of paper that
allegedly contained a small amount of marijuana. (Oklahoman)
May 11, 2002
A former youth leader at the River of Life Church north of Perkins was given
10 concurrent 20-year prison terms Friday for repeatedly sexually abusing two
girls who attended the church. Rex Jason Sumner, 31, of Perkins,
who was the church's youth leader for about a year until his arrest in
December, had pleaded guilty to all 10 sexual abuse counts before District
Judge Donald Worthington. River of Life Church members had strongly supported
Sumner a year ago when he received seven years' probation from Associate
District Judge Robert Murphy Jr. for marijuana delivery in Payne
County. In court Friday, Worthington revoked that probation and
handed Sumner a concurrent seven-year prison term for smuggling a pound of
marijuana into Cushing's private prison while he worked there as a
corrections officer two years ago. (Tulsa World)
David L. Moss
Criminal Justice Center
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Formerly CCA
September 20, 2010 Tulsa World
Since it took over the operation of the Tulsa Jail on July 1, 2005, the Tulsa
County Sheriff's Office has consistently spent less than it was appropriated
despite rising inmate counts, soaring increases in the cost of employee
benefits and often modest increases in sales tax collections, records
indicate. The Sheriff's Office also has been able to make good on one
important promise made by Undersheriff Brian Edwards in March 2005 when he
presented the sheriff's bid to operate the jail to the Tulsa County Criminal
Justice Authority - that the sheriff would bring in millions of dollars
through grants and new contracts to house inmates. Edwards said last week,
"I think it's been a collaborative effort by everyone involved to make
sure we operated the jail within the revenue stream that's available and try
to save as much money wherever and whenever we can, and I think we have done
that." Balancing the jail's books has never been simple because of the
many variables in the equation. Inmate counts change daily. Sales tax collections,
which provide most of the funding for the jail, change monthly. And the cost
of salaries and benefits more often than not increases from year to year.
Throw in grants and contracts that come and go, and the math is never easy.
The bid Edwards presented to the authority called for the sheriff to spend
$19.7 million to operate the jail in fiscal year 2006. The bid was nearly $2
million less than that offered by Corrections Corporation of America, the
private business that had run the jail since it was opened in 1999. The
Sheriff's Office ended up spending just $18.7 million to operate the jail
that year, but costs have increased steadily since. In fiscal year 2010, it
cost $23.1 million to operate the jail - a 23 percent increase from 2006 but
a decrease from the peak expenditure of $25.8 million in 2008. The jail
appropriation for the 2011 fiscal year totals $26.5 million, which would
represent a 41 percent increase from 2006. Some of the increase is due to the
rising cost of utilities, food and medical care. But the overwhelming factor
has been the increase in benefits and salaries, in that order.
November 10, 2007 AP
A new study shows that the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office is operating the
county's jail for millions of dollars less than its private-sector
predecessor would have. The study by Tulsa County Fiscal Officer Jim Smith
found it would have cost the Criminal Justice Authority a total of $12
million more in fiscal years 2006 and 2007 if Corrections Corporation of
American were still under contract to operate the jail. Smith came up with
the number by comparing CCA's daily cost per inmate for fiscal years 2004 and
2005 with comparable Sheriff's Office numbers for fiscal years 2006 and 2007.
CCA's average cost per inmate was $51.34. The sheriff's average cost was
$39.68.
July 1, 2005 Tulsa World
Tulsa County sheriff's
officials made history overnight as the privately operated David L. Moss
Criminal Justice Center returned to public hands. About 40
deputies and more than 55 volunteers came out to support Sheriff Stanley
Glanz's takeover of the Tulsa Jail operation. The sheriff's team arrived by
bus at the jail around 6:30 p.m. Thursday. They entered the
ground-floor training rooms, one of which was cluttered with boxes of new
khaki jail uniforms, and quickly broke into teams of three to conduct
face-to-face inmate counts, confirmed by jail mug shots, around 8 p.m. All
1,301 inmates were accounted for, officials said. Officials from
Corrections Corporation of America, which has operated the lockup for the past
six years, conducted another count at 11 p.m. before turning over the keys at
midnight. While the jail was under CCA's control, inmates have had their
share of complaints about conditions there. Greg Shaffer, 31,
who was released from jail late Thursday after an eight-day stay on speeding
and driver's license-related allegations, said he had also been in the Tulsa
Jail when it was occupied by the Sheriff's Office in the past. "I'm
so glad Tulsa County's taking over" the jail again, he said. "The
sheriff ran it good -- way better." Unlike the official
word that the inmates had been locked down for two days prior to the
transition, Shaffer said they had been locked in their cells for four days
without showers. A sheriff's team member said two inmates claimed
to have been locked in their cell for four days because no one could open the
cell door. One man who was released from jail Thursday claimed
that he had been issued only one jumpsuit for his entire two-month stay and
that he went without shoes for a month. He said the washer in the housing pod
was broken and that inmates were hand-washing their uniforms in their sinks.
He did not wish to be identified.
July
1, 2005
More than $250,000 worth of repairs need to be made to the Tulsa Jail's
security system, according to a review that found more than 270 broken
intercoms and other equipment damaged or missing. The Tulsa County Sheriff's
Office requested the site assessment by Black Creek Integrated Systems Corp.,
the company that installed the jail's security system. In a report obtained
by the Tulsa World, the company lists two pages of damaged or missing
equipment at the jail, which has been operated by Corrections Corporation of
America since it opened in 1999. "The overall system is functionally
intact and continues to perform as it was designed and installed. There are,
however, major problems with the system that are a direct result of failure
to replace failed parts in a timely manner," states the report by Jay Tumlin, service manager for Black Creek, based in
Alabama. "For example, it is highly unlikely that the facility
experienced the failure of 272 intercom stations at the short timeframe,
which is indicative of the lack of parts support that has been provided to
this vital system." The company reviewed the jail's security system June
13-17 and provided its report this week to Sheriff Stanley Glanz. It
concludes that the county would need to spend at least $259,000 on parts and
labor to make the repairs or replace the missing equipment. The report also lists
problems including all but one gooseneck microphone removed from the jail
pods, several nurse call buttons stuck in the on position, six closed-circuit
television monitors missing, eight jail pod control stations with faulty
touch screens and one pod control station computer missing. The review also
found 11 broken VCRs, six cameras that need repair, a broken motion detector
and five disconnected card readers. Water had damaged equipment in several
areas of the facility, the report states. CCA's contract to operate the jail
states that the company shall maintain the facility "in accordance with
the maintenance system provided by the authority." It states equipment
shall be in "good repair and good working order at all times" and
maintained according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Ike Newton,
president of Black Creek, said based on the site visit, the jail's security
system has not been maintained according to the manufacturer's
recommendations. Newton said the broken equipment affects employees' ability
to communicate with each other and see what is happening in the jail. He said
if an employee or inmate were injured at the jail and decided to sue,
"one of the first things they are going to point to is the condition of
the security system." The contract requires CCA to make repairs at its
expense. It states replacement parts should meet or exceed the original
parts. CCA was supposed to pay for repairs using a $300,000 escrow account,
the contract states. The report cites several cases in which original
equipment was replaced with equipment of lower quality, including a camera
replaced with one that had no zoom capability and 15-inch computer monitors
that replaced 21-inch monitors. Chief Sheriff's Deputy George Haralson said
Glanz requested the review because "we were concerned that the system
had not been maintained properly over the last five years." "We did
not want to take over a facility July 1 and have any surprises,"
Haralson said. Marvin Branham, a spokesman for CCA, said he had not seen Black
Creek's report and that the company had not been asked to pay for repairs
listed in the report. "I know that the system's operating properly.
There are some intercoms that actually have been ordered that will be
installed into the facility." Branham said CCA "has met all the
requirements of the contract." He said he is unsure if the escrow
account contains $300,000 because "it works as a constantly revolving
drawdown" for repairs. Haralson said the sheriff's office is not
required to pay for the repairs and should not have to. Paul Wilkening, chief deputy for the Tulsa County
Commissioners, said the county has a list of 400 items that must be repaired
or replaced at the jail. He said some of the items on the Black Creek list
are on that list. After repairs are made, he said the authority will review
Black Creek's letter to determine what items still need repaired or replaced.
"I would suspect that we will ask CCA to pay for things that aren't
working," Wilkening said.
July
1, 2005 News OK
TULSA - It probably didn't take Tulsa County jail inmates long to know a new
-- but familiar -- sheriff was in town. Sheriff Stanley Glanz said he planned
to conduct a shakedown search shortly after regaining control of the jail,
which was scheduled to happen at midnight Thursday. Glanz has waited six
years for his department to regain control of the jail. The shakedown,
conducted by 100 deputies, reserve deputies and jail staff, is an effort to
improve safety and efficiency at the jail. "I had a lot of patience,"
he said. "I learned that a jail is a law enforcement function and it
needs to be operated by government and not private companies. Of course, I've
been saying that for 10 years, but it's been reinforced to me." Criminal
Justice Trust Authority members voted 7-0 to privatize after reading reports
that Corrections Corporation of America could save taxpayers as much as $10
million in five years. But the trust authority in March voted, 4-3, to give
the jail back to Glanz.
May 7, 2005 Tulsa World
A Tulsa Jail corrections officer was fired Thursday after he was arrested
in the armed robbery of a woman in a mall parking lot. Charles Courtney
Wilson, 19, was arrested about 1:30 p.m. Thursday on an armed robbery
complaint and booked into the the jail about 5 p.m.,
jail records show. Chris Howard, a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of
America, which operates the jail, confirmed that Wilson was an officer there.
He was fired after CCA officials learned of his felony arrest. The robbery
took place about 1:15 p.m. in a parking lot outside Woodland Hills Mall at
71st Street and Memorial Drive, Sgt. Kim Presley said. A woman told police
that she had just returned to her car, which was parked on the south side of
the mall, when a man appeared "out of nowhere." He pointed a gun at
her and told her to get out of her car. She got out, and he grabbed her
purse, Presley said. The man then ran to a car where a getaway driver was
waiting. Witnesses described the getaway car to police, and officers saw the
vehicle a short time later. The car's two occupants were arrested in the 7400
block of East 29th Place, Presley said. The man who is the suspected driver,
Bernard Ezechukwu, was arrested on complaints of
armed robbery, eluding and traffic-related complaints.
May 6, 2005 KOTV
Good Samaritans helped Tulsa Police arrest two men stealing a woman's
purse at gunpoint. One of the suspects works at the Tulsa County jail. Police
say 19-year-old Charles Wilson ran up to the victim's car at Woodland Hills
Mall, pointed a gun at her, and reached across her to grab her purse out of
the passenger's seat. Corrections Corporation of America, the company that
runs the jail, tells the News on 6, Wilson is a corrections officer.
April 23, 2005 Tulsa World
Outside oversight during the Tulsa Jail's management transition is
likely, county leaders say. Officials are still pondering what kind of
oversight they will put in place once the sheriff assumes operation of the
Tulsa Jail on July 1. Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority Chairman and County
Commissioner Bob Dick said most have agreed that the sheriff's operation of
the jail will be a big change and that some form of outside oversight should
be maintained for a period of time. Sheriff
Stanley Glanz plans to generate a monthly report internally and said he
doesn't mind oversight. Jail transition: About 270 applications
for jail staff positions have been received so far. Some 230 to 240 of those
have come from existing CCA employees, Chief Deputy Tim Albin said. The
sheriff plans a staff of 304. Ninety-seven applicants have taken a
standardized test, with more than 95 percent passing. "They've got some
really good people working over there, and that's why we're trying real hard
to latch on to that work force," he said.
March 30, 2005 Tulsa World
A former Tulsa Jail supervisor faces a three-year prison sentence upon
being convicted Tuesday of raping a female inmate there. Tulsa County jurors
found Eugene Pendleton, 48, guilty of second-degree rape. Pendleton was
jailed after the verdict, ending a six-day trial in District Judge Tom Thornbrugh's court. Jurors also imposed a $3,000 fine.
Pendleton managed an addiction treatment unit at the jail. His accuser, now
29, testified that she participated in a jail counseling program to address
her drug problem. Jurors heard testimony that the woman -- who is no longer
an inmate -- has said Pendleton had sex with her six or seven times between
Christmas 2001 and May 2002. Pendleton denied the accusation. The rape charge
did not require proof of force. It is illegal for a person in a
"position of authority" to engage in sexual contact with an inmate,
Assistant District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said.
March 30, 2005 Tulsa World
Police have ruled that an inmate's death at the Tulsa Jail on Monday is
consistent with an intentional hanging. Corrections Corporation of America's
spokesman Chris Howard said only that Felipe Gonzalez, 46, was pronounced
dead at 3:15 p.m. The jail has had at least 18 inmate deaths since August
1999. At least five were suicides.
March 29, 2005 AP
Tulsa police are investigating the apparent suicide of an inmate at the Tulsa
Jail. The man's name and how he died have not been released. EMSA paramedics
were called to the jail about 3:00 yesterday afternoon and say when they
arrived they were told the patient was dead from a traumatic injury. The jail
is run by Corrections Corporation of America and spokesman Chris Howard says
he can't release information about the death.
March 19, 2005 Tulsa World
All agreed it was a tough decision to make, but in the end the seven-member
Criminal Justice Authority elected to turn the Tulsa Jail operation back over
to the sheriff in a 4-3 vote Friday. Undersheriff Brian Edwards said he
thought the sheriff's public accountability, local presence and community involvement
were the key factors in the selection. "I think that we presented a
solid plan," Edwards said. "I think the trust authority's going to
give us an opportunity to prove ourselves. That's just what we intend to
do." The Tulsa Jail has been under the management of Nashville-based
Corrections Corporation of America since August 1999. CCA's contract with the
Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority expires June 30, but officials are
hoping the company will agree to stay an additional 180 days to allow the
sheriff's transition team six months to prepare for the takeover. The
authority decided to seek new proposals for running the jail after it
struggled with a $2.9 million deficit this budget year. Sheriff Stanley
Glanz, CCA, the GEO Group (formerly Wackenhut) of Boca Raton, Fla., and
Correctional Services Corp. of Sarasota, Fla., responded with bids. The
authority discussed the issue for about an hour Friday morning before a
standing-room-only crowd of largely CCA employees before deciding it would
give the sheriff as many as three years to see how well he performs.
Commissioner Randi Miller made the motion in favor of the Sheriff's Office
early in the discussion, and it was seconded by Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune,
who made the most arguments in favor of Glanz. Commissioner Bob Dick said he
came to the meeting prepared to vote for the GEO Group, but he ended up being
the deciding vote in favor of the sheriff. Dick was part of a unanimous vote
in 1997 to turn over the jail operation to CCA after its bid came in $2
million cheaper than the sheriff's. This time the sheriff was about $2
million cheaper than CCA.
March 18, 2005 KOTV
The Tulsa County jail's new operator is the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.
The jail is currently operated by Corrections Corporation of America. Last
month, the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority ordered the re-bidding.
CCA and the sheriff's office was two of four bidders who submitted bids.
During a meeting Friday morning, the authority voted 4 to 3 in favor of
returning the operation of the jail to the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.
February 6, 2005 Tulsa World
Tulsa County's sheriff and a Florida counterpart have differing viewpoints on
public vs. privately run. Faced with rising costs at privately operated
facilities, both Tulsa County and Hernando County, Fla., are trying to
determine how their jails can be run for less money. But while Tulsa County
Sheriff Stanley Glanz thinks he can run a jail cheaper than Corrections
Corporation of America, Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent has no
interest in running a jail and says he can't do it for less. Times have changed since sheriffs
operated jails with budgets based on the number of prisoners they held,
Nugent said. Glanz said the reason he is in the running to operate the jail again
is because he believes his office can help the community. The sheriff never
believed the Criminal Justice Authority should have turned over the operation
to a private operator in 1999, when Tulsa's new jail opened. He blamed that
decision on politics and fought it in court, but lost. "They have a
company and they run a business for profit, where I'm a law enforcement
official and I would run the facility in the best interest of the law
enforcement community," Glanz said. Collin County
(Texas) Sheriff Terry Box said that running a jail is about more than who has
the lowest bid. Box's office operates the county jail in McKinney, which
Glanz's office has used as a model for the direct supervision style of
management used at the Tulsa Jail. "I would never want to have a private
firm have someone behind bars for a county operation. Because in a county
jail, there's a lot of innocent people in jail. It's kind of odd to me to
give that kind of constitutional authority over to a private firm," Box
said. In Tulsa County, the jail tab paid to CCA has increased to $22.1
million in 2004 from $15.6 million in 2001. Glanz submitted a proposal to run
the jail in December that was at least $2 million less than what CCA is being
paid, sparking a movement to seek formal proposals from potential jail
operators.
January 25, 2005 Tulsa World
Efforts to reduce the jail budget have mainly focused on CCA's contract to
operate the Tulsa Jail. But Corrections Corporation of America officials
question why other jail-related costs funded by the quarter-penny sales tax
are not part of the discussion along with some of the ideas they have
suggested to help reduce costs and boost revenues. "I can understand
their point of view," said County Commissioner Bob Dick, chairman of the
county's Criminal Justice Authority. "We're looking at every way
possible, but the obvious big dollars are in the contract." In the five
years since CCA first won the jail contract, its per-inmate-day fee has risen
32 percent, while the total amount it has been paid has gone up 42 percent in
four years. CCA was paid $15.6 million in its first full year of operations
in 2000-01, and it received $22.1 million in 2003-04. The average daily jail
population has gone up from 1,135 inmates in 2000 to 1,250 inmates in 2004.
The Criminal Justice Authority is taking bids for a jail operator. The
sheriff, CCA and an unknown number of private operators are expected to vie
for the contract. Glanz
maintains he can operate a better jail for less money because he doesn't have
to earn a profit.
January 9, 2005 Tulsa World
At least 17 Tulsa Jail inmates have died since Corrections Corporation of
America took over operations, four times the number who died in the jail the
previous five years, a review by the Tulsa World has found. The deaths
include three suicides in the jail's medical unit. Another inmate who died
from a brain aneurysm displayed signs of a head injury for weeks following
assaults in the jail, but prison medical staff claimed his problems were
"all in his head," records show. Sheriff Stanley Glanz said private
companies have an incentive to keep medical costs low, which can lead to poor
care for inmates. Glanz has made a proposal to take over operations of the
jail when CCA's current contract expires in June. The county's Criminal
Justice Authority is considering whether to extend the contract and has
requested proposals from Glanz and other private operators. The Tulsa
World reviewed all deaths in the jail since Jan. 1, 2000, the first full year
that the Nashville-based company operated Tulsa's new 1,440-bed jail. During those five years, at least 17
people died in the jail or at medical facilities following illnesses or
injuries at the jail. From 1995 through 1999, there were four deaths in the
jail operated by the sheriff. Records show several Tulsa Jail inmates
who died were suffering from cancer or other serious ailments and those
deaths were likely little surprise to authorities. But even in those cases,
records show an apparent indifference to inmates' medical problems among some
CCA employees. Sondria Allen was jailed July 26, 2004, on
larceny and other complaints and initially housed in the jail's medical unit.
Three days later, on July 29, Allen was transferred out of the medical unit
to a segregation unit. The officer states that the other
officers told him Allen "was very dramatic and would probably try faking
something. I was told that she was in medical on suicide watch at one point
and if she left medical she would hurt herself." Allen was found unresponsive in her
cell about four hours later. Other cases drew sharp criticism from
jail inspectors. Jail staff failed to notice or document that inmate Merlin
Lee Foster had not eaten for four days before his death on June 18, 2000,
from a bowel infarction. "It is apparent in the medical file that Foster
complained about his stomach hurting since May 16," states a report by
jail inspector Loyd Bickel. "It is also
apparent that prescribed treatment was not working." Bickel notes that
medical staff were not responding to requests for treatment within the
required 48 hours and medical files were in disarray. "I find it to be
an enormous red flag of the inadequacy in rendering treatment as well as
adequate charting of the inmate's condition that it is verified that his medical
file was lost for a period of five days," his report states. Foster, 62,
died at a hospital following surgery. His widow, Peggy Sue Foster, sued and a
jury found in favor of CCA and other defendants. CCA's press release
following the suicide of inmate Cory Adam Morris stated: "Although a
loss of life did occur, CCA employees followed policies and procedures."
In fact, the state jail inspector cited the company with numerous lapses in
Morris' hanging death. Morris, 20, was found hanging in a cell from a sheet
tied to his bed at 4:50 p.m. on Jan. 15, 2000. The company's initial
statement said Morris was seen "acting normally" during a routine
check at 4:25 p.m. According
to an investigation by the Jail Inspection Division, Morris had apparently
been dead for awhile before anyone noticed.
"Hourly prisoner checks were not conducted or documented and shift
change counts were not conducted or documented according to the state
standards." The report notes that an inmate was "allowed to conduct
security checks for the officer on duty and was allowed to have supervision
over other inmates. CCA later reported that its press release was inaccurate
and that pod officers had not actually seen Morris during the last check. Two
correctional officers were fired. While Morris was held in the general
population, three suicides have occurred in the jail's medical unit, records
show. Among the jail's deaths from natural causes is a
case in which CCA was cited for failing to seek appropriate medical attention
for an inmate who was assaulted. For weeks after he was assaulted by inmates
in the jail on Nov. 25, 2000, inmate Leonia Sanchez Arriaga displayed signs
of a head injury. A jail inspector's report states that while he was in the
medical unit, Arriaga complained of headaches, buzzing in his ears and was
"crawling around on all 4s and climbing on top of the sinks and toilet
within the facility. He is also reported as confused and to have an unsteady
gait." Arriaga was taken to
a hospital, where he reportedly refused treatment, and was returned to the
jail's general population. The inmate attacked Arriaga, striking him numerous
times in the head, the report states. Arriaga, 31, continued to display signs
of a head injury and was transferred to the medical unit. On Dec. 8, records
state he was confused, disoriented and "crawling on all fours."
Jail staff, however, did not request that Arriaga be examined at a hospital
but instead sent him to court for a hearing in his DUI case. Arriaga attended
his court appointment in a wheelchair and "became incontinent," the
jail inspector's report states. He was returned to the jail and transported
to a hospital later that evening. Arriaga died at the hospital before surgery
could be performed. Hospital tests showed Arriaga died Dec. 13, 2000, from a
ruptured brain aneurysm and his body was returned to family in Mexico. The
medical examiner ruled his death was due to natural causes. On the day
following Arriaga's death, Masek, the contract
monitor at the jail, said he would investigate the matter. He said at the
time that Prison Health Services, the private company which CCA contracted
with to provide medical care in the jail, "went to great lengths to take
care of this guy." In
its investigation, the jail inspector's office cited CCA with numerous
failures, including failing to give Arriaga appropriate medical care,
delaying transportation to a hospital, failure to accurately document the
assaults and failure to contact the jail inspector's office until four days
after his death. In April 2001, CCA ended its contract
with Prison Health Services. At the time, CCA Director of Communications
Steve Owen said the move "enables us to be more responsive to our
customers." But according to a memo dated May 31, 2001, the company was
also working hard to control medical costs. The memo on file at the state
Jail Inspection Division states that a CCA nurse called that day to report
that "med help must leave when they've put in 40 hours and stay
gone." The nurse told the jail inspector's office she stayed one hour
overtime to finish paperwork for the next shift "and was called at home
and told 'she'd better watch out,' " states the memo to state Jail
Inspector Don Garrison. "She
has been a nurse for 33 years and states she has no desire to throw mud at
her employer (CCA). However, proper medical care is not being administered.
When their 40 hours are up, that's it," the memo states.
January 7, 2005 Tulsa World
Current access to the inmates is criticized, but Sheriff Glanz says he
would improve conditions. Some Tulsa ministers say they would like to see a
more "pastor-friendly" environment at the Tulsa Jail and believe
that would happen if the sheriff were back in charge. The Rev. Melvin L.
Bailey of Shiloh Baptist Church said personal contact with inmates is difficult
when conversations must occur through glass and there is a fear of being
overheard. "We'd like to be able to hold the hand of an inmate," he
said. Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz said he would allow ministers free
access, as he did before politics took the responsibility for the jail away
from him. The news media was invited to a Thursday gathering of about two
dozen pastors and members of the Sheriff's Office at St. Andrew Missionary
Baptist Church. Glanz told the group that his father was a minister, "so
I know what you guys do." St. Andrew's pastor, the Rev. Bertrand Bailey,
said ministers in his area are not happy with the access that Corrections
Corporation of America allows them to inmates. He said he hopes ministers
would try to influence a decision to return the jail operation to the
sheriff. The financially troubled Criminal Justice Authority, which governs
the jail operation, is seeking proposals to run the jail from the sheriff and
as many as seven private operators, including CCA, which has held the jail
contract since August 1999.
January 2, 2005 AP
The number of potential private jail operators has more than tripled
since officials shopped for someone to run the Tulsa Jail six years ago. In
1998, the choice of private operators was between Corrections Corporation of
America, which won the contract, and Wackenhut Corp., now known as the GEO
Group. Now the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office and as many as seven private
companies could be submitting proposals to run the David L. Moss Criminal Justice
Center. CCA's contract expires at the end of June, and another deficit of
about $5 million is projected for the next fiscal year. The Tulsa County
sheriff enters the ring again as a potential jail operator after a five-year
hiatus. Sheriff Stanley Glanz launched a court battle several years ago
against the creation of the Criminal Justice Authority and its decision to
turn the jail operation over to CCA. He lost that fight but has maintained
that a jail is a sheriff's responsibility and should not be operated by a
private company out to make a profit.
December 19, 2004 Tulsa World
The sheriff's department estimates its plan will save $2 million over current
jail operator CCA. The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office believes it can operate
the Tulsa Jail for less money than Corrections Corporation of America because
of the management style it would implement. Interim Undersheriff George
Haralson said that the sheriff's office would operate the jail as a
"direct supervision" facility, which requires fewer employees
because only one detention officer is assigned to supervise inmates in each
housing pod. Haralson has also touted the sheriff's proposal because it is
based on a fixed price of $19.2 million, while there is no ceiling on what
CCA can be paid each year because its payment is based on jail population.
The Tennessee-based company's compensation rate is based on a per-inmate,
per-day rate that is estimated to cost about $23 million this year. The
Criminal Justice Authority requested the sheriff's proposal so that a cost
comparison could be conducted. Those results, in part, prompted the authority
to decide it will take new bids on the jail contract. An operator is expected
to be selected by the end of March. CCA is in its final year of a three-year
contract, with two one-year renewal options. Haralson told the authority that the sheriff has
agreed to pay for any startup costs out of his budget or cash fee accounts if
he is chosen to run the jail.
December 17, 2004 Tulsa World
Tulsa County may have to rely more heavily on its cash funds and other tax
streams to free up property tax dollars for the Criminal Justice Authority's
lagging jail budget. The Criminal Justice Authority meets Friday to consider
its budget and contract for jail operations. The Budget Board also meets
Friday to take action on an expected request from the Criminal Justice
Authority to help cover its projected $2.9 million budget deficit. Sheriff
Stanley Glanz said he hasn't spent any of his cash funds this year in case
the jail operation is returned to him. The sheriff has been asked to submit a
cost proposal to run the jail so it can be compared to Corrections
Corporation of America, the private operator at the jail since 1999.
December 14, 2004 Tulsa World
The jail trust authority discussed several solutions that may solve its
short-term financial troubles by seeking assistance from Tulsa County
authorities and the county Budget Board. The county's fiscal officer, Jim
Smith, told the Criminal Justice Authority during a special meeting Monday
that the $3.7 million deficit has been revised to $2.9 million. In addition,
the sheriff has been asked to submit a cost proposal to run the jail. A
report, prepared by commissioners' chief deputy Paul Wilkening,
is supposed to be released this week that will compare the sheriff's costs to
the Corrections Corporation of America, the private operator that runs the
jail. Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune said the comparison needs to be done because
CCA's current contract is a large component of the deficit. LaFortune was the
only Criminal Justice Authority member who voted against the CCA contract two
years ago. DOC officials have previously recommended that the Criminal
Justice Authority look to other jurisdictions who could house state inmates
cheaper than CCA, but the contract with CCA prevents it from doing that.
December 12, 2004 Tulsa World
Corrections Corporation of America could reduce its $48.60 per inmate daily
compensation rate at the Tulsa Jail by nearly $12 if it no longer provided
booking, transportation, holding and medical services. But the Tulsa County
Criminal Justice Authority would have to look to other entities to provide
those services more cheaply than CCA before it could see any savings. Records
show that the Nashville, Tenn.-based company has outlined other potential
cost reductions, including the removal of on-site monitoring of its operation
by Criminal Justice Authority employees. The Criminal Justice Authority is facing a
projected $3.7 million budget shortfall, but Chairman Randi Miller has said
hiring other entities to perform some jail functions just seems like
cost-shifting. A report is submitted to the authority each month
that addresses staffing levels, maintenance, escapes/wrongful releases,
inmate deaths and medical services. But
an inmate release time survey is no longer included in Contract Monitor Joe Masek's monthly report to the authority. "Questions
are being raised again that it's taking a long time to get out of jail, so I
feel it's my duty," Masek said last month
following a complaint from an inmate's father. Committee member Robert Breuning has complained that the county doesn't allow the
committee to perform its role as a watch dog so members have lost interest.
He asked the Criminal Justice Authority in March to appoint new members
because the 14-member committee was down to seven members.
December 10, 2004 Tulsa World
Tulsa County bears no liability for the jail authority's projected $3.7
million budget deficit, but it could voluntarily transfer general funds to
save the authority from indebtedness, according to a district attorney's
opinion. The county's Budget
Board in the past has approved transferring general funds to the Tulsa County
Criminal Justice Authority, records show. Transfers from the authority to the
general fund have also occurred. County officials have been hesitant to say
what should be done about the Criminal Justice Authority's budget, which has
a cash balance that has dwindled to $6,097 from $994,299 as jail costs
continue to outpace incoming revenues. County employees could be affected by
a cut or reduction in benefits. Property owners could also be affected if the
deficit goes unchecked and the Criminal Justice Authority is sued for unpaid
bills by jail operator Corrections Corporation of America or other entities.
December 9, 2004 Tulsa World
The proposal is being hampered by the Tulsa County Criminal Justice
Authority's financial troubles. Corrections Corporation of America officials
have confirmed that they are marketing available beds at the Tulsa Jail to
the Kansas Department of Corrections. However, the effort to house
out-of-state prisoners is being hampered by the Tulsa County Criminal Justice
Authority's financial troubles, which have the Nashville, Tenn., company
wondering whether it will be in Tulsa after its contract to run the jail
expires in June. "We're
holding back on who we're going after," said Jennifer Taylor, CCA's
senior director of business development. "It's not good to be
uprooted," which would happen to potential Kansas inmates if CCA's
contract with the Criminal Justice Authority to run the jail is not renewed or
if the company leaves because the authority can't pay its debt. Criminal
Justice Authority Chairman Randi Miller has been in talks with CCA in an
effort to lower jail costs, but she said she didn't know anything about the
proposal to house Kansas inmates. She said CCA has mentioned the idea several
times but the authority has had no discussions on it.
December 5, 2004 Tulsa World
Tulsa County taxpayers are paying 30 percent more to run the Tulsa Jail than
the average amount that other jurisdictions pay Corrections Corporation of
America at facilities it manages across the nation. In its latest financial
report to investors, records show the Tennessee-based company's daily revenue
per inmate averages $37.52 among the 26 facilities it manages but does not
own. Locally, taxpayers
are paying CCA $48.60 per inmate daily at the David L. Moss Criminal Justice
Center, owned by the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority. Oklahoma
County's per diem rate has been $35 a day for the past three years, according
to the sheriff's office, which operates the jail. Dick said CCA indicated to
him that it makes a profit of about $1 million a year in Tulsa in its current
contract. Based on the $22,179,438 CCA was paid in 2003-04 that would be
about a 5 percent profit. In the five years since CCA first won the jail
contract, its fee has risen 32 percent, while the total amount it has been
paid has gone up 42 percent in four years. Ken Kopczynski, who operates a Florida-based watchdog group
called the Private Corrections Institute, said Tulsa's jail problems are not
unique. "You are basically getting the same issues everywhere. The
prices are escalating. They (CCA) just walked away from a contract in Nevada
because they low-balled it, and they came back begging for more money,
particularly for medical costs." Kopczynski
said private prison operators "say they can do it better and cheaper,
but . . . they have to provide a profit to their shareholders. On top of
that, they have to contribute thousands of dollars to politicians." In
Florida, state law requires that use of private prisons results in a 7
percent cost savings. CCA runs six private correctional facilities in that
state: three jails and three prisons. A review by the Florida Legislature
found that only one in five private prisons operated by CCA and another
company met the requirement.
December 2, 2004 Tulsa World
Four members of the
county Budget Board have called for a special meeting Friday to discuss the
use of general funds to compensate for the jail board's projected $3.7
million deficit. But Commissioners Randi Miller and Wilbert Collins say there
may be no alternative. Miller has mentioned the possibility
of reducing the county's contribution to certain employee benefit plans in an
effort to help pay for the jail. She
has also asked the sheriff to submit a proposal on running the jail in an
effort to see if the it could be operated for less
money. A contract with jail operator Corrections Corporation of America is up
for renewal in July. In the five years since CCA first won the jail contract,
its fee has risen 32 percent.
November 16, 2004 Tulsa World
Tulsa County's budget and jail boards scheduled and then canceled
back-to-back Tuesday meetings to act on a critical state audit and deal with
a $3.7 million hole in the county's jail budget. Tulsa County Commissioner
Randi Miller said the meetings were called off because negotiations with
Corrections Corporation of America -- the private contractor that operates
the county's jail -- aren't finished. The county wants to reduce CCA's $48.50
per-inmate, per-day compensation rate. In the five years since CCA first won
the jail contract, its fee has risen 32 percent.
October 30, 2004 Tulsa World
Two men wanted to ask the Criminal Justice Authority about jail procedures
and funding. Al Nichols and Clifton Sartin say they
would like to speak at a Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority meeting but
that the board doesn't allow public comment. Asked why authority meetings
don't have a public comment section, County Commissioner Bob Dick replied:
"Why should there be? To give someone a platform to rant and rave to me
isn't good policy." Both men attended Friday's authority meeting but
didn't speak. Nichols sent a letter
to the authority Oct. 13, asking to address the board regarding his son's
having been held in the Tulsa Jail for eight hours despite efforts to pay his
bail. But Nichols said his concerns can be answered only
by the authority because it has oversight of the jail, which is operated by
Corrections Corporation of America. "There are certain things CCA can't
correct," he said. Sartin said he wants an
explanation for the jail board's troubled finances. "Why are they going
bankrupt, and how will they pay for the jail if it does?" he asked.
October 28, 2004 Tulsa World
A consultant's draft report commissioned by the Tulsa County Criminal Justice
Authority suggests no specific solutions on how the governing body should
combat a projected $6 million deficit in the jail budget, officials say. County Commissioner and authority
Chairwoman Randi Miller said the draft report is too vague and doesn't really
identify any specific cost savings. Michael A. O'Toole & Associates of
Denver was paid $20,000 for an efficiency analysis of the jail, which is
operated by Corrections Corporation of America. But Sheriff Stanley Glanz,
who is nursing a broken leg after a lawn-mowing accident, said he has
reviewed the report. "One of my concerns is the
county's broke," he said. "I cut my budget 20 percent from what I
requested. The county does not have the money to pick up funding of the
jail." In the five years
since CCA was given the jail contract, its fee has gone up 32 percent -- to
$48.60 from $36.76 per inmate per day.
October 27, 2004 Oklahoman
Faced with an
anticipated budget shortfall, the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority
will consider new staffing recommendations for the county jail Friday.
The authority pays Corrections Corporation of America on a per-inmate basis
and expects the bill for this fiscal year to be $23 million. But based on
experience in past years, the authority estimates a sales tax dedicated to
the jail's operations will raise only $18 million during the fiscal year,
which began July 1. That is why the authority hired a consultant to review
the operation and its staffing levels. The authority would like to
renegotiate the contract that allows Corrections Corporation of America to
increase its fees. On
July 1, for example, the corporation's charges for each prisoner went up from
$47.18 a day to $48.60 a day. Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz,
who is not a member of the authority, has reviewed the report, he said
Tuesday. Glanz also wouldn't
discuss specifics, but maintains that his department could run the jail for
the same amount of money or less.
September 14, 2004 Tulsa World
The mother of an inmate who was found hanging by a ligature in his Tulsa
Jail medical cell has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Corrections
Corporation of America, the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority and the
city of Tulsa. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Darla Lamb, alleges that
authorities had reason to know that Scott Ray Dickens, 36, was suicidal but
failed to monitor him properly.
September 2, 2004
A man who served only about 2 1/2 years of a 16-year state court prison
sentence for college grade-altering offenses was arrested Wednesday after a
paperwork problem allowed him to be free for weeks before serving a
consecutive federal sentence. After federal officials learned of his
early release, Tarig Al-Taweel,
35, was arrested Wednesday afternoon by U.S. marshals at a residence where he
had been staying in the 1400 block of East 38th Place, Deputy U.S. Marshal
Rick Holden said. Holden said Al-Taweel was
arrested based on a one-year prison sentence U.S. District Judge James Payne
imposed last September. He was ordered to serve time in a federal
prison for taking an English proficiency test for another foreign student and
for mailing a threat to his former wife. Payne said then that he was
ordering the one-year term to run consecutively to the 16-year state sentence
because a concurrent term would be the sort of "leniency" he does
not support. Tulsa County jurors convicted Al-Taweel
in November 2002 of eight felonies linked to accusations that grades were
changed for Middle Eastern students at Tulsa Community College. Chris
Howard, a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of America, which operates
the Tulsa Jail, said Al-Taweel was in the jail from
Nov. 5, 2001, until Oct. 7, 2003, when he was transferred to the Oklahoma
Department of Corrections. Temporarily lost in the shuffle was the
one-year prison sentence Payne had imposed. Holden said Wednesday that
a U.S. Marshals Service detainer -- as well as documents temporarily
relinquishing federal custody of Al-Taweel -- were
provided to Tulsa Jail officials Nov. 18. That was a few weeks after
Payne had issued a formal written order setting out the terms he imposed at
the Sept. 26 sentencing hearing. CCA's Howard said Wednesday evening
that Al-Taweel was released into Department of
Corrections custody more than a month prematurely last fall. He said
that meant that certain paperwork -- such as the Marshals Service detainer --
did not follow Al-Taweel into the state
system. Both Moore and Corrections Department Assistant District
Supervisor Johnny Blevins said Wednesday that they did not see any reference
to the Marshals Service detainer in Al-Taweel's DOC
file. Howard said the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office -- not CCA --
compiles the list of inmates who are supposed to be taken from the Tulsa Jail
to state prison facilities. "Ordinarily inmates are not to be
moved to a DOC facility while they are still in our custody," Holden
said Wednesday. He said the Marshals Service is still in the "very
early stages" of determining exactly how this happened. (Tulsa
World)
August 28, 2004
A Colorado-based consulting firm has been selected to perform an
efficiency analysis of the Tulsa County criminal justice system.
Michael A. O'Toole & Associates of Denver was selected Friday from among
five firms that expressed an interest to the county Criminal Justice
Authority. The cost for the study will be confirmed once a contract is
successfully negotiated. Corrections Corporation of America operates
the Tulsa Jail, and its fee has gone up in the five years it has held the
contract by 32 percent -- to $48.60 from $36.76 per inmate per day.
Tulsa County Commissioner Randi Miller said O'Toole's firm definitely needs
to study CCA's compensation rate. Miller said officials might have to make
severe cuts to the county's general fund to counter a projected $3 million to
$5 million deficit in the criminal justice budget. (Tulsa World)
August 7, 2004
Five firms have expressed an interest in conducting an efficiency analysis of
Tulsa County's criminal justice system. Officials are looking for ways
to cut costs amid a projected $3 million to $5 million deficit in the
operating budget for the jail and other criminal justice-related
divisions. The jail has been operated by Corrections Corporation of
America since it opened in 1999. CCA's fee has gone up 32 percent -- to
$48.60 from $36.76 per inmate per day -- in the five years since it has had
the jail contract. (Tulsa World)
August 6, 2004
A Corrections Corporation of America employee was arrested Wednesday night in
the staff parking lot of the Tulsa Jail after a gun and a bag of marijuana
were discovered in his vehicle. Dustin Holley, 22, resigned from his
job as a corrections officer and was jailed on a misdemeanor complaint of
marijuana possession. He was released early Thursday. Chris Howard,
spokesman for CCA, which operates the Tulsa Jail, said employees who were
visually searching vehicles in the employee parking area noticed what
appeared to be a gun under the seat of Holley's vehicle. Holley allowed them
to search his vehicle, where they allegedly found a small bag of
marijuana. (Tulsa World)
July 25, 2004
The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority hopes to hire a consultant within
the next month to audit the criminal justice system's efficiency in an effort
to combat a projected $3 million to $5 million deficit this year. The
authority will ask the firm to review the contract with Corrections
Corporation of America, which operates the Tulsa Jail, and make
recommendations on ways to reduce costs. CCA's fee has gone up 32
percent -- to $48.60 from $36.76 per inmate per day -- in the five years it
has had the contract. Some think that is an incredibly steep increase.
(Tulsa World)
July 21, 2004
The mother of a man who died May 13 while incarcerated at the Tulsa Jail has
filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Corrections Corporation of
America. Tulsa police reported previously that Michael Andrew Jones,
27, apparently had killed himself using a plastic trash bag while in the
jail's medical unit, where he was being observed for seizures. Mary
Jane Jones alleges that the private jail operator was negligent in her son's
death because it did not provide ade quate
supervision. Jail officials previously reported that Michael Andrew Jones had
not been on suicide watch, and police said he had not threatened
suicide. Mary Jane Jones alleges that CCA should have known of her
son's medical and mental circumstances. She maintains in court documents that
her son suffered from a brain injury and was unable to care for himself or
function normally. Michael Andrew Jones was jailed on a charge of
violating. (Tulsa World)
June 15, 2004
County commissioners authorized a special state audit of their finance offices
Monday because of recent management changes and budgeting problems.
Commissioners and the county's jail authority are bothered now by escalating
costs to keep Corrections Corporation of America operating the Tulsa County
lock-up. The contract calls for the private firm to operate the county jail
for more than $23 million during the coming year. The problem for
county leaders is that a dedicated sales tax designed to pay for the
operation is raising only about $18 million a year. Commissioners can't
cut the budget of the jail operations because the county jail
authority's contract with Corrections Corporation of America can't be ended
without a 180-day notice period. Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz
said he has remained a critic of the county's jail authority since it opted
to use a private company to operate the facility. The problem with the
authority's current agreement with Corrections Corp. of America, Glanz said,
is that it pays the private company a daily rate for each inmate it keeps. Now,
the rate is $47.18. It is expected to climb to $48.60 on July 1. That's
a luxury his department never enjoyed when it operated a county jail, said
Glanz, who is running for re-election. "I don't know of any other
budget in county government that's doubled in five years," Glanz
said. (The Daily Oklahoman)
June 11, 2004
The family of a man who died in the lobby of the Tulsa Jail has settled a
federal lawsuit against the facility's operator. Plaintiffs' attorney
Joel LaCourse declined Thursday to disclose terms
of a settlement with Corrections Corporation of America, a private company
that operates the jail. CCA spokesman Chris Howard said he couldn't
disclose any details of the settlement. The family of Shane M. Spencer
also sued the city of Tulsa, which settled the claims against it for $200,000
but made no admission of wrongdoing. A complaint first filed in Seminole
County District Court in October 2002 stated that Spencer was arrested in
October 2001 after collapsing in an east Tulsa driveway while he was in
"an obvious state of alcoholic stupor." Two Tulsa police
officers then dragged Spencer, 27, into the jail on his face and
"dumped" him there, alleged the lawsuit, which was moved to federal
court in Tulsa in February 2003. The lawsuit alleges that CCA officials
allowed Spencer to lie face-down for several minutes before checking on him
and beginning efforts to save his life. (AP)
May 14, 2004
A David L. Moss
Correctional Center inmate died Thursday night in an apparent suicide. The
27-year-old inmate, jailed for an alleged violation of a protective order,
apparently killed himself by placing a plastic bag over his head, Detective Demita Kinard said. The man was being held in the
center's medical wing for psychiatric reasons. (Tulsa World)
November 18, 2003
A new state law that adds county sales taxes to residential energy bills is
expected to raise more than $4.5 million a year for the Tulsa Jail and local
capital improvement projects. Electricity and natural gas bills were
untaxed until the Legislature passed Senate Bill 708, which took effect on
Nov. 1. The law was written by Sen. Angela Monson, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep.
Clay Pope, D-Loyal. Paula Ross, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Tax
Commission, said the law attempts to clarify a 1999 commission ruling that
lifted a tax exemption for residential customers. A recent auditor's
report shows that the current sales tax stream for the Tulsa Jail is
insufficient to pay its operating costs. The Tulsa County Criminal
Justice Authority has tapped its reserve funds, which have shrunk from $11.9
million in 2002 to $5.8 million in 2003, the report shows. The
Corrections Corporation of America, which operates the jail, was paid close
to $21.1 million in 2003, a 22.8 percent increase from 2002. (Tulsa
World)
November 22, 2003
A pay-to-stay plan is a welcome source of new revenue but probably won't
solve all the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority's financial problems,
officials said. During a meeting Friday at which the plan
officially was approved, County Commission Chief Deputy Paul Wilkening said the authority could earn about $1.06
million a year by charging inmates for one night of their jail stay.
"The good news is that it helps the shortfall," Commissioner Bob
Dick said. "The bad news is that it sure doesn't make up for what the
state's doing to us." The number of state inmates at the Tulsa
Jail has been growing as the Department of Corrections has accepted fewer
inmates at its intake facility in Lexington. The DOC reduced the weekly number
of Tulsa County inmates it will accept to 36 from 52 last year. County
officials have watched the DOC-ready inmate population at the jail balloon
from 48 in October 2002 to 336 this month. In an interview Friday, DOC
spokesman Jerry Massie said the weekly number was reduced because last year
only an average of 36 inmates were actually transported to prison each week
by the sheriff. "The majority of the time, more often than not,
they don't send the full complement," he said. The authority is
only partially compensated for housing state inmates. The authority pays
private jail operator Corrections Corporation of America $47.18 a day for
each inmate, but the DOC reimburses the authority only $24 per day per
inmate. "That story can't be told too much or too often. The state
is giving us an unfunded mandate of about $4.8 million dollars a year right
now," Dick said. "The voters were kind enough in 1995 to vote a
permanent tax on sales, and I don't think they voted thinking that this is
going to subsidize the state system. I think they did it to take care of the
local jail problem." Massie said rural jails are more satisfied
with the $24 rate than Tulsa County. "It sounds like what Tulsa
County's problem is is (that) their per-diem rate
is so high," he said. "They'd probably be happy if it covered their
cost; it wouldn't be as big of issue for them." Wilkening previously has mentioned that the authority
might want to pursue legal action against the state for causing the authority
to have financial problems. Jim Orbison, the authority's attorney, said
before Friday's meeting that a lawsuit would be a last resort. A recent
auditor's report shows that the current sales tax stream is insufficient to
pay jail operating costs. The Criminal Justice Authority has tapped its
reserve funds, which have shrunk from $11.9 million in 2002 to $5.8 million
in 2003, the report shows. CCA was paid nearly $21.1 million in 2003, a 22.8
percent increase from 2002. Dick said instituting the pay-to-stay plan
is the "right move" and that the authority might want to consider
broadening the scope after monitoring the results for a period of time.
Prisoners will pay $47.18 for one night's stay -- the amount paid to CCA by
the authority. Inmates will be charged for only one day, regardless of the
length of their jail stay. Wilkening said judges
recommended the one-day charge because they felt that it would be easier to
collect. "It's a start, and it will generate a substantial amount
of money if collected," Wilkening said.
"If we can get a million-six or a million dollars and it can go back
into the operation of the jail, then that's something." CCA Warden
Don Stewart estimated that about 30 percent of inmates spend only one night
in jail. (Tulsa World)
June 18, 2003
A former Tulsa Jail corrections officer has been charged with participating
in a mail fraud scheme that took $1.2 million from WorldCom. Henry
Darian Wilson, 25, is charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tulsa with
participating in criminal activity with his sister, Alisha Nicole Johnson,
from January 2001 to March 2002 while she worked at WorldCom. Charges
against Johnson, 31, are expected to be filed soon. The charge against
Wilson says Johnson was a senior accounting assistant who audited accounts
payable and approved payment invoices. Prosecutors allege that she
submitted false invoices to WorldCom's check-writing center in Virginia in
the name of an Oklahoma City company that was a legitimate supplier of goods
and services to WorldCom. Wilson, who lists a Coweta home address, is accused
of renting a mail box in Oklahoma City in the company's name, retrieving the
checks as they came in and having them deposited in bank accounts in Oklahoma
City and Oceanside, Calif. Wilson was a corrections officer from July
2000 to February 2001 at the Tulsa Jail, which is operated by Corrections
Corporation of America, CCA spokesman Chris Howard said. He said Wilson
resigned without notice. (Tulsa World)
May 30, 2003
The Tulsa Jail will have a $6.3 million budget deficit by the end of June,
the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority was told Thursday. County
Fiscal Officer Wayne Carr cited a litany of factors
contributing to growing detention costs and made suggestions on how to reduce
the jail's inmate population. The authority has to pay jail operator
Corrections Corporation of America for those inmates at the normal rate of
$45.81 a day and is only reimbursed $24 per inmate by the state. Carr said the state frequently falls behind in its
payments and currently owes the authority about $380,000. (Tulsa World)
May 28, 2003
The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority decided Friday to allow a
Texas-based company to charge the public to access inmate information from an
Internet site. Some public records questions still need to be answered,
however. Metric Technologies has been providing the service for free since
Aug. 5 at http://tulsa.inmatecenter.com. Now the company is asking to be
compensated for the service, starting June 5. The company gave the authority
three options: paying $29,500 for the service for two years; paying $8,000
and passing off other charges to the public through a subscription-based
system; or terminating the site. According to the Oklahoma Open Records Act,
public documents should be open to inspection and public bodies can charge
only for the direct cost of reproducing a document at 25 cents per page.
Search fees are not allowed if a document is in the public interest. Calls to
Metric Technologies on Friday were not returned. Trimble said the system has
been a huge benefit and savings to jail operator Corrections Corporation of
America, which doesn't have to answer as many public inquiries. (Tulsa World)
April 28, 2003
A clerical error has led to another mistaken release from the Tulsa Jail,
officials said Friday. Marvin Branham, a spokesman for Corrections
Corporation of America, which operates the Tulsa Jail, said the jail released
Dixon because workers received an "order of release from custody"
for him from the court clerk's office. Court Clerk employee Sonya Smith
said it appears that when the bond was paid for Dickson, it was recorded as
paid for Dixon's case number, not Dickson's. In 2001, errors led to the
mistaken releases of three inmates and two ere
mistakenly released last year from the Tulsa Jail. (AP)
March 27, 2003
A woman sues two corrections companies and an escapee who is accused of
killing her husband. A wrongful death suit was filed this week in
connection with the Christmas Eve shooting of a Tulsa man that allegedly was
carried out by an escapee from the Riverside Intermediate Sanction
Unit. Virginia Qureshi filed the suit on behalf of her late husband,
Zubair Qureshi, previously referred to as Mohammad "James" Qureshi,
53, who was working behind the counter of the 24-hour U-Stop, 2520 E. Mohawk
Blvd., when he was killed. Defendants in the suit are the Corrections
Corporation of America, which operates the Tulsa Jail; Avalon Correctional
Services, which operates the Riverside facility; and Markis
Daniels Rogers, who escaped from the Riverside facility Nov. 24. Martin
and Associates is representing Qureshi. The law firm alleges that CCA
employees transferred Rogers to the low-security Riverside facility operated
by Avalon but continued to charge the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority
to house him. It alleges that CCA paid a
Avalon a lower rate to house Rogers and pocketed the difference.
Attorney C. Rabon Martin, said that whether CCA
made a profit by sending Rogers to the Riverside facility is
irrelevant. "The meat and potatoes is that
they took a very dangerous guy to Avalon in low-security," he
said. Rogers was sent to the Riverside facility by mistake.
(Tulsa World).
January 20, 2003
A federal lawsuit filed by
the estate of an inmate who died after becoming ill at the Tulsa Jail in July
1998 has been settled on confidential terms, attorneys said Wednesday. Jeannie Edwards of Okmulgee County filed
the suit in January 2000 after her brother, Gregory Allen Pope Sr., was
pronounced dead at Tulsa Regional Medical Center on July 1, 1998. The lawsuit originally listed both the city
of Tulsa and Tulsa County among the defendants, but eventually only Wexford
Health Sources, the jail's health services contractor at the time of Pope's
death, remained. The plaintiff claimed
that Pope, 34, began vomiting and convulsing and that a trusty notified a
nurse, who then allegedly chose to continue talking on a telephone instead of
responding immediately to Pope's medical needs. The estate alleged that 30 to 45 minutes
passed before the nurse was brought to the scene by corrections
officers. Pope was taken by ambulance
to TRMC, the lawsuit states. The estate claimed that Pope died of cardiac
arrhythmia brought on by breathing in his vomit. (Tulsa World)
December 27, 2002
A man who was
critically injured when he was beaten by a fellow Tulsa Jail inmate has
settled his lawsuit against the jail's operator under confidential terms, an
attorney for the organization said Thursday. Brandon McKnight had sued
Corrections Corporation of America, the private company that runs the jail,
on May 31 in federal court. He claimed that CCA was negligent in placing him
in the same cell as Joshua Cudjoe on Jan. 27, 2001. Cudjoe was found guilty
in May 2001 of assaulting and battering McKnight with an intent to do bodily
harm. A corrections officer was fired for failure to perform his job
properly in relation to the episode, in which McKnight suffered severe trauma
to the throat, face and head, reports show. (Tulsa World)
December
23, 2002
A burglary suspect who was shot by Broken Arrow police hanged himself with a
bed sheet in a Tulsa Jail. Scott Ray Dickens, 36, was discovered
hanging in a medical cell about 9:05 p.m. Saturday, jail spokesman Chris
Howard said. Howard said Dickens had been jailed on charges including
possession of a stolen vehicle and armed robbery. (AP)
December 18, 2002
Tulsa County officials say
reductions in the number of sentenced inmates being accepted each week by the
Department of Corrections is creating a backlog of prisoners
being housed in the Tulsa Jail at the expense of local taxpayers. On Monday, 164 inmates were ready to go to
the DOC's intake facility at Lexington, but the Sheriff's Office will only be
al lowed to take 35 of them this week. If
conviction and arrest rates stay the same, officials fear that number will
continue to grow. The DOC reimburses
the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority $24 a day for each prison-ready
inmate housed at the Tulsa Jail. But because the authority pays Corrections
Corporation of America a daily per-inmate rate of $45.81, each of those state
inmates wind up costing taxpayers $21.81 a day. A task force has been formed to examine
ways to reduce the jail population. Dick said discussions with Corrections
Corporation of America, which operates the Tulsa Jail, are under way to house
those arrested for public drunk at a lower cost. (Tulsa
World.com)
September 22, 2002
Corrections Corporation of America terminated a new employee this week after
she was arrested for possession of a controlled drug. Daniele Marie Niedzialkowski, 25, was arrested Tuesday evening along
with three others at a south Tulsa apartment. CCA spokesman Chris
Howard said Niedzialkowski was fired shortly after
her arrest. She had been working as a corrections officer at the Tulsa Jail
after going through training in July. Tulsa County sheriff's deputies
arrived at the home to serve two arrest warrants regarding Russell Gilbert
Campus, who, along with John Curtis Adams and Jason Michael Smith, was
arrested for possession of a controlled drug. Campus indicated to
deputies that he was employed by CCA, but Howard said Campus had only applied
for a job and had not been hired. (Tulsa World News)
August 25, 2002
A former inmate who alleges that she was raped by a former Tulsa Jail supervisor
is suing Corrections Corporation of America and past and present CCA
employees. A lawsuit filed Friday in Tulsa County District Court on behalf of
a 26-year-old woman alleges that she was "repeatedly raped and forcibly
sodomized" by Eugene Pendleton while she was in the jail. Pendleton
managed an addiction treatment unit at the CCA- operated Tulsa Jail. Former
Warden Jim Cooke hired Pendleton for that post in 2001. At the time, Cooke
said drug offenders relate well to someone such as Pendleton, who had
overcome addiction. Her suit alleges that Pendleton was negligently hired,
supervised and retained. It maintains that CCA, Stewart and Cooke knew of
Pendleton's "violent criminal background" before and during his
employment with CCA. Authorities with the Alabama Department of Corrections
said Pendleton spent 17 years in prison there for second-degree murder in the
death of a University of Alabama football player. He was released
from an Alabama prison in 1992, and he subsequently has worked at various CCA
facilities. (Tulsa World)
August 24, 2002
The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority paid more last month to operate
the jail than it earned from county sales taxes for the first time since the
facility opened in 1999. On Friday, the jail board approved the July
payment of more than $2 million to Tulsa Jail operator Corrections
Corporation of America, while only drawing $1.6 million from the county sales
tax that funds operations. But efforts are being made to avoid tapping
reserves. The transfer of about 100 inmates to a public drunk facility
will begin on Wednesday in an effort to decrease the jail population and curb
costs. The jail board will pay Avalon Correctional Services $29.99 a
day to hold an inmate at the former Adult Detention Center, now know as the Riverside Intermediate Sanction Unit.
CCA is paid $45.81 a day. If inmates are diverted to Avalon each day,
it will save about $500,000 a year. (Tulsa World)
August 16, 2002
An employees at the Tulsa Jail was fired after her mistake in procedure
allowed an inmate to walk out the front door. Chris Howard, spokesman
for Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the jail, said the inmate
followed a records clerk out of the booking area, past the inmate dressing
rooms and operations desk and around a corner to a hallway that leads to two
secure doors operated by the master control. The records clerk asked
the inmates where he was going. Unsatisfied by his response, the clerk
followed him to the doors, where he pushed a button requesting master control
to open the doors, Howard said. "The records clerk was waving to
master control not to open the doors," he said. But the doors were
mistakenly opened anyway. Stacy Barnes, the employee in master control
that night, was fired for failing to identify an individual verbally or
visually before opening two computer-operated doors that paved the way for
the man's escape. (AP)
August 13, 2002
A Tulsa Jail inmate's flight for freedom was
short-lived when he was caught by police less than three hours after his
escape, authorities said. Scoot Edmiston, 38, of Tulsa, who was at the
David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center on charges of driving under the
influence and no insurance verification, escaped around 9:15 p.m., jail
spokesman Chris Howard said. Edmiston was arrested by Tulsa police at
12:06 a.m. Sunday. The incident is under investigation, but it is
believed the escape occurred because a staff member failed to follow
identification procedures, Howard said. (Tulsa World.com)
July 30, 2002
The Tulsa County Criminal
Justice Authority has accepted a $200,000 offer from a bankrupt company that
failed to provide a computer system for the Tulsa Jail. The authority
accepted the offer on Friday. The total claim is nearly $600,000
for damages and incomplete work. But Dick said getting one-third of a claim
is "not bad" for a bankruptcy case. (Staff Reports)
July
27, 2002
Business is booming at the Tulsa Jail-- so much so that the officials are
looking for ways to lower inmate count to keep from busting the budget.
Jail board members said the increase in the inmate population could be linked
to an underused program designed to divert public drunks to a treatment
facility. A study points to an increase in bookings on charges that
could have been handled with a citation, jail board Chairman Bob Dick
said. "Apparently that's at least part of what's going on,"
Dick said. The current pace has the jail on track to owe Corrections
Corporation of America, which runs the lockup, more than $2 million for the
month of July, County Fiscal Officer Wayne Carr
said. That's more money that the county expects to collect in sales
taxes. To lower inmate housing costs, the jail board will begin housing
certain inmates in the former Adult Detention Center, a city-owned facility
at 1727 Charles Page Blvd. The jail board will pay Southern Corrections
Systems Inc. $29.99 per day for each inmate housed at that facility.
Southern Corrections already operates the public inebriate program. The
jail board approved a measure Friday that extends the public inebriate
program contract with Southern Corrections Systems until Nov.30 in hopes of
seeking the booking increase. (Tulsa World News)
May
27, 2002
Corrections Corporation of
America, negotiating for a new contract running the Tulsa City- County jail,
wants to charge inmates $8 every time they demand a sick call.
The fee, admittedly sometimes uncollectible, would slow the number of
frivolous sick calls, which CCA officers say are as high as 90 percent of all
claims of illness. Although the purpose of the fee is to reduce
infirmary visits, a co-pay charge will produce as much as $15,000 a
year. Given that most sick calls are frivolous, jail attendants
should nevertheless be alert to spot genuinely sick inmates. Those jailed
often are suffering from drug and alcohol abuse and a bevy of diseases. None
of them should be denied the treatment they need. (The World)
May
26, 2002
The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority on Friday approved a new contract
with a private jail operator despite objections from Tulsa Mayor Bill
LaFortune. The three-year contract, with two one-year renewal
options, will pay Corrections Corporation of America at least $20.62 million
a year. That is a 20.6 percent increase from the estimated $17.1 million the
Tennessee- based company will earn in the last year of its current
contract. LaFortune cast the dissenting vote after asking
authority members to delay the vote for a month or even a week so that law
enforcement, particularly the Tulsa Police Department, would have an
opportunity to address ongoing concerns and make suggestions on the
contract. LaFortune also said he had not had enough time to
review the new contract. "I have only had this contract in
my hands since Monday," the new mayor said. "This contract is far
too critical to the public safety of Tulsans to be subject to such a rush
review." Palmer submitted a memo Friday to LaFortune that
commented on the new contract. In the pre-booking area, where officers have complained
about long waits Palmer said standards are set so low that CCA is never out
of compliance. He recommended that CCA be required to complete the prebooking
process in 30 minutes 90 percent of the time. The current standard is 75
percent. Palmer said the quality of fingerprinting, photography
and booking information at the jail "remains grossly inadequate for
investigative purposes." (World Staff)
May
23, 2002
Corrections Corporation of
America would be paid about $3.5 million more annually to operate the Tulsa
Jail if a proposed contract with the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority
is approved. While a majority of authority members say they are
in favor of signing a new contract with the Tennessee-based company, Tulsa
Mayor Bill LaFortune said he is undecided. The authority is
expected to vote as soon as Friday on a three-year contract, with two
one-year renewal options, that would pay CCA at least $20.62 million a year.
That is a 20.63 percent increase from the estimated $17.1 million CCA will
earn in the final year of its current contract. The authority would also pay
$1.4 million annually for utility costs, which CCA pays under its current
contract. LaFortune, the newest authority member, said he was just briefed on
the new contract Monday and may ask the authority to defer on voting
Friday. "I know the timing is important as far as getting
the contract in place, but I also believe that the public's interest
outweighs having to rush into a contract," Tulsa's new mayor said.
"To me, this is an extremely critical decision about the future of our
jail." LaFortune said he would like to speak to individuals
involved with operating the jail as well as members of the Tulsa Police
Department, which has previously expressed concerns about long waits to book
in prisoners. "That's a public safety issue, in my opinion,
because it takes that arresting officer off the street for that period of
time," he said. LaFortune said he also wants to be assured
that erroneous release problems have been addressed. (Tulsa World)
May 16, 2002
A female inmate at the
Tulsa Jail hoarded medication and wound up in the hospital Tuesday after
suffering the affects of an overdose.
Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Chris Howard said corrective
action would be taken against a medical assistant for failing to crush the
inmate's medication. Elizabeth C. Horton, 25, was in the process
of being transported to Corrections Department custody but was held back
because she was pale, groggy and disoriented, Howard said. Horton was on medication
not available in the liquid form, Webber said. CCA has maintained in the past
that it crushes psychotropic drugs prior to administration. An understanding
between CCA and the authority stemmed from CCA's being cited in a medical
audit last year for not purchasing psychotropic drugs in the liquid form as
required in its contract. Following an attempted suicide in
December, the authority gave CCA notice that it was still in violation of its
contract by not administering psychotropic drugs in the liquid form. (Tulsa
World)
May 11, 2002
The manager of the Tulsa Jail's female Addiction Treatment Unit is a
self-admitted drug offender. But authorities with the Alabama Department
of Corrections have confirmed that Eugene Pendleton also spent 17 years
in prison for second-degree murder. Former Warden Jim Cooke hired Pendleton
to run the women's Addiction Treatment Unit last year. At the time, Cooke
said that drug offenders relate well to someone such as Pendleton who has
overcome addiction. Pendleton has been working at various Correction
Corporation of America facilities since he left prison. Cooke first met
Pendleton in 1979 while he was serving his sentence in Alabama. Cooke worked
for the Alabama Department of Corrections at the time. Don Stewart, who became
warden of the Tulsa Jail earlier this year, said he was aware of Pendleton's
murder conviction but that prospective employees with felony convictions are
not automatically excluded from employment. Stewart said it's not unusual for
CCA's treatment employees to have had a criminal past. Court records
indicate that a female inmate alleges she was sexually assaulted by Pendleton
on Tuesday. A search warrant was filed Thursday in Tulsa County District
Court to obtain samples from Pendleton for DNA and forensic
testing. (The Tulsa World)
May 9, 2002
A female inmate has accused a male staff member at the Tulsa Jail of rape,
police said. The case is being investigated by the Tulsa Police
Department's Sex Crime Unit, Sgt. Gary Stansill
said. (The Tulsa World)
March 23, 2002
The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority has penalized the private company
that operates the Tulsa Jail for three mistaken releases last month. The
panel, which oversees the jail, voted unanimously Friday to reduce
compensation to Corrections Corporation of America by $5,625. The authority
has paid CCA roughly $2.6 million to operate the jail so far this year. Two
of the erroneous releases involved inmates who were still wanted in other
jurisdictions. (AP)
March 7, 2002
Financial sanctions against
the operator of the Tulsa Jail following two recent erroneous releases likely
will be discussed at the next meeting of the Tulsa County Criminal Justice
Authority on March 22. Tulsa County Commissioner Bob Dick said he
will suggest that the authority withhold compensation to Corrections
Corporation of America in accordance with its contract. "I
think we have a duty as an authority to take formal action," he said.
CCA's three-year contract is up for renewal in August, and negotiations
are under way. But Dick said the latest incidents should not affect those
talks. Though there is some conjecture among county officials
that the Sheriff's Office is going to get the jail back, Dick said it's
"way too early to say that." "I haven't had any
sense we weren't going to come to terms at some point. Our lawyer and their
lawyer are having some strong conversations about some language, especially
in regard to the breach area, but I'm comfortable that will be worked
out." Commissioner John Selph said
the latest mistaken releases, discovered Feb. 24 and 27, are the result of
employee negligence, and CCA should be penalized. "We need
to hold their feet to the fire," Selph said.
The jail board notified CCA in July that it was in breech
of its contract following two erroneous releases in May, but the board fell
short of fining the company. In other developments, six to eight
people have been identified in connection with the apparent illegal transfer
of more than $17,000 from the inmate account at the Tulsa Jail. (Tulsa World)
March 1, 2002
Police fraud and computer crimes detectives are investigating the disappearance
of more than $17,000 from the Tulsa Jail's inmate account. The money
apparently was withdrawn from the Corrections Corporation of America account
using either phone lines or the Internet, said Sgt. Tony Cellino,
supervisor of the Fraud Unit. (Tulsa World)
March 1, 2002
A convicted felon who was wanted by federal authorities for possession of a
handgun was mistakenly released from the Tulsa Jail last week. The mistake --
the second of its kind to be discovered in less than a week -- was realized
only after police arrested the man again Wednesday. The latest erroneous
release was discovered Wednesday when Lance J. Sherwood, 30, was arrested by
members of the Northern Oklahoma Fugitive Task Force in the parking lot of
the Target store at 71st Street and Memorial Drive. When officials looked at
his record, they realized that Sherwood still should have been in jail
following a previous arrest. CCA officials are exploring what further
action they can take against a jail intake clerk who was fired Monday
following Sunday's mistaken release of Courtney K. Thompson, 20. (Tulsa
World)
February 26, 2002
A female inmate who was wanted in Osage County was mistakenly released Sunday
morning from the Tulsa Jail. Courtney K. Thompson, 20, of
Pawhuska, was released from jail about 8:30 a.m. after posting bond on DUI
and traffic charges. She had been jailed since late Saturday.
Chris Howard, a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of America, said the
jail received information from the police about an hour before Thompson was
released that she was to be held for Osage County relating to charges of
assault with a dangerous weapon. "We received the add-on
charge, and the intake clerk failed to enter it into the computer,"
Howard said. The intake clerk, Ahmad Watkins, who had worked at
the facility for about a year, was fired as a result, Howard
said. Thompson was not back in custody Monday afternoon at either
the Tulsa Jail or the Osage County Jail. Charlie Cartwright, the
administrator of the Osage County Jail, said its lines of communication with
CCA in relation to inmate holds are not good. "The
communications we have between the public sectors and private sector that
operates that private facility" sometimes leaves "a lot to be
desired," he said. (Tulsa World)
February 8, 2002
A committee of prominent
lawyers will look at operations of the privately run Tulsa Jail, specifically
the release process. Attorney Allen Smallwood, who will be the
committee's chairman, said a wait of six to 18 hours for release -- after
charges are dismissed or bond has been posted -- is not unusual.
"I don't want to be ugly about it, but that place is 2-1/2 years old,
and we've had a lot of time for initial growing pains to be worked out,"
he said. Phil Frazier, president of the Tulsa County Bar Association, said
the committee was formed following complaints from attorneys and
residents. When the sheriff ran the jail, Frazier said, an
attorney or bond agent could secure a release in a matter of minutes. But long
waits have become the norm since CCA took over in August 1999, he
said. Longer jail stays also contribute to higher jail costs in
some cases. The Criminal Justice Authority pays CCA $38.02 a day
for each inmate, based on a midnight count. "It is
suspect," Frazier said. "I can think of no other reason why they'd
want to hold someone for an inordinate amount of time other than for some
financial gain." (Tulsa World)
December 21, 2001
A former jailer at the
David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center was sentenced Thursday to three years
and one month in prison for attempting to smuggle methamphetamine to an
inmate for $40. Edwin M. Vasquez, 47, was also ordered to serve
three years of post-custody supervised release and was fined $2,500 by U.S.
Senior District Judge H. Dale Cook. Vasquez received an enhanced
punishment for abusing a position of trust. Officials with Corrections
Corporation of America, the private company that operates the Tulsa Jail,
said Vasquez was fired the day he was arrested. (Tulsa World)
December 16, 2001
A city-county contract
committee negotiating with the company that operates the Tulsa Jail is
pushing a "categorized system" for inmate releases that will cut
down on delays. Apparently, every inmate -- even those who never change into
an orange jail jumpsuit because they are able to post bond -- is thrown into
the same boat when it comes to waiting. Slow release times have been a point
of contention with the authority since the jail opened under CCA's leadership
in August 1999. Officials have heard complaints from everyone
from the U.S. Marshal's Service to frustrated parents who have had problems
getting inmates out of jail when it's time for their release.
Slow releases also have a financial impact when an inmate who has already
posted bond is held past midnight, when inmates are counted. The Authority
pays CCA about $38 a day for each inmate. (Tulsa World)
December 8, 2001
Don Stewart will be the fourth since it opened. The Tulsa Jail
will get a fourth new warden in nearly 2-1/2 years of operation under
Corrections Corporation of America. Don Stewart, a warden at
CCA's McRae (Ga.) Correctional Facility, will become warden of the David L.
Moss Criminal Justice Center in the first week of January, the company
announced Friday. Warden Jim Cooke will be "appointed as
warden at an as yet undetermined CCA facility," the company
said. Cooke referred all questions about the move to company
spokesmen. The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority has found
CCA to be in breach of its contract to run the Tulsa Jail twice in the last
six months. The company was cited in July after two inmates were erroneously
released in May and again last week when it was discovered that jail medical
staff were administering psychotropic drugs in an improper form. (Tulsa
World)
December 1, 2001
Corrections Corporation of America violated its contract to run the Tulsa
Jail when Wayne Henry Garrison's psychotropic medication was not administered
in liquid form, a county official says. CCA incident reports obtained
by the Tulsa World show that Garrison, 42, was breathing and snoring
throughout the night but that staff could not wake him during medication
calls at 10 p.m. Tuesday and 3 a.m. Wednesday. Sentencing proceedings
for the convicted child murderer were delayed after Garrison was hospitalized
in critical condition Wednesday morning. Initial reports were that Garrison
was being treated for an overdose, though his defense attorney indicated that
he could have suffered a stroke. Tulsa County Criminal Justice
Authority Chairman John Selph said he is drafting a
letter to other board members to recommended that CCA be held in breach of
its contract. "The fact that he was given the antidepressant and
he was not given it in liquid form is in itself a violation of the
contract," Selph said. "It's simply
inexcusable." (Tulsa World)
December 1, 2001
A Tulsa County official is drafting a letter recommending that the private
company running the Tulsa Jail be held in breach of its contract for not
properly administering medication to a convicted killer. John Selph, chairman of the Tulsa County Criminal Justice
Authority, alleges that Corrections Corporation of America violated its
contract to run the facility when Wayne Henry Garrison was not given
psychotropic medication in liquid form. (AP)
November 16, 2001
A proposal to divert some Tulsa County Sheriff's Office duties to the
Corrections Corporation of America may help prevent accidental jail releases,
officials say. Representatives of the sheriff's office, the Tulsa
County Court Clerk's Office, CCA and others want to streamline the jail
release process while preventing bad releases. Four inmates have been
erroneously released in the past two months. The proposal would be for
CCA to hire two to three people whose primary responsibility would be in the
handling of jail commitments and releases. The Tulsa County Criminal
Justice Authority would be asked to fund the positions. CCA Warden Jim Cooke
said the new positions are not in the company's contract with the authority.
(Tulsa World)
November 7, 2001
Two inmates were erroneously released from Tulsa Jail custody last
week. Emily Diane Elmore was being held for failure to appear in court
for sentencing on a drug possession charge, court records show.
"The issuance of releases on cases previously dismissed should have
absolutely no affect on the system
whatsoever," Court Clerk Sally Howe Smith said. "I will admit and
take responsibility if I or my staff makes mistakes, but these are not my
mistakes, and I'm getting tired of trying to solve their problems while they
try to indirectly implicate that it's the fault of my office."
Smith said Corrections Corporation of America, the company that runs the
jail, should have noticed that the charges were already dismissed. In
another erroneous release identified by officials, Oscar Herrera, who was
sentenced to 40 years in prison for robbing two Tulsa convenience stores,
left the Tulsa Jail on Nov. 1 but was never out of custody. Masek said Herrera was transported prematurely to the
state Department of Corrections processing center in Lexington. (Tulsa
World)
October 27, 2001
Those attending the Tulsa
County Criminal Justice Authority meeting Friday seemed to be in agreement on
the "weakest link" that is resulting in erroneous releases from the
Tulsa Jail. As long as paperwork for commitments and release
orders remains separate and arrives at the jail at different times, some
inmates will get out of jail when they should still be locked up. CCA
acknowledges responsibility for four bad releases of inmates since it took
control of the jail in August 1999. The authority maintains that the
Tennessee-based company was in breach of its contract after two erroneous
releases in May. In other business, the authority approved a request for
additional funding to bring the Adult Detention Center up to code so Avalon
Correctional Services can operate the public inebriate alternative program
and facility for halfway house and public works offenders. Flintco project manager Mark Knowlton estimated the cost
at $48,421 and said the PIA program may be ready to start in December. (Tulsa
World)
October 14, 2001
Tulsa County officials are
looking into separate incidents in which Tulsa Jail inmates were released
after posting bond on lesser charges. Both later showed up for court on their
own. In one instance, a man sentenced to five years in the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections custody got a last weekend of freedom
after an apparent computer error. Edward Shannon, also known as Gary L. Shannon,
26, was sentenced Oct. 4 on a felony conviction of possession of firearms.
Meanwhile, officials are still trying to sort out how Clifford Williams was
allowed to bond out of jail on traffic charges stemming from a drug arrest.
Williams, 55, was originally charged with possession of drugs with the intent
to distribute. But that charge was amended to a lesser drug possession charge
on June 5 and Williams was bound over for trial. Williams was released after
posting bond on his traffic charges instead of the $25,000 bond on his drug
charge. The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority recently notified CCA
that it was in breach of its contract to operate the jail for past erroneous
releases. To date, Masek said CCA has not provided
a remedy or cure for those mistakes. (Tulsa World)
September 29, 2001
Members of the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority hope that long-awaited
inmate-tracking software will help alleviate some problems at the Tulsa
Jail. Particularly, they hope it will enable inmates to get out of jail
quicker after they have posted bond. Tulsa County Commissioner Bob Dick
said he sees a correlation between CCA's staff shortage and the delayed
release times. Tulsa County jail compliance officer Larry Merchant said the
entry-level staff who deal with releases could be another possible reason for
the delays. "That's where most of your turnover is, and so the
level of expertise hasn't been able to occur in that area," Merchant
said. Warden Jim Cooke said he is short 38 officers and training classes
for new employees start every other week. Since CCA is paid by the day
based on a midnight inmate count, Dick said delayed release times appear
suspicious. "As far as I'm concerned, if and when we rewrite the
contract, there has to be a provision that the clock stops running when the
bond has been posted," Dick said. (Tulsa World)
September 26, 2001
A Coweta man who was charged in a reported theft of $12, 234 from the Tulsa
Jail received a five-year deferred sentence Tuesday. Danny Dean Oliver
Jr., 21, pleaded guilty to grand larceny. He resigned following the
disappearance of money from a safe in the jail's administrative area in
April. A prosecutor said reports show that money in the safe had been
removed from people when they were booked into the jail. According to
Tulsa police, Corrections Corporation of America declined to continue an
investigation after the money was returned. County officials said
earlier that Oliver Jr. is the son of Danny Oliver, CCA's assistant chief of
security and a former detention officer for the Tulsa County Sheriff's
Office. (Tulsa World)
September 20, 2001
A former Tulsa jail employee has paid a high price for trying to smuggle
methamphetamine to an inmate for $40. Edwin M. Vasquez pleaded guilty
Wednesday to one count of a three-count federal indictment. Vasquez, 47,
worked for Corrections Corporation of America at the David L. Moss Criminal
Justice Center. (AP)
September 2, 2001
Stripping an empty Tulsa Jail housing pod for spare parts is a "bad
practice" that Warden Jim Cooke says he intends to stop.
Corrections Corporation of America has been informed by the county's contract
monitor that the missing items need to be replaced. The Tennessee
company, which operates the jail under contract, was also reminded that it is
responsible for keeping the 2-year-old facility in "good repair and in
good working order." The contract monitor, Joe Masek,
found pod J-7 inoperable because of missing cell doors, door handles, locks
and intercom speakers. "These items appear to have been scavenged
to repair items in other parts of the facility," Masek
said. "I feel strongly that these items should be replaced as soon
as possible." (Tulsa World)
August 29, 2001
Corrections Corporation of America has disciplined four employees following
the escape of an inmate who posed as another inmate scheduled for release
from the Tulsa Jail. (Tulsa World)
August 25, 2001
Higher cost have been incurred at the jail because of an increase in court
hearings. The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority on Friday
approved more than $333,000 in additional compensation to Corrections
Corporation of America that was not anticipated in original contract
negotiations with the Tennessee company to operate the Tulsa Jail. CCA
Warden Jim Cooke submitted a request to cover costs incurred from additional
court hearings at the Tulsa Jail. CCA officers are held from previous
shifts and work overtime to cover court needs, according to Cooke.
"It's another case of external forces impacting (the budget)," Commissioner Bob Dick said. Dick, as
well as Skiatook Mayor Don Billups and Commissioner Wilbert Collins,
expressed disappointment that the issue had not been foreseen in the original
contract and that the bill had just now been presented in an accumulated
sum. County Fiscal Officer Wayne Carr said
that the authority's budget, which comes from a 5/12ths cent sales tax, seems
to be incurring more and more unexpected expenses. "You amend the
budget by $300,000 and the cash cow is going to have to have more
cream," Carr told the authority. The
authority encountered other expenses as well Friday, approving more than
$355,000 in estimated maintenance costs at the Adult Detention Center.
Costs at the detention center are to bring the building up to code and to pay
for other maintenance in preparation for the operation of a 40-bed public
inebriate alternative program. Supporters say the program will reduce
jail costs by diverting public drunks from the jail and housing them for less
money and shorter lengths of time. Avalon Correctional Services has a
contract to operate the program while also staffing a minimum- to
medium-security halfway house and housing public works offenders.
(Tulsa World)
August 18, 2001
A Tulsa Jail inmate used the identity of another inmate who was scheduled for
release to walk out of the facility Thursday morning. Brandon Florence, 22,
who was being held on two counts of false declaration of ownership to a pawn
broker, switched identification badges with John W. Proffitt, 20, who was
serving an eight-day DUI sentence. Florence was still at large Friday and
faced additional felony charges of escape and false impersonation. He is the
second inmate to escape from the Tulsa Jail by impersonating another inmate.
In November, Brenda Wheeler, 41, used the armband identification bracelet of
another inmate to gain release. "CCA put things in place to stop this,
and it's continued," said Joe Masek, the Tulsa
County contract monitor for the jail. (Tulsa World)
August 14, 2001
A representative of the American Correctional Association was in Tulsa on
Monday for a second audit of the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center, a
Facility the accrediting group deemed "second-to-none" in
March. Former jail employees Debrah
Cartwright, who was an addictions treatment manager, and Shelle
Dummer, who was an addictions treatment counselor,
said the visit was prompted by documentation that they and other former and
current employees sent to the group. That documentation illustrates the
jail's practice of pepper-spraying inmates and restraining certain inmates
with leg irons, belly chains and handcuffs during their required recreation
hour. "We point-blank told them if they didn't check it out and
see what was going on, that we were going to turn it over to the media,"
Cartwright said. (Tulsa World)
August 7, 2001
A second jailer at the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center was arrested
Friday in connection with alleged drug smuggling inside the jail, authorities
said Monday. Robert Wayne Taylor, 37, was arrested on a complaint of
possession of marijuana inside a correctional facility with the intent to
distribute, police said. (Tulsa World)
August 4, 2001
Federal prosecutors have filed drug charges against a jailer at the David L.
Moss Criminal Justice Center for allegedly delivering simulated narcotics to
an inmate and illegally possessing a firearm that allegedly was also meant
for the prisoner. Edwin M. Vasquez, 47, was charged with attempting to
distribute less than 50 grams of a substance that appeared to be
methamphetamine as well as possessing a firearm that was not registered to
him. (AP)
August 2, 2001
A Tulsa felon who got 11 unscheduled days of freedom when he was erroneously
released from jail in May was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for
a marijuana offense. Prosecutors filed only a possession-with-intent
charge on May 23, for which Donald Abraham Manning was supposed to be held on
$45,000 bail. But the related second complaint was dropped, and a
Corrections Corporation of America booking supervisor authorized Manning's
release from jail without any bond being posted. Manning was arrested
again June 4 at a Tulsa residence. While free on the mistaken release,
he attended court for a May 31 arraignment, and officials realized he was
supposed to still be in jail. (Tulsa World)
July 28, 2001
Response to a Tulsa Jail inmate's sick call can take up to six days, due
largely to a shortage of nurses, according to a medical services audit
submitted Friday to the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority. That
situation was made worse this week, when four nurses quit "for personal
reasons," Corrections Corporation of America spokesperson Chris Howard
said. No action was taken on the audit at the authority's Friday meeting,
where members said they had not had a chance to review its findings.
The Tulsa Jail needs to have an obstetrician-gynecologist on contract to
visit the facility at least twice a month for female inmates. No such
doctor has been to the jail in the past year, records show. The audit
also found that the Tulsa Jail was not complying with National Commission on
Correctional Health Care standards that require dental exams within 90 days
of an inmate's admission. In addition, jailers have not been responding
to inmates' complaints about medical services within the required 15-day
period, records show. (Tulsa World)
July 20, 2001
The Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority decided against sanctioning
Corrections Corporation of America for the mistaken releases of two inmates
in May. Authority members voted 5-1 Thursday to give the Tulsa Jail
operator written notice that a breach occurred and offer the company a 30-day
"cure" period during which it would acknowledge the breach and
explain any changes that have been made to prevent errors from
recurring. (AP)
July 15, 2001
Nearly three out of four original employees at the Tulsa Jail no longer work
at the facility Corrections Corporation of America that began operating less
than two years ago. CCA reported a 72 percent turnover in staff between
August 1999 and June 2001. That means that of the 329 people who went
to work for CCA, 327 have departed while 92 have remained on staff. The
facility is also on its third warden since it opened. Warden Jim Cooke
said staffing is higher than it has ever been. Yet records show that
there were 36 overall vacancies at the facility in June 2001, compared to 20
in November 2000. CCA counts employees still in training and not able
to actually work in the facility as staffed
positions, a method that county officials say keeps the company within
contractual guidelines with the jail authority. Branham said there are
typically 20 to 23 people in training. Until the jail is fully staffed,
Cooke said he has condensed the five-week training period to 3-1/2 weeks in
order to get people to work sooner. The company emphasized that the
trainees are still in class the same number of hours. (Tulsa World)
June 23, 2001
A July 16 preliminary hearing was ordered Friday for a man charged with the
April theft of $12, 000 of inmates' money from a safe at the Tulsa County
jail operated by the Corrections Corporation of America. The Tulsa
County district attorney's office filed the felony grand larceny charges
against Danny Dean Oliver Jr., 21, of Coweta, although corrections
corporation declined to press charges. Oliver, on the advice of his
attorney, James M. Caputo, declined to clarify after his arraignment Friday
whether he was a corrections company employee or worked for a contractor that
provides phone service to inmates. He reportedly resigned after the
incident. (The Saturday Oklahoman)
June 23, 2001
A decision was deferred on whether to penalize the Tulsa Jail's private operator
for two recent bad inmate releases after members of the Tulsa County Criminal
Justice Authority haggled over whether to even discuss Friday's agenda
item. "We know how political it is to the constituents of Tulsa
County, whether we address this or don't address this. I think we can
sense that by our urgency here," Jenks Mayor Mike Tinker said.
"But it's also something I want to look at completely before making a
decision." County Commissioners Bob Dick and John Selph are in favor of reducing the authority's monthly
payment to CCA by an amount estimated between $6,000 and $7,000. Selph has said the best way to hold CCA accountable was
through the pocketbook. Dick said CCA has admitted its mistakes and the
breach of contract is simply a fact. Tulsa Mayor Susan Savage said she
thinks the determination of a breach is a legal issue. "I'm
interested in a discussion about how a breach is defined, pursuant to the
contract," she said. G. Don Haslam Jr., the authority's legal counsel,
said the two bad releases in May were breaches in his opinion. CCA's
opportunity to cure a breach within 30 days is waived when the breach is
considered a threat to public safety and when it is repetitive, Haslam
said. (Tulsa World)
June 16, 2001
A former Tulsa Jail inmate filed a tort claim in excess of $250,000 against
the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority, alleging that he was denied HIV
medications while in jail. Daniel McClure claims that he was denied
treatment when he was in jail on separate occasions -- June 12, 2001, and
Nov. 22-25, 2000 -- which has resulted in the progression of his
disease. Authority Chairman John Selph told
McClure repeatedly in an earlier authority meeting, which had been staffed
with extra sheriff's deputies, to visit with Tulsa County Contract Monitor
Joe Masek about his concerns. "He failed
to do that. At this point, I really don't know if there's any validity
to his claim," Selph said. (Tulsa World)
June 13, 2001
A corrections officer resigned from his job at the Tulsa Jail after jail
personnel found Valium in his sock during an employee shakedown last
Thursday. Corrections Corporation of America spokesperson Chris Howard
said Ted Roosevelt Crisp, 19, resigned after the pills were discovered.
Crisp had been employed by CCA since Oct. 23. (Tulsa World)
June 12, 2001
With the philosophy that the best way to hold a private contractor
accountable is to hit them in the pocket book, two county commissioners are
recommending that the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority withhold a
portion of its monthly payment to the Tennessee-based company that operates
the Tulsa Jail. "That, I think, gets their attention," authority Chairman John Selph
said. He said the authority's contract with CCA allows the panel to
withhold about $620 a day times the number of days the inmate was at
large. Selph said he expects to withhold
between $6,000 and $7,000. "I think it's a fairly modest
amount," he said. Selph said the warden
didn't want the commissioners to recommend the fine and took great pains to
show them the new procedures he was putting in place. "All of
those things need to be done. I hope it will correct the
problems," Selph said. "On the
other hand, it's about accountability and public safety and doing everything
we can to ensure it." (Tulsa World)
June 10, 2001
The warden of the Tulsa Jail believes two well-publicized mistaken releases
at the facility aren't out of line, considering the number of prisoners
housed there. Warden Jim Cooke concedes the incidents are a problem for
Corrections Corporation of America, but he doesn't think a county official's
recommendation to fine the Nashville, Tenn., company is a good idea.
"Commissioner (Bob) Dick is an elected official of this county,"
Cooke said. "He has to do what he thinks is right for the citizens
of this county, which I am one. As for me at CCA, no I don't think
that's right." Andrew Roberts, booking supervisor, who had been
with CCA since 1996, claimed that a lack of training in reading court
documents played a part in his mistakes. (AP)
June 7, 2001
Corrections Corporation of America fired a booking supervisor Wednesday
saying that not only had he been involved in two recent bad releases but was
also involved in the mistaken release of a convicted killer last July.
If CCA wants to prevent future accidental releases, the former booking
supervisor suggests the company might want to start by teaching its employees
how to do essential parts of the job. "I was never trained in how
to read court documents. I was self-taught," Andrew Roberts
said. "No one ever gave me any formal training on how to do
anything down there." "Basically, it's what they call being
thrown to the wolves." Roberts says he feels like a
scapegoat. "After speaking with several other employees who have been
wrongfully terminated, I probably have a book that you could write," he
said. "I think there was no investigation. They already
decided they were going to terminate me." (Tulsa World)
June 5, 2001
A Corrections Corporation of America employee faced disciplinary action after
another inmate was accidentally released at the Tulsa Jail, officials said
Monday. Donald A. Manning, 30, was arrested May 17 on felony charges of
marijuana possession with the intent to distribute and possession of marijuana
in the presence of a minor child. The latter charge was dismissed May
24, but Manning was supposed to be held in lieu of $45,000 bond on the first
charge. A booking supervisor, however, authorized Manning's release and
he went free May 25. Police arrested Manning Monday night. Marvin
Branham, a spokesperson for Nashville, Tenn.-based CCA, said the discovery
was made after Manning's appearance at a hearing on Thursday. On
Monday, Branham placed the blame solely on a booking supervisor, who he says
was involved in both bad releases. There have been 11 mistaken releases
from the Tulsa Jail since it opened in August 1999, the Tulsa World
reported. (AP)
June 2, 2001
Difficulties were experienced with the Tulsa Jail's security system early
Friday morning that made the doors to the housing units to be opened via
computer. Corrections Corporation of America spokesperson Chris Howard
said that the doors were shut down for about eight minutes before jail
personnel used a backup system of keys to open the doors. All but two
of the unit doors are now working he said. (Tulsa World)
May 31, 2001
The private operator of the Tulsa Jail would be fined for accidentally
releasing an inmate under a recommendation by a Tulsa County Criminal Justice
Authority member. "I've reviewed the contract, and I believe we've
been very tolerant, and it's time to be more forceful," Bob Dick said
Wednesday. There have been 10 mistaken releases since the jail opened
in August 1999. Nashville-based CCA does not accept blame for many of those
releases, and local authorities admit the company could not be blamed for the
release earlier this month of man police call the "ponytail
bandit." Blame for four accidental release and two escapes have
been attributed to CCA, Tulsa County Contract Monitor Joe Masek
said. Dick said perhaps CCA should take a harder look at employee
training and human errors. In January, the jail's new warden Jim Cooke
told authority members that he had implemented a policy that would stop the
accidental releases, if correctly followed. (AP)
May 30, 2001
For the second time this month, an inmate has been erroneously released from
the Tulsa Jail. Clifford Meano, 37, had been
bound over for trial on 11 counts of lewd molestation on a minor child after
a preliminary hearing Tuesday. Chris Howard, a spokesperson for
Corrections Corporation of America, said two of the original 13 charges
against Meano had been dropped Tuesday and that
apparently jail workers had interpreted the court documents as meaning all
counts had been dropped. Earlier this month, a man police call the
"ponytail bandit" was mistakenly released from jail because of an
apparent paperwork error. The erroneous release was not noticed until a
week later. Since his release, police confirmed that he is suspected of
robberies on May 13 and May 21. Earlier this year, a Texas inmate who
had been transported to Tulsa to face drug and stolen vehicle charges was
erroneously released from the Tulsa Jail. Sheriff's Capt. George
Haralson said the Jan. 27 mistake was not discovered until April, when the
District Attorney's Office was updating its files. (Tulsa World)
May 25, 2001
A new policy being considered at the Tulsa Jail would force inmates to pay
part of their health care. Oklahoma law allows $8 medical co-payments
to be deducted from an inmate's jail account. Jim Cooke, warden at the
Jail run by Corrections Corporation of America, has indicated he would like
to start the practice June 1. Some inmates claim their medical needs
are not being met at the jail and that sick calls are ignored. The
corrections company would charge fees to an inmate's commissary account for
each "self-initiated" request for medical, dental or psychological
treatment. Fees for X-rays, therapy, lab work and prescription drugs
would also be charged to the account. (AP)
May 20, 2001
A grand jury that will be impaneled June 12 to investigate the 1998 drowning
of a Jenks girl will also be required to inspect the Tulsa Jail. A jail
inspection is required by state statute any time there is a grand jury
investigation. The statute requires specifically that the grand jury
inquire into the case of every person imprisoned in the jail who has not been
charged, that they look at the condition and management of the jail, and also
"into the willful and corrupt misconduct in office of public officials
of every description in the county." (Tulsa World)
May 19, 2001
A man police call the "ponytail bandit" was mistakenly released
from jail last week due to an apparent error, authorities said. The May
11 mistaken release of Steven Mark Holley, 42, was discovered Friday.
Chris Howard, spokesperson for Corrections Corporation of America, the
private company that operates the Tulsa Jail, said local authorities did not
inform the jail that Holley should have been held for federal charges.
However, Assistant District Attorney Mickey Hawkins said the Tulsa County
Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshall's Office and the U.S. Attorney's office
were all informed that state charges were dismissed in order to pursue
federal charges that authorities hoped would result in a more severe
sentence. "They knew the status, " Hawkins said.
"They were presented with the federal indictment and knew he was in
custody. What happens with their mechanics from there, I can't tell
you." (Tulsa World)
May 13, 2001
Corrections officers who work for Corrections Corporation of America are
familiar with life inside the Tulsa Jail, but that's partly because some of
them have been on the other side of a lockup. The Tulsa World compared
a CCA list of 348 employees with computerized jail records that date back to
1996 and found that 20 employees have been arrested prior to working for
CCA. Though the majority of arrests were related to traffic offenses,
some were arrested for more serious crimes such as burglary, pointing a
deadly weapon, resisting an officer, harboring a fugitive from justice,
growing marijuana, assault and battery, making obscene phone calls,
shoplifting and obtaining merchandise by fraud. According to a February
2000 internal memo obtained by the Tulsa World, CCA was in violation of its
contract with the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority because, according
to its personnel department, background checks had not been done on 40
percent of the employees. (Tulsa World)
May 4, 2001
Debrah Cartwright said she thought it was wonderful
when her boss asked her to put together a sales pitch to encourage area
judges to start ordering people into the Tulsa Jail's drug addiction
treatment program. But Cartwright said that was before Warden Jim Cooke
told her they weren't really going to offer what they proposing,
nor was he going to provide any additional counselor training.
Corrections Corporation of America, the private company that operates the
jail, simply needed the revenue, she said she was told. "I asked
him if he was asking me to create a sales pitch for all these facets of the
program when he had no intention of following through, and he said treatment
was not our focus at the time, filling up beds was," Cartwright
said. "He said that right now we need to generate some
income." Cartwright, who was CCA's addictions treatment manager,
said she resigned April 24 because she felt it would have been unethical to
promote a drug treatment program that the jail had no real intention of
offering. "We were a dog and pony show. My role turned
into...PR. He wanted the program so he could tell everybody we had
it," Cartwright said. Participants normally underwent 11 hours a
day in the program, but currently the home in the dorm-like setting of the
drug treatment pod are working nine of those 11 hours in the kitchen, she
said. "He's made it mandatory they go to the kitchen to
cook," she said. "If they're not willing to work in the
kitchen, he puts them in 23-hour lockdown." While they are in the
kitchen cooking, Cartwright said her former counselors are working in the
pods as counselors, handing out clothing and sheets and serving meals.
The male pod for addiction treatment is closed, and men in the addiction
program attend a class for one hour a day, she said. CCA spokesperson
Chris Howard confirmed that the male pod is currently empty. (Tulsa
World)
May 4, 2001
Charges are expected to be filed Friday in the recent theft of $12,000 from a
safe at the Tulsa Jail. The District Attorney's Office confirmed that
it plans to file felony charges against Danny Oliver Jr. for grand
larceny. County officials say that Oliver Jr. worked for a company that
contracts to provide inmate phone service at the jail and resigned following
the incident. They said that he is also the son of Danny Oliver,
Corrections Corporation of America assistant chief of security and former
detention officer for the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office. But
investigating officers said they would turn over the results of their
investigation to the District Attorney's Office, regardless of whether or not
CCA wanted to press charges. (Tulsa World)
April 28, 2001
Despite a decision by Corrections Corporation of America officials not to
press charges, Tulsa police say they are continuing their investigation into
the theft of inmate money from a safe at the Tulsa Jail earlier this
week. Capt. Ray Nelson said that CCA Warden Jim Cooke had asked the
police to investigate after some $12, 000 was discovered missing from a safe
in the jail's administrative area Monday morning. While police were
questioning employees, one of them went into Cooke's office and confessed to
the theft, Nelson said. The investigation was temporarily halted when
Cooke told police that a jail employee had admitted to taking the money and
was going to return it, Nelson said. "I'm puzzled," said
Larry Merchant, the Tulsa County Criminal Justice Authority's compliance
officer over CCA. "Normally, employers want to have the laws
enforced." Criminal Justice Authority Chairman John Selph said that it should be the district attorney's
decision whether or not to file charges. "It can't be
dropped," he said. Selph said the
incident raises questions on jail security. (Tulsa World)
April 27, 2001
A Texas inmate transported to Tulsa to face local drug and stolen vehicle
charges was accidentally released from the Tulsa Jail earlier this
year. Sheriff's Capt. George Haralson said that the Jan. 27 mistake was
only discovered this week when the District Attorney's Office was updating
its files. A quick call to Texas authorities revealed that Darrel Ray
Heinrichs, 20, had voluntarily turned himself into the Texas Department of
Corrections in Huntsville on Feb. 5. Heinrichs was taken into custody
by Tulsa County sheriff's deputies at a Texas Department of Corrections
facility in Huntsville and was transported and then booked in the Tulsa Jail
on Jan. 5, Haralson said. Heinrichs faced drug possession and stolen
vehicle charges in Tulsa County. But after Heinrichs received a
suspended sentence for his Tulsa County charges, he was released by
Corrections Corporation of America, the private company that operates the
jail, on Jan. 27 instead of being transported back to Texas to serve out a
term for drug possession, Haralson said. (Tulsa World)
April 26, 2001
Apparently one suspect confessed to the warden about the theft of
$12,000. CCA officials declined to continue a police investigation into
the theft of about $12,000 from a safe at the Tulsa Jail after an employee
confessed to taking the money, police said. Tulsa Police Capt. Ray
Nelson said police were interviewing several jail employees regarding the
theft of inmate money from a safe in the jail's administrative area Sunday or
early Monday. Investigators were considering the possibility of
administering polygraph tests when one of the subjects went into Warden Jim
Cooke's office and confessed on Monday, he said. "It just appears
a little unusual that you have a public employee that's accused of taking
$12,000 that was turned in by the prisoners and not want to pursue it any
further," Nelson said. CCA public information officer Chris Howard
said that the company had no comment and would provide no information
regarding the theft. (Tulsa World)
April 6, 2001
Tulsa County jurors imposed a $1,000 fine Thursday upon finding a former
Tulsa Jail nurse guilty of preparing false evidence regarding the death of an
inmate 3-1/2 years ago. That verdict carried no prison or jail sentence
for Charlene Annette Crawford and does not require her to spend any time on
probation. Crawford, who married last year and is now known as Charlene
Phillips, and Troy Desonia were indicted in 1998 by
a multi-county grand jury that investigated the death of Charles Edward
Guffey. Crawford and Desonia worked for
Wexford Health Services Inc., which had a contract to provide medical
services for the old Tulsa Jail and the Adult Detention Center at the time of
Guffey's 1997 death. Guffey, a 39-year-old defendant in a drug case,
was found dead in his cell on Oct. 14, 1997, at the detention center.
He died of a perforated ulcer. The manslaughter count against Crawford
was dismissed Monday at the request of prosecutors, who continued to pursue
their allegation that she had participated in altering Guffey's medical
charts after his death. Crawford testified Thursday that she had made
three late charting entries, but she indicated that she had no intent to
deceive or mislead anyone. (Tulsa World)
March 31, 2001
A labor relations consultant this week reported two more alleged unfair labor
practices by Corrections Corporation of America, the Tulsa Jail
Operator. Filed with the National labor Relations Board, which
investigates reports of unlawful acts by unions and employers, the first "
accuses Warden Jim Cooke of holding mandatory meetings and threatening to
fire any employees who signed union cards. The second charge alleges
that CCA called the police department when union organizers were handing out
literature at the entrance of the staff parking lot. Two other charges
were filed with the NLRB by Couch: allegations that union practices were
videotaped by CCA and than an employee was
questioned about his union activities. (Tulsa World)
March 25, 2001
A union organizer has leveled charges with the National Labor Relations Board
against the private company that operates the Tulsa Jail, alleging that union
practices were videotaped and that an employee was questioned about his union
activities. The Correction Corporation Of America had no comment on the
specific complaints, but denies that employees are being threatened with
termination for involvement with the Peace Keepers and Security Officers
Union, based in California. John Selph, chairman
for Tulsa County Justice Authority, said that he is not surprised by union
efforts at the jail. He said that information presented to him by Couch
includes complaints that employees have expressed all along -- that they are
being locked in housing pods with inmates and forced to work double shifts.
These are the kinds of issues unions like to be involved in, he said. Union
organizers have been passing out literature near the staff parking lot and
that is when they say they were videotaped by CCA staff. (World Staff)
March 20, 2001
Corrections officers who work at the privately run Tulsa Jail not happy with
their working environment and have asked union officials for help, organizers
for the Peace Keepers and Security Officers Union say. Despite at least one
call to the police, three union organizers handed out "Let's put it in
writing" fliers to employees near the entrance to staff parking at the
jail. The flier asks employees who work for the Tennessee-based Corrections
Corporation of America to sign and mail in authorization cards. CCA tells its
employees that only the public information officer is allowed to talk to the
press. Four employees had no comment when asked about the working environment
at the jail, but a few spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they could be
fired or that they feared the repercussions. Of course a union is needed at
the jail, one employee said. "Nothing's changed. People are forced to
work 16 hours at at time," the employees said.
Another employees said that some jail workers have
been worked up to 19 days consecutive days without a day off. (World
Staff Writer)
March 13, 2001
A former Corrections Corporation of America guard has been sentenced to a
one-year jail term for assaulting an inmate. A Tulsa County jury convicted
Lemuel Whiteside Jr., on Friday of assaulting and battering David Cooley with
a dangerous weapon at the Tulsa Jail last year. He was accused of assaulting
Cooley with a boot and a hand-held radio. (AP)
February 14, 2001
Privately run Corrections Corporation of America is considering a number of
options -- including bringing in employees from its other facilities -- in an
effort to reduce the number of costly overtime at the Tulsa Jail. Warden Jim
Cooke said the biggest contributing factor to the overtime is the number of
officers who don't show up for work or call in with flimsy excuses.
"It's been a problem since this facility has opened, "Cooke said.
"We need to work out some problems here and there. My goal is not to
eliminate overtime but to cut it way, way down." In an effort to create
adequate staffing, CCA is constantly training new corrections officers. A new
class graduates next week, at which time another class will start up. But
every time a class graduates, a number of people decide they don't want to do
corrections work, CCA spokesman Marvin Branham said. Former CCA corrections
officer Robert Nilson, who quit last year, said
that the mandatory overtime pits employees against each other when some get
to go home and other don't. He also said that supervisors were guilty of
showing favoritism. Corrections Officer Keith Cruel, said his complaints
about overtime and favoritism stem from the previous leadership at the jail.
Tulsa county Contract Monitor Joe Masek said that
CCA is actually short by 24 people and that the majority are corrections
officer positions. Teresa Wright said she quit last week after CCA took her
off day shift and put her on nights, which created a problem with child care.
Wright said she was told there would be overtime. "But we weren't told
we were going to be locked up like an inmate and not allowed to leave,"
she said. (Tulsa World)
January 31, 2001
A corrections officer has been terminated following a Saturday beating at the
Tulsa Jail that investigators say may have been racially motivated.
Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Marvin Branham said that DeAndre
Ingram was fired after the incident in which Brandon McKnight, 19, sustained
severe trauma to his throat, face and head. Police say the beating nearly
killed him. Branham confirmed that Ingram placed Joshua Mack Cudjoe, 24, who
is black, in the same holding cell as McKnight, 19, who is white. A CCA
corrections officer told a Tulsa police officer that she had warned a fellow
corrections officer not to place Cudjoe in the same cell as McKnight because
the two had previously argued while waiting in line for prebooking area.
Witnesses told police that McKight referred to
Cudjoe using obscene racial epithet. Cudjoe said there would be a fight if
they were housed in the same cell and used a racial epithet toward McKnight,
police said. During a Tuesday meeting in which no CCA representatives were
present, committee member Bob Bruening said he had
questions regarding arrest statistics and that his phone calls to the jail
were never returned. (World Staff)
December 15, 2000
Jail employees responsible for approving release notices apparently failed to
notice the date on the form and assumed that the inmate was to be released
the day the order was received. (Tulsa World)
December 10, 2000
According to recent reports obtained by the Tulsa World, officers expressed
safety concerns about the booking and pre-booking areas and complained of
long delays in booking prisoners into the jail. Officers report that it often
takes more than two hours to book a prisoner, especially on the weekends.
They believe delays are caused because there are not enough CCA employees
assigned to booking. A Nov. 18 report by Cpt. Dan Miller states a CCA booking
supervisor told him that they were understaffed and that several members of
the booking staff had been working 17 to 18 hours straight. "Inside the
booking area, there were 25 officers waiting with prisoners," Officer
Larry Kinney wrote in another report. "This is one-third of the officers
on duty in the entire city on the first shift." Contract monitor Joe Masek said that CCA has not broken its contract regarding
how quickly prisoners must be booked. The process is to be completed within
30 minutes, 75 percent of the time. Although the TPD books in the bulk of
prisoners at the jail, other law enforcement agencies use the jail as well.
He said deputies have found booking a prisoner 30 minutes to over two hours,
depending of how busy the CCA is. (Tulsa World,
Dec. 10, 2000)
December 2, 2000
Two Corrections officers were placed on paid leave after a federal inmate
escaped Thursday morning from the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center. Raye
Carnes, a spokeswoman for the Corrections Corporation of America said,
"They both are being investigated for counting him in the dorm when he
was not in the dorm. They counted the dummy in his cell." Thomas Lynn
Weaver, 19, apparently had made a dummy using wadded-up clothing to pass for
his body in his cell. "CCA's investigation into the escape has revealed
that the inmate made his way into the kitchen by hiding inside a food cart
that is brought to the pods during meals, Carnes said." "After the
evening meal, he hid in the food cart back into the kitchen, he went form the
food cart to the trash cart, Carnes said." When he was captured in
downtown Tulsa he had a mask on and a shotgun loaded. (Tulsa World News, Dec.
2, 2000)
August 11, 2000
Tulsa Police Department is critical of CCA's running the Tulsa Jail causing problems
with investigations. (Corrections Professional, August 11, 2000)
July 15, 2000
One guard is fired and three others are disciplined for their connection with
the release of a convicted killer who was caught after a cross -county
manhunt. (Tulsa World, July 15, 2000)
July 11, 2000
A mistake leads to the release of an 18-year-old being held on murder
charges. (AP, July 11, 2000)
Davis Correctional Facility
Holdenville, Oklahoma
CCA
Sep
17, 2022 oklahomawatch.org
Stabbings
Soar at Southeast Oklahoma Private Prison
Davis
Correctional Facility in Holdenville is one of two private prisons in Oklahoma.(Whitney Bryen/Oklahoma
Watch) At least 18 people have been stabbed — three fatally — in one private
prison in southeast Oklahoma this year, emergency records show. A deadly July
31 attack on corrections officer Alan Jay Hershberger is part of a dramatic
increase in stabbings at Davis Correctional Facility, which incarcerates
high-risk, violent offenders. Stabbings at the Holdenville prison through
July more than tripled since 2021, according to Hughes County emergency
medical services call data obtained by Oklahoma Watch through an open records
request. The data includes stabbings where the victim was transported
to the hospital by prison or EMS staff. The victims include a 29-year-old
prisoner fatally stabbed in the neck on March 24 and a 35-year-old prisoner
who died after being stabbed in the abdomen on May 31. Hershberger, 61, was
attacked from behind by inmate Gregory Thompson, 49, using a homemade weapon
according to a news release. He was the first state correction officer killed
on duty since 2000. The 1,600-bed prison is owned by the world’s largest
private prison company, CoreCivic, which operates
more than 100 prisons in the U.S. CoreCivic is paid
$50 to $63 daily per prisoner depending on security classification, according
to its state contract, which is up for renewal in July 2023. Davis can
incarcerate up to 1,314 medium- and 360 maximum-security prisoners. Oklahoma
prisons have been plagued by staffing shortages and operational
inefficiencies, according to a June report by a state legislative oversight
committee. State prisons are regularly staffed below 50% of the recommended level,
the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency reported in its operational
assessment, which did not include private prisons. Davis currently lists 20
staff vacancies, including openings for case managers, corrections officers,
unit managers and assistant shift supervisors. The private prison’s persistent staffing
shortages and resulting prisoner lockdowns are evident in weekly reports,
said Bobby Cleveland, a former state legislator who represents corrections
employees. “Every week I look at it, it says Davis (locked down) — not enough
staff,” said Cleveland, executive director of Oklahoma Corrections
Professionals. “They're (locking) down constantly because they don't have
enough staff." Former Davis correctional officer Jamie Sasnett said weekend staffing shortages regularly kept
prisoners in their cells during his three years on the job. “On weekdays they
might be able to get out if a unit manager, counselor, or case manager comes
in,” said Sasnett,
who added that he often guarded 120 prisoners by himself and up to 240
on occasion. "It sends a shiver down your spine knowing that you are now
the only thing between 120 inmates and that door. And the only thing that you
have to protect yourself is a can of spray and a
radio," he added. CoreCivic is working to
raise staffing levels, boost incentives and retain quality staff, said
company spokesman Matthew Davio. Neither CoreCivic nor state correction officials offered
explanations for the increase in stabbings at Davis. The corrections
department conducts regular audits of CoreCivic and
is awaiting the results of an investigation into Hershberger’s death before taking action, a DOC spokesman wrote in a statement
emailed to Oklahoma Watch. Sasnett said superiors
twice ignored his warnings that inmates were making weapons. The first time,
he noticed windows covered and a strange noise coming from inside a cell.
"This is an inmate that is known for — on more than one occasion —
making, having, and supplying weapons,” he said. Sasnett,
37, of Lexington, said he resigned in the middle of a shift last fall after
making a similar report. "We've never ever had this
many stabbings before, and with different types of shanks. We've been
told there's been plastic shanks and metal shanks, serrated and smooth,"
said Christopher Miller, who supervises Hughes County emergency medical
services. "One was almost 12- inches long. How are you walking around
with a 12-inch shank and not getting caught? Unless you just don't have
enough staff to be looking for that? How do you break something that much and
nobody notices" Identifying the weapon is critical to providing stabbing
victims with emergency care, Miller said. Kendra Kregel, a 49-year-old
paralegal from Tulsa, said her fiance is a prisoner
at Davis, having been transferred there three months ago. He has faced
violence ever since, she said, moving cells three times for safety reasons
and having a knife pulled on him at least once. "I fear for his safety
every single day. It's a big stress in my life … the stabbings at Davis are
very concerning," Kregel said. "They need to get staffing up to par
because they're severely understaffed."
Jun
27, 2019 1600kush.com
ODOC Investigating Potential Homicide of Davis Correctional Facility
Inmate
HOLDENVILLE,
Okla. — The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is investigating the potential
homicide of an inmate at Davis Correctional Facility. Rosco E. Craig, 23, was
found unresponsive around 9 a.m. Monday inside the cell he shared with
another inmate at the medium-security prison owned and operated by CoreCivic. A CoreCivic staff
member conducting a security check discovered Craig when she noticed what
looked like blood on his bedsheet inside the cell. A doctor pronounced Craig
dead just after 10 a.m. at a nearby hospital. ODOC’s Office of Fugitive
Apprehension and Investigations is looking into Craig’s death, which is
believed to have been caused by his cellmate. The results of ODOC’s
investigation will be submitted to the Hughes County District Attorney’s for
potential prosecution. The agency is withholding the identity of Craig’s
cellmate at this time. The Oklahoma Medical Examiner
will determine the cause of Craig’s death. Craig was serving time for
convictions out of Oklahoma County for violating the sex offender
registration act, assault with intent to commit a felony and forgery.
Jan 22,
2019 news9.com
Oklahoma
Murderer Suspected Of Social Media Posts From Prison
HOLDENVILLE, Oklahoma - A photo posted to Facebook has an Oklahoma prison
investigating whether or not an inmate has a cellphone. The victim's family
says this is the second time they've seen their loved one’s murderer come
across on their social media feed. La'Keysha Moore
still breaks into tears trying to describe her sister Demetric.
“She was a loving individual. She was a hard worker,” Moore said. Moore says
her sister was murdered more than 20 years ago by David Young. Young was sent
to the Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville in 1997 to serve a life
sentence. “He was locked up before Facebook existed,” Moore said. However,
Moore says Young has popped up on her Facebook feed twice now. The first
incident was in 2015. “He had a Facebook page somehow of him showing pictures
of himself again in prison,” Moore said of the 2015 incident. Then, Thursday,
a different Facebook user posted a possible selfie of Young. Moore's not sure
if it's an old photo, or if Young somehow was able to take a new one. “It
looks like a pretty up-to-date picture,” Moore said. Now, the private prison
is investigating. Davis is owned by Core Civic, which directed News 9 to the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections for comment. The DOC sent the following
statement: “They’ve heard from a woman who called the facility upset that he
was on Facebook. The facility reports that they have searched Mr. Young and
his cell multiple times since the woman contacted them. They have also run
him by a cell sense tower (that’s a tower that will flash red when it detects
a cellphone signal). They searched him again today after you contacted me,
and they have told us they will place him in segregation until he either
gives up the phone or tells staff how he may have had access to one. Having a
cellphone inside a prison is a felony in Oklahoma. Our staff (and I’m sure
those of CoreCivic and Geo Group) seize thousands
of cellphones per year, but we can’t get them all. The FCC continues to
prevent us from blocking cellphone signals inside our facilities. If we had
that ability, then inmates would not be able to potentially harass or
threaten victims by being able to get on social media.” Moore says something
must change. “I need something to be done about it as far as prisoners being
able to have access to a cell phone,” Moore said.
Aug
6, 2015 tulsaworld.com
Inmate apparently stabbed to death at Holdenville private prison
HOLDENVILLE
— An investigation is underway after an inmate at a Holdenville private
prison was found apparently stabbed to death Wednesday afternoon. Lewis
Hamilton, 36, of Oklahoma City was found dead about 4 p.m. at the Davis
Correctional Facility, a 1,670-bed private prison operated by Corrections
Corporation of America, Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terri
Watkins said. Silas Royal, 33, of Tulsa is believed to be the assailant in
the incident, Watkins said. Because CCA operates the prison, it will head the
investigation into what happened, Watkins said. Hamilton was serving a life
sentence without parole in the 2002 shooting death of Gregory Rogers Jr. in
Oklahoma City. Hamilton was convicted of first-degree murder in 2005, along
with three other defendants, according to court records. Royal is serving a
25-year sentence after he pleaded down in 2007 to a first-degree manslaughter
charge in the death of Larry Littlejohn Jr., 30, of Tulsa. Police found
Littlejohn with multiple gunshot wounds to his head, slumped in the driver's
seat of a van in the 2200 block of North Quincy Avenue on Jan. 16, 2005,
according to Tulsa World archives. CCA operates four private prisons in
Oklahoma.
May
25, 2014 newsok.com
Oklahoma officials investigate death of prisoner beaten with food tray
The
bludgeoning of an inmate at the Davis Correctional Center in Holdenville is
one of two recent inmate homicides the Oklahoma Corrections Department is
investigating. The Oklahoma Corrections Department has released findings on
the deaths of two inmates — a violent felon who was bludgeoned to death with
a food tray and a burglar found strangled to death in his bunk. The reports
were released last week. Bryan K. Blackburn, 30, died April 12 at the Davis
Correctional Facility in Holdenville. A correctional officer discovered him
on the floor, his cellmate standing over him and holding a red plastic food
tray, the walls splattered with blood. Blackburn’s cause of death was
determined to be blunt force trauma. The cellmate was reportedly under the
influence of bath salts, an intoxicating synthetic chemical. Shawn B. Moore,
36, died March 28 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. The state
medical examiner determined he died of asphyxia due to strangulation. He was
serving time for numerous crimes, including burglary, attempted burglary and
grand larceny. In both instances, the reports indicate the victim’s cellmate
was the assailant. The Corrections Department withheld the suspects’ names
because charges have not yet been filed. Blackburn was serving a 42-year
sentence for assault with a dangerous weapon, robbery, concealing stolen
property and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, as well as a
20-year sentence for possession of a firearm, from 2006 convictions in
Oklahoma County. Additionally, he was convicted of aggravated assault and
battery on a corrections employee while incarcerated, which added a one-year
sentence onto the end of his term. Blackburn’s mother, Amy Blackburn, said
her son made some bad choices in life but didn’t deserve to die. “He was a
good person with a good heart. He was looking forward to coming up for parole
and getting out to see his nieces and nephews and his family,” she said.
Blackburn, of Bethany, attempted to sue the Corrections Department in 2014,
claiming in court records that corrections staff didn’t intervene as he bashed his own head on a cement wall while on suicide
watch. “I covered camera and cell door window and I violently beat my head on
the cinder block wall, concrete floor, and no one took protocol to stop me
nor secure me, or put me in a safe environment,” he wrote. The judge
dismissed the complaint in January after Blackburn failed to comply with a
court order. When a correctional officer discovered Blackburn on the floor of
his cell April 11, he was still breathing, according to the report. He was
taken by ambulance to Holdenville General Hospital. Rescue workers tried to
transport him to the OU Medical Center, but diverted to Seminole Medical
Center, where he died just after midnight. Department investigators found
three small baggies of bath salts in Blackburn’s cellmate’s shoe, the report
states. He refused to submit to a drug test, but appeared to be under the
influence, an investigator noted. At least two other in-custody slayings were
reported late last year at the Holdenville prison, which is privately owned
by Corrections Corp. of America. Eric Grimm was found dead Dec. 2, and Tory Czernecki was killed Oct. 26. Both were strangled.
Aug 15, 2013 tulsaworld.com
HOLDENVILLE - A fight between inmates at the Davis
Correctional Center last week resulted in two prisoners in hospitals and the
prison being locked down. The Davis facility is operated by Corrections
Corporation of America, a private prison contractor. It houses medium- and
maximum-security male inmates for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
When corrections officers tried to break up the altercation Friday night, one
of the inmates charged at an employee with a crude prison weapon commonly
called a "lock in a sock," a DOC incident report states. Officers
used pepper spray to subdue the prisoners, according to the report. The fight
was between suspected members of the "Irish Mob" and "United
Aryan Brotherhood" gangs, records indicate. Afterward, staff members
searched the cells of the inmates involved and found numerous homemade metal
weapons, other "lock in a sock" weapons and bloody clothing.
Friday's fight follows a June 30 gang brawl that involved at least 20
prisoners fighting with handmade weapons at the same prison. Several
prisoners were taken to hospitals then. The June fight involved members of
the Indian Brotherhood and Crips gangs, according to incident reports. In
March, CCA officials declined to call a four-hour disturbance at the Cushing
prison they operate a riot, even though inmates smashed windows, breached
security doors and were pepper-sprayed after they fashioned weapons from
destroyed property, records show. CCA officials characterized the incident as
"inmates being disruptive in one of the housing units." The inmates
involved were prisoners of the Puerto Rican government that CCA supervised
under contract.
January
5, 2013 NewsOK.com
HOLDENVILLE — A former private prison guard who admitted to engaging in oral
sex with a male inmate in 2011 was sentenced to a year in prison Friday by a
Hughes County district judge. Christopher Smith, 29, pleaded no contest to a
single count of forcible sodomy, records show. The former jailer received a
seven-year sentence from the judge, who suspended all but the first year.
Smith will be placed on two years of state probation following his release
and will have to register as a sex offender. His accuser, Kelly Demings, is
serving a 12-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary in
2010. Smith and Demings gave conflicting reports as to what happened between
the two men at the Davis Correctional Facility, a private prison in
Holdenville that currently houses Oklahoma inmates. The facility, with a
capacity of 1,620, is owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of
America, which also has prisons in Sayre and Watonga. Court records show
Smith told investigators he “allowed” the inmate to perform oral sex on him
inside a staff restroom on June 18, 2011. Demings, 42, told a state
Corrections Department investigator during a July 27, 2011, interview that
Smith used the “power of his position” to force him to perform oral sex, records
show. Evidence saved: An affidavit filed in the case stated Deming preserved
DNA evidence following the incident. Trisha Smith, an assistant district
attorney for Hughes County, said this evidence was tested by investigators.
“They came back a match to Mr. Smith,” the prosecutor said. A civil lawsuit,
filed in federal court by Demings' attorneys, claims the DNA evidence belongs
to Smith. Smith and Corrections Corporation of America are listed as
defendants in the federal case. The inmate is claiming his civil rights were
violated and he was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment when Smith
forced him to perform oral sex, according to the suit. The civil case is
pending, records show, but a settlement conference has been ordered by the
presiding judge. State job: Shortly before he was interviewed by James
Parvin, an investigator for the state Corrections Department, Smith took a
job as a prison guard at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary — the facility that
houses death row. Parvin was assigned the case because Demings was under the
purview of the Corrections Department at the time of the incident. Jerry
Massie, spokesman for the state Corrections Department, said Smith was hired
July 1, 2011, to work at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Smith was “discharged”
from his job July 27, 2011, Massie said, the same day he was interviewed by
Parvin in connection with the sexual assault case involving Demings.
March 28, 2012 AP
Authorities say two private prison employees were injured when force was used
against an inmate after a brief altercation with staff members. Davis
Correctional Facility spokesman Bryan Yandell said
in an email Wednesday that the Holdenville prison was placed on lockdown
after the incident occurred Tuesday in the inmate living area. Yandell says two prison employees who responded to the
incident were hurt and treated for nonlife threatening injuries during the
use of force. Yandell didn't specify the injuries
or the type of force used, no were the names of the workers or the prisoner
involved released. He says officials are reviewing what happened.
August 22, 2010 The Oklahoman
More than 2,000 state inmates could be displaced from private prisons if a
federal contract to house criminal illegal immigrants is awarded here. The
move could cost the state Corrections Department and Oklahoma taxpayers
millions of dollars. Corrections Corporation of America officials told state
corrections authorities in July they intended to offer three Oklahoma-based
prisons to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. They are: Cimarron Correctional
Facility in Cushing, Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville and the empty
Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga. "There shouldn't be any
surprise when something like this happens," said Justin Jones, state Corrections
Department director. "Their product is the incarceration of criminals
and it's a for-profit business." If the contract is awarded, it could
affect the placement of 1,800 medium security prisoners at Cimarron and
Davis, and 360 maximum-security inmates at Davis, corrections officials said.
The department is operating with a more than $40 million budget deficit.
Federal officials would use the private prisons to house low-security male
inmates, primarily criminal illegal immigrants who are Mexican citizens with
one year or less to serve. The business of incarceration -- Federal contracts
typically pay between $60 and $65 daily per prisoner, Jones said. Oklahoma
has one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the country. They range from
about $42 for minimum security inmates to about $57 for maximum security. If
the prisoners are moved, that could mean an increase of as much as $15 per
prisoner, Jones said. Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Steve Owen
wouldn't comment on rates discussed with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for
the contract. Offers are being accepted from companies in New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Arizona and Texas, and would require 3,000 beds, according to a bid
request from the bureau. Bids are competitive, often based on geographic
needs, Owen said. Earnings increase -- Corrections Corporation of America
earlier this month reported their second-quarter earnings had increased
nearly two percent in 2010 to $419.4 million from $412 million in 2009. The
increase was fueled by a jump in inmate populations and a boost from new
contracts with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It notes the opening of a
center in Mississippi to house about 2,500 illegal immigrants convicted of
crimes and awaiting deportation. "We've openly been marketing our empty
prisons," Owen said. "There is a demand and a need for prison
services." Corrections Corporation of America is the largest for-profit
prison company in the U.S. It currently houses about 75,000 individuals in
more than 60 prisons and detention centers in the country, according to
information on the company website. It partners with the Federal Bureau of
Prisons, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
states and municipalities. In 2009 financial statements, competitor GEO Group
officials reported, "We believe that this federal initiative to target,
detain, and deport criminal aliens throughout the country will continue to
drive the need for immigration detention beds over the next several
years." GEO Group recently bought Cornell Cos., operator of Great Plains
Correctional Facility in Hinton. The company has offered use of the prison
for federal inmates as well. This month, officials at the prison announced
they would be laying off nearly 300 employees and sending more than 1,700
inmates back to Arizona. No Oklahoma prisoners are housed there. Even county
jails are responding to the need for federal bed space. Tulsa County
officials entered into an agreement with U.S. Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement in 2007. Garvin County also has an agreement with the agency to
house and transport federal detainees. Displaced inmates and jobs -- Jones
said if the bid by Corrections Corporation of America is accepted, the most
challenging task would be finding room for the nearly 360 maximum-security prisoners
being held at Davis. There are not enough open maximum-security beds in the
state to keep them there, he said. This might result in prisoners being
shipped out of state -- the first time it's happened since the mid-1990s.
"Obviously this would be a huge burden to families of those
prisoners," he said. "It would also probably cost us more." At
the same time state officials worry about prison beds, the question looms
about how Oklahoma jobs will be affected. The possibility of jobs returning
to the Watonga area is a bright spot. More than 300 Corrections Corporation
of America employees lost their jobs when the Diamondback prison closed there
in May. More than 2,000 inmates were returned to Arizona. It was the largest
employer in the area. Owen said company officials are anxious to get the
prison running again. He said he's not sure how employment would be affected
at Davis and Cimarron if the bid is accepted. In 2007, nearly 200 Cornell
employees at the Great Plains Correctional Center in Hinton lost work after
the state Corrections Department and the company failed to come to an
agreement about reimbursement rates. The company then negotiated a contract
for Arizona inmates.
November 26, 2009 The Oklahoman
A former female correctional officer has been charged with three felony
counts of second-degree rape after being accused of having sex with an inmate
at a private prison in Holdenville. A warrant for the arrest of
ex-correctional officer Michelle Kalinich was
issued Nov. 6, but she had not been taken into custody Wednesday, a Hughes
County sheriff’s employee said. It is against state law and considered rape
for a correctional officer or jailer to have sex with an inmate, even if both
are willing participants. Kalinich, 29, of
Holdenville, also is accused of one felony count of conspiring to smuggle
drugs into the prison for the benefit of the inmate, James Black, 21, of
Enid. Black is serving a five-year sentence for second-degree burglary and
concealing stolen property. The Corrections Department launched an internal
affairs investigation into the relationship between Kalinich
and Black in response to a June 8 request for assistance from Davis
Correctional Facility officials, records show. Kalinich
and Black initially denied any sexual contact "except for kissing,” but Kalinich later acknowledged having sex with the inmate on
three occasions, internal affairs investigator Randy Knight said in a sworn
affidavit used to justify the issuance of an arrest warrant. "Kalinich admitted she participated in sexual intercourse
with Black ... ,” Knight wrote. Kalinich
also admitted bringing seven ounces of marijuana, 30 Ecstasy pills and 36
pouches of tobacco into the prison for Black’s benefit, Knight reported. He
said Kalinich received three money grams totaling
$1,000, and acknowledged receiving an additional $1,000. Kalinich
was terminated May 29, said Rebecca Adams, the warden’s secretary. Kalinich worked at the prison about eight months, Knight
reported.
October 31, 2009 Oklahoman
Stephanie Sills knew nothing about Wewoka police officer Tony Wilbourn when he pulled her car over to arrest her during
the early morning hours of July 19. Had she known more about him, she might
have been concerned. At the time of Sills’ arrest, Wilbourn
had only been employed by the department a few months and had not yet started
police officer’s training at the Council on Law Enforcement Education and
Training. Wilbourn, 27, was fired by Police Chief
Greg Brooks 3½ weeks later for what the chief described as "poor
judgment and tact” in dealing with female subjects. Brooks declined to
elaborate on the dismissal. Wilbourn denied
mistreating women. "I didn’t deal with female subjects in any way
different than male subjects,” Wilbourn told The
Oklahoman. A criminal records check shows Wilbourn
has had a couple of brushes with the law. On July 21 — two days after Sills
was arrested — Wilbourn was charged in Okfuskee
County with misdemeanor assault and battery. The charge was dismissed about
three months later "in the best interest of justice.” A sworn affidavit
filed in connection with the case said an employee at Okemah’s Tipton’s
Grocery filed a complaint alleging Wilbourn had
thrown a ballpoint pen at him, striking him in the face. The employee alleged
Wilbourn became angry after the worker tried to
stop him from driving off without paying for gas. Wilbourn
entered the store and signed a credit card receipt with a pen the employee
had given him before throwing the pen at the man, the affidavit said. The
investigator said Wilbourn "admits to getting
angry and throwing the pen and hitting (the) victim with it.” Wilbourn told The Oklahoman he was off duty at the time
and wasn’t trying to steal gasoline. Wilbourn said
he usually pays at the pump and had just forgotten to pay. The former officer
said he had driven just a few feet and stopped to look up something on his
global positioning system when the worker knocked on his window and reminded
him he needed to pay. "When I tossed the pen back, I tossed it over my
shoulder,” he said. Assistant District Attorney Maxey Parker Reilly said she
dismissed the charge because after talking to everybody, she didn’t believe
the evidence would support it. "The way I understand it, he threw the
pen down at the desk and it bounced up and hit the guy,” Reilly said. Seven
years ago, before Wilbourn became a police officer,
he served a deferred sentence on a misdemeanor charge of driving under
suspension. "I was hurt on the job and unable to pay for a traffic
ticket,” Wilbourn said. Wilbourn
said he is now working for a private prison in Holdenville.
July 29, 2009 Tulsa World
Private prisons in Oklahoma soon could be housing maximum-security
inmates from other states under a new law approved in the waning days of the
2009 legislative session. The language inserted into an omnibus corrections
bill changes state policy that previously allowed only minimum- and
medium-security inmates from other states to be housed in private prisons.
House author Randy Terrill, R-Moore, defended the new law, saying this week
that several safeguards were put in place, including a policy that allows the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections to review and approve inmates and to
ensure the facilities where they will be housed were designed to hold such
offenders. But Judith Greene, director of the New York-based criminal justice
research institute Justice Strategies, said similar policy changes in other
states have had disastrous results. "I think it's a recipe for
disaster," said Greene, who has analyzed criminal justice practices and
private prisons for years. She said similar efforts by private prisons
operating in Ohio and New Mexico in the 1990s resulted in excessive violence
against guards and other inmates. "Mostly knifings and a couple of
deaths," she said. "There very well
should be some concerns (in Oklahoma)." But Terrill said the bill
specifically prohibits maximum-security inmates with a history of escape, a
felony conviction for rioting, sex offenders or those who have been sentenced
to death. Texas, which has four private prisons housing out-of-state inmates,
is one of the few states that allows maximum-security inmates. But inmates
are screened to weed out anyone with a history of violence or other
behavioral problems behind bars before they can be housed there, said Adan
Munoz, director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. "We've got
enough troublemakers in Texas," he said. Terrill inserted the language
late in the session into a bill that authorized the Corrections Department to
transfer illegal-immigrant inmates to federal authorities before they
finished their sentences in Oklahoma. Terrill said the language surfaced late
in the session because it involved intense negotiations among the governor's
office, state House and Senate, Corrections Department, the private prison industry
and the Oklahoma Public Employees Association.
December 16, 2008 Tulsa World
Taking a tougher approach, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections has
withheld more than $589,000 in payments to private prison operators in the
past year because of staffing shortages. Cimarron Correctional Facility in
Cushing has had five payments of $40,000 or more withheld since December for
failing to fill vacancies within 45 days, including several positions in the
medical field. In April, the state withheld $59,191 in payments because 19
positions remained unfilled within 45 days. Among them was a clinical
supervisor slot that DOC officials said had been open for 457 days. The Davis
Correctional Facility in Holdenville also has had about $76,000 in payments
withheld since August because of staffing incidents. Both facilities are
owned by Corrections Corporation of America, based in Nashville. A company
official says it has had difficulty filling medical positions because of a
nationwide shortage. In addition to the money it has already withheld, the
DOC has another $50,000 in fines pending for November. The DOC has withheld
payments to private prisons in 28 instances since last December for failing
to fill positions in a timely manner. The department's decision to penalize
private prisons financially for contract violations stems from a
recommendation made in a performance audit of the Department of Corrections
requested last year by the Oklahoma Legislature. "The audit felt like we
were giving too many warnings to private prisons and that we needed to start
doing more liquidated damages," DOC Director Justin Jones said last
week. An official with the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, which
sought information on the fines, said the organization is concerned whether
private prison contractors are actually fixing the problems, or simply paying
the fines. Mark Beutler, director of
communications, said Monday that OPEA is sponsoring legislation in the
upcoming legislative session that will make contractors more transparent.
"We believe contractors should be held more accountable in reporting
violations and also in the ways they are spending taxpayers' money," Beutler said. Calling the shortage of medical personnel a
problem for prisons, Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Steve Owen
said the company is making a good faith effort to fill its medical services
vacancies as quickly as possible. Until the positions are filled, Owen said
the facilities will hire part-time employees or pay overtime to prevent a
drop-off in services. "This is hitting us in the wallet, but it's not
costing the taxpayer," Owen said. The state has about 4,540 inmates
housed in three private prisons in the state. In addition to the CCA
facilities in Cushing and Holdenville, the third private prison that
contracts with DOC is the Lawton Correctional Facility. The Lawton facility
has had about $23,000 in fines since last December, including about $10,000
that is pending for November. The facility is owned by the GEO Group Inc. of
Boca Raton, Fla. The performance audit, which was released Dec. 31, 2007,
said the enforcement of liquidated damages provisions in the state's contract
with private prisons was extremely rare and time-consuming. "DOC's
process is somewhat cumbersome in that it requires multiple levels of
consideration by executive staffs," the audit report said. It called
DOC's failure to use liquidated damages effectively "a serious problem
with DOC's management process" that has eroded the credibility of the
contract monitoring system. In the past, DOC has used more informal sanctions
in response to contract breaches, which sometimes resulted in adjustments in
a facility's population level. "As system crowding worsens, however, the
flexibility to reduce population in response to problems diminishes
significantly," the audit reported.
June
30, 2005 Oklahoman
Lockdown at the Davis Correctional Facility was lifted Tuesday, 10 days after
concerns about racial tension among inmates triggered heightened security at
the private prison. The lockdown was spurred by fistfights and "some
mouth talking," said Steve Owen, spokesman for the Corrections
Corporation of America, the company that owns the prison.
June
23, 2005 Oklahoman
A private prison has been locked down since Saturday amid heightened concerns
statewide about racial tension among inmates. The lockdown was spurred
by individual fistfights and "some mouth talking," said Steve Owen,
spokesman for the Corrections Corporation of America, the company that owns
the Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville. The largest incident recently
was a riot at the Cimarron Correctional Facility, which is owned by
Corrections Corporation. Seven inmates have been charged with murder in the
stabbing death of inmate Adam Lippert, 32, and the Payne County district
attorney said he plans to file murder charges against seven more inmates this
week. As many as 65 prisoners in two gangs fought March 22 in a recreational
area of the Cushing prison.
Diamondback
Correctional Facility
Watonga, Oklahoma
CCA
August 22, 2010 The Oklahoman
More than 2,000 state inmates could be displaced from private prisons if a
federal contract to house criminal illegal immigrants is awarded here. The
move could cost the state Corrections Department and Oklahoma taxpayers
millions of dollars. Corrections Corporation of America officials told state
corrections authorities in July they intended to offer three Oklahoma-based
prisons to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. They are: Cimarron Correctional
Facility in Cushing, Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville and the empty
Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga. "There shouldn't be any
surprise when something like this happens," said Justin Jones, state
Corrections Department director. "Their product is the incarceration of
criminals and it's a for-profit business." If the contract is awarded,
it could affect the placement of 1,800 medium security prisoners at Cimarron
and Davis, and 360 maximum-security inmates at Davis, corrections officials
said. The department is operating with a more than $40 million budget
deficit. Federal officials would use the private prisons to house
low-security male inmates, primarily criminal illegal immigrants who are
Mexican citizens with one year or less to serve. The business of
incarceration -- Federal contracts typically pay between $60 and $65 daily
per prisoner, Jones said. Oklahoma has one of the lowest reimbursement rates
in the country. They range from about $42 for minimum security inmates to
about $57 for maximum security. If the prisoners are moved, that could mean
an increase of as much as $15 per prisoner, Jones said. Corrections
Corporation of America spokesman Steve Owen wouldn't comment on rates
discussed with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the contract. Offers are
being accepted from companies in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona and Texas, and
would require 3,000 beds, according to a bid request from the bureau. Bids
are competitive, often based on geographic needs, Owen said. Earnings
increase -- Corrections Corporation of America earlier this month reported
their second-quarter earnings had increased nearly two percent in 2010 to
$419.4 million from $412 million in 2009. The increase was fueled by a jump
in inmate populations and a boost from new contracts with the Federal Bureau
of Prisons. It notes the opening of a center in Mississippi to house about
2,500 illegal immigrants convicted of crimes and awaiting deportation.
"We've openly been marketing our empty prisons," Owen said.
"There is a demand and a need for prison services." Corrections
Corporation of America is the largest for-profit prison company in the U.S.
It currently houses about 75,000 individuals in more than 60 prisons and
detention centers in the country, according to information on the company
website. It partners with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Marshals
Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, states and municipalities.
In 2009 financial statements, competitor GEO Group officials reported,
"We believe that this federal initiative to target, detain, and deport
criminal aliens throughout the country will continue to drive the need for
immigration detention beds over the next several years." GEO Group
recently bought Cornell Cos., operator of Great Plains Correctional Facility
in Hinton. The company has offered use of the prison for federal inmates as
well. This month, officials at the prison announced they would be laying off
nearly 300 employees and sending more than 1,700 inmates back to Arizona. No
Oklahoma prisoners are housed there. Even county jails are responding to the
need for federal bed space. Tulsa County officials entered into an agreement
with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in 2007. Garvin County also
has an agreement with the agency to house and transport federal detainees.
Displaced inmates and jobs -- Jones said if the bid by Corrections
Corporation of America is accepted, the most challenging task would be
finding room for the nearly 360 maximum-security prisoners being held at
Davis. There are not enough open maximum-security beds in the state to keep
them there, he said. This might result in prisoners being shipped out of
state -- the first time it's happened since the mid-1990s. "Obviously
this would be a huge burden to families of those prisoners," he said.
"It would also probably cost us more." At the same time state
officials worry about prison beds, the question looms about how Oklahoma jobs
will be affected. The possibility of jobs returning to the Watonga area is a
bright spot. More than 300 Corrections Corporation of America employees lost
their jobs when the Diamondback prison closed there in May. More than 2,000
inmates were returned to Arizona. It was the largest employer in the area.
Owen said company officials are anxious to get the prison running again. He
said he's not sure how employment would be affected at Davis and Cimarron if
the bid is accepted. In 2007, nearly 200 Cornell employees at the Great
Plains Correctional Center in Hinton lost work after the state Corrections
Department and the company failed to come to an agreement about reimbursement
rates. The company then negotiated a contract for Arizona inmates.
May 29, 2010 Tulsa World
The closing of the 12-year-old Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga
is a cautionary tale about what can happen when a community puts too many
eggs in one basket, when a state becomes the penal colony to the nation and
when an overabundance of private prisons is encouraged. Diamondback closed on
Thursday, leaving 300 employees jobless unless they can find work at another
facility. The city is losing the benefits of an $11 million prison payroll,
the annual sale of $400,000 of water and sewer services to the facility, and
sales tax revenues from purchases made by 2,000 inmates. The inmates are
gone, most shipped back to Arizona, which no longer will house inmates in
out-of-state facilities. Watonga has a population of 5,600 and a city budget
of $2.4 million. The loss is devastating, even if it's temporary.
Diamondback's owner, Correction Corp of America, claims that it hopes to
reopen the facility. But will that happen? Every state has budget woes and is
cutting back. Housing inmates in private prisons might be too pricey an
option. The private prison proliferation here began under Gov. Frank Keating
in the 1990s. It was a "Field of Dreams" philosophy: Build it and
they will come. And, inmates did, shipped by the thousands to new private
prisons. Oklahoma itself houses some of its own inmates in private prisons
and there's been an unrelenting push by some legislators to use private
prisons even more rather than reforming this state's sentencing system.
Private prisons are a double-edged sword. They put people to work in small
towns but they don't always last forever. And inmates seldom receive the
programming they need to break addictions or the retraining for new jobs on
the outside. Like it or not, for-profit prisons are more about warehousing
and less about rehabilitation. And states pay a pretty penny for housing
their overflow inmates in private facilities. We hope for Watonga's sake that
Diamondback reopens. In the meantime, this is a lose-lose situation all the
way around.
May 28, 2010 Oklahoman
Count this city as one of the only in the world that wants its criminals
back. Not back on the streets, but back in the private prison that until
Thursday was Watonga's biggest employer. The Diamondback Correctional
Facility shipped its last prisoners away Thursday and shut down, leaving a
hole in the city economy and more than 300 corrections workers jobless or
transferred to private prisons elsewhere. "It hurts,” Mayor Dale Green
said. The prison housed about 2,000 inmates from Arizona, but officials there
recently opted not to renew contracts with out-of-state prisons housing
Arizona prisoners, Diamondback spokeswoman Sandy Clark said. "It was a
budget decision,” Clark said. "They had some new beds there, and so they
chose to utilize those rather than keep these inmates out of state.” The
prison's owner, Corrections Corp. of America, has been searching for a new
client for the Diamondback Correctional Facility, which has been open since
1998 and had a payroll of about $11 million, Clark said. "We are going
to continue to actively market that facility,” said Steve Owen, a spokesman
for Corrections Corp. of America. "They've done an outstanding,
professional job under all the contracts we've worked with in the past.”
Green said: "Hopefully, in the next six months, we can get some new
prisoners in there.” Some former Diamondback workers have transferred to
other Corrections Corp. of America prisons, some in Oklahoma. Others, such as
Clark, worked their last day Thursday. "I'm from here, so I'm not
moving,” Clark said. "We're hoping to secure a contract, so I'm just
going to wait and see what happens, and hopefully, we'll be back to work soon.”
Green said the prison bought about $400,000 of water and sewer services from
Watonga, which has a population of about 5,600 and a city budget of about
$2.4 million next fiscal year. The Watonga Chamber of Commerce is bracing for
a hit to the city's economy. "It's going to have an effect on our
housing market and just our total population count,” said Mary Larson, the
chamber's administrative director. "It's hard to figure the trickle
down. The employees who lose their income will have less spending dollars,
which will affect the sales tax in the community. It's going to be a bit of a
snowball.” Sales taxes on prisoner commissary purchases in the prison will
also be lost, Larson said. But city officials remain confident that prisoners
will return to help keep the city's economy afloat. "Unfortunately,
that's not something that goes away, is the need to house prisoners,” Larson
said.
March 13, 2010 Enid News and Eagle
The closing of a business and the resulting loss of jobs is never good news,
but when it affects more than 300 people, that is serious. Diamondback
Correctional Facility in Watonga will shut its doors within the next 60 days.
The private prison’s more than 300 employees will either be out of work or
will try to transfer to other Corrections Corporation of America facilities
in other cities. Either way, the closing will be a real blow to Watonga’s
economy. CCA says it is closing the prison because all of the inmates at
Diamondback are from Arizona, and facilities will soon become available there
to house the inmates.
March 4, 2010 Enid News and Eagle
Diamondback Correction Facility in Watonga is closing within the next 60 days,
due to Arizona ending its private prison contract. Corrections Corporation of
America, owner of Diamondback, issued 60-day termination notices to all
employees at Diamondback this week in anticipation of closing the facility,
which is timed with the departure of the Arizona inmates housed there.
Diamondback has more than 300 employees. The payroll of the facility is
around $11 million annually. The facility has a capacity of 2,160. The
contract is set to expire April 30. Diamondback has been operating in Watonga
since November 1998.
January 21, 2010 Corrections
Corporation of America
CCA (Corrections Corporation of America) (NYSE: CXW), the nation's
largest partnership corrections provider to government agencies, announced
today that the proposed budgets by the Arizona Governor and Legislature,
released on January 15, 2010, would phase out the utilization of private
out-of-state beds. CCA currently has management contracts with Arizona at its
752-bed Huerfano County Correctional Center in Walsenburg, Colorado and at
its 2,160-bed Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Oklahoma. The
proposed phase-out of utilizing out-of-state beds is based on Arizona's
budget crisis and its desire to utilize additional in-state capacity that
will come on-line in 2010. As a result of the budget proposals, there is a
significant risk that CCA will lose the opportunity to house offenders from
Arizona at its Huerfano and Diamondback facilities during 2010. Our contract
with Arizona at Huerfano expires on March 8, 2010, and our contract at
Diamondback expires on May 1, 2010. In the event that Arizona should not
renew one or both of these contracts, CCA will work with Arizona officials
related to the timing of any phase-out of Arizona inmate populations. We
would anticipate that such populations would be transferred out within 30 to
60 days following expiration of each management contract. If Arizona removes
its offender populations housed at these facilities, CCA will likely close
both facilities. During 2009, CCA generated approximately $56.5 million in
revenues from both of these contracts.
July 18, 2009 Honolulu Advertiser
An investigation into sex assaults involving Hawai'i and other female
inmates at a private Kentucky prison has widened and now includes 19 alleged
attacks over the past three years. Honolulu attorney Myles Breiner is representing three Hawai'i women who allege
they were sexually assaulted at Otter Creek Correctional Center within the
past 12 to 18 months. The most recent sex assault was reported June 23 and
allegedly involved a male corrections officer. Meanwhile, Kentucky officials
say they have launched an investigation into 16 alleged sex assaults at Otter
Creek involving Kentucky women. Some of the allegations date back to 2006. Breiner said he expects more allegations of sex assault
involving Hawai'i women to surface during investigations under way by the
Hawai'i Department of Public Safety, which sent a team to Otter Creek last week
to speak to female inmates from the Islands and look into the allegations.
The developments are spurring new discussions about whether the state should
end its contract with Otter Creek and bring the 165 Hawai'i women at the
privately operated prison back to Hawai'i. State Senate Public Safety
Committee Chairman Will Espero, D-20th ('Ewa Beach, Waipahu), said he will hold a public hearing
in August on the assault allegations, during which he plans to call on state
officials to halt the practice of shipping Hawai'i female inmates to the
Mainland. "This might be a good opportunity for (Public Safety Director)
Clayton Frank to show some leadership and ... bring the women home," Espero said, adding that he also believes more assault
allegations will come to light in the coming months. "We might have
heard ... the tip of the iceberg." Tommy Johnson, deputy director of
DPS, would not say how many allegations the state is investigating because
the cases are ongoing. But he said he was at Otter Creek all last week to
speak to Hawai'i women in groups and to talk to some in one-on-one sessions.
He also toured the facility and looked at its "operational
security." He would not discuss what the Hawai'i female inmates told him
in the sessions, saying that "it would be premature and inappropriate to
do so." Otter Creek, in Wheelwright, Ky., is operated by Corrections
Corporation of America. A spokesman for the company said it is conducting its
own investigation into the assault allegations. Hawai'i has had a contract to
house female inmates at Otter Creek since October 2005. Breiner
said the three Hawai'i women at the prison whom he represents allege they
were sexually assaulted within the past 18 months. The most recent assault
was reported on June 23, and is under investigation by Kentucky state police,
who said it involved a male corrections officer. Kentucky state police
spokesman Mike Goble said a detective investigating the June 23 sex assault
was also informed of other assault allegations. It's unclear whether those
assaults involved Hawai'i women, and Goble said police have not yet decided
how to proceed on those allegations. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Department of
Corrections said Thursday that it is investigating allegations that 16
Kentucky women were sexually assaulted at Otter Creek as far back as 2006.
Spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said the allegations relate to incidents over the past
three years. In a statement, she said some of the allegations were previously
reported but are being reinvestigated. She also said the department is
sharing information with Hawai'i officials and the CCA. Allegations of sexual
misconduct involving corrections workers and Hawai'i inmates have surfaced
before at Otter Creek and in other private prisons, including in Oklahoma in
2000 and Colorado in 2005. In 2007, a Hawai'i inmate at Otter Creek alleged a
corrections officer came to her room and demanded she perform sex acts. The
officer was convicted on a misdemeanor. Following the incident, Otter Creek
prison officials said they would change their procedures to require that a
female correctional officer be paired with a male officer in housing units. Breiner, the Honolulu attorney, said that from his
discussions with Hawai'i inmates it doesn't appear that's happening at Otter
Creek. He said there are not enough female corrections officers at Otter
Creek. He also said that in the wake of the publicity following the
allegations, some Hawai'i inmates have expressed concerns about retaliation
and he said he's worried about the safety of his clients. The cost of
exporting Hawai'i inmates is cheaper than building new facilities or
expanding existing ones, but advocates have long criticized the practice
because of its impact on families. They point out that many female inmates
have kids who suffer during the separation.
September 17, 2007 KITV 4
Another lawsuit has been filed against the mainland prison corporation
that houses thousands of Hawaii inmates. This lawsuit claimed the company
knowingly hired sexual predators as guards to torment inmates. Convicted car
thief Nelson Abiley said he was subjected to
repeated homosexual sexual harassment and battery at the Diamondback Prison
in Oklahoma. He said Corrections Corp. of America did not respond to his
complaints. CCA had a history of hiring predatory homosexuals in order to
control inmates, according to the lawsuit. The company has been sued in
several cases recently in which inmates beat other inmates.
March 6, 2005 Honolulu Advertiser
Monitoring reports by state prison officials describe gang violence, drug
dealing and other problems at the Diamondback Correctional Facility in
Oklahoma where hundreds of Hawai'i inmates are being held. The situation was
so bad that Department of Public Safety officials who visited the privately
run prison in September recommended that nearly 800 Hawai'i convicts be
removed unless conditions improve. State officials and representatives of
prison operator Corrections Corp. of America said last week the situation at
Diamondback has improved in recent months, but the critical monitoring
reports provide further evidence of troubles with Hawai'i's practice of
shipping inmates to Mainland facilities. Just last week, the head of the GRW
Corp., which owns the Brush Correctional Facility near Denver, Colo.,
appeared in Honolulu at the request of state officials to explain sexual
misconduct allegations made against prison staff by two Hawai'i women and six
other female inmates. The two Hawai'i inmates have been returned to the
Islands, and a corrections officers in Colorado has been charged with a
felony in the case. In Oklahoma, state monitors' reports from 2003 and 2004
indicate increasing concern about conditions at the Diamondback Correctional
Facility in Watonga, including drug dealing by gangs, inmate attacks on
corrections officers and other inmates, and rising tensions in the prison.
The portions of the reports that were released describe inexperienced line
staff and supervisors struggling to cope with gang members, including some
whom the monitors' believed should have been transferred to prisons
designated for more dangerous inmates. The monitors also criticized prolonged
use of administrative segregation. The state's contract with CCA requires
that disciplinary segregation not exceed 60 days, but Shimoda
said some inmates were left in administrative segregation for a year or more.
CCA spokesman Steve Owen said the company did not receive copies of the Oct.
22 monitors' report until mid-December. He said the company provided a
written response to state officials on Jan. 20 that outlined what it is doing
about the problems. Owen declined to release the details of the CCA response,
saying that information should come from Hawai'i prison officials. The
Department of Public Safety did not answer an Advertiser request last week for
a copy of the company's Jan. 20 response. The monitors' reports from 2003 and
2004 show that Hawai'i officials were alarmed about operations at the
Oklahoma prison for at least 18 months. Problems cited included alarm that
female corrections officers were "falling in love" with Hawai'i
inmates, and smuggling drugs into the prison for them. The chief of security
at Diamondback told Hawai'i monitors in June 2003 that prison staff believed
2 ounces of crystal methamphetamine were being smuggled into the prison each
week. In April 2003, more than one out of every four inmates who underwent
drug testing came up positive for drug use, according to the Oct. 17, 2003,
report. That same report said six corrections workers had been fired for
"inappropriate relationships" with inmates and activity related to
drug use within the prison. Monitors' reports also indicated 30 to 40 Hawai'i
inmates were involved in a disturbance in one of the prison modules on July
20, 2003. A far more serious disturbance broke out last May 14 when 500
inmates from Arizona rioted for several hours, demolishing fences and
battling one another with construction equipment and other improvised
weapons. About 100 inmates were injured. An investigation by Arizona
corrections officials found that inadequate staffing at Diamondback made it
difficult to prevent the disturbance, and Arizona reduced the number of its
inmates there from about 1,200 to about 750.
February 9, 2005 KOTV
Hawaii inmates at an Oklahoma prison plan will get to celebrate an ancient
Hawaiian festival this weekend. About 100 men at the Diamondback Correctional
Facility in Watonga plan to mark Makahiki with chanting, hula, a cleansing
ritual and a feast with laulau, fish and poi. Makahiki was an annual period
of peace celebrated in ancient Hawaii with sports and religious activities.
The festival also honors Lono, the Hawaiian god of
agriculture, peace and fertility. The Corrections Corporation of America,
which operates the Oklahoma prison, refused to allow the inmates to hold the
event two years ago, but a 2003 lawsuit challenged that decision. Attorneys
for all sides have met to discuss a possible settlement.
October 27, 2004 KTOK
The company which
runs a private prison in Watonga is slapped with more than a dozen lawsuits
stemming from a riot at the prison earlier this year.
August 8, 2004
On May 14, more than 500 Arizona inmates rioted at the Diamondback
Correctional Facility in Watonga, Okla., a private prison where more than
1,200 Arizona inmates were being housed because of overcrowding at state
facilities. Inmates fought with recreational and construction equipment and
broke through fences and other barriers. The disturbance lasted several hours
and dozens of inmates were injured, including two who were hospitalized for
weeks. In response, the state is bringing one-third of the inmates at the
facility back to Arizona because of concerns about management by Corrections
Corporation of America. The debate over private prisons took prominence
during last year's special legislative session, when the state Legislature
approved the construction of 1,000 private and 1,000 public beds (now in
planning), as well as the temporary lease of out-of-state private prison
space. The state currently contracts for about 4,400 beds in private prisons.
Republic reporter Amanda J. Crawford sat down with Arizona Department of
Corrections Director Dora Schriro to discuss the
riot and other private-prison issues. QUESTION: What happened to start
the riot? ANSWER: There was a precipitating event the day before and
that confrontation was not managed adequately. It simmered and then boiled
over the next day. Q: This was a riot that was caused by racial
conflicts, right? A: In my opinion, no. It was caused by poor management of
the population by the facility. That there was disagreement between inmates
in different racial groups is a challenge we always face in the department.
But it was the reading of those symptoms and the management of those
populations that allowed this thing to kick off and continue. Q: What
do you think the prison's management did wrong? A: Before the actual
melee, there were a number of warning signs that they should have picked up
on. Their staffing was off; they purported to have the correct number
of staff but in fact they were double-counting people. During the
situation, there were other problems, not the least of which was failure to
provide timely notice to our monitors. Also, they never activated their
emergency response - that clearly impacted their ability to contain and then
to quell the disturbance. And their supervisors were inadequate . . . in
terms of not having the skill to give direction to staff to get the matter
under control. Afterwards, our concerns continued about the inadequacy
of the investigation. We got there more than a day ahead of their own team. I
was concerned about the way in which the medical assessment was done. But I
think most vexing of all is that it was then and, to some extent, continues
to be difficult to obtain timely and reliable information. Q: What
actions have you decided to take? A: I think most significantly thus
far was our conclusion very early on that the facility was unable to manage
all of the inmates we had sent to them, all of whom are low-medium and medium
security inmates only. It was our determination that we would pull out
any of the Level 2 inmates who were not involved in that disturbance. We have
been returning inmates in small groups on a weekly basis. Thus far we have
transferred back about 300 inmates. In the end we will bring back a total of
about 400. There are other decisions, significant, that are still
pending. A great concern to us still is that their corrective action plan is
not yet fully implemented and as a result there is a modified lockdown of
considerable magnitude that is still in effect today. Q: Based on this
event and incidents at some other of their facilities recently, will you
continue to contract with CCA? A: That remains to be seen. We are at a
critical juncture now. Q: What is the status of the public
expansion approved by the Legislature last year? A: We also had
approval to expand state facilities by a total of 1,000 beds. These are going
to be Level 1 beds, which is really important for us because it is the first
time the department has built minimum-security beds. By building the cheapest
beds, which are also the fastest to build, not only do we increase our
capacity with the least expenditure, we then move Level 1 inmates to Level 1
beds that automatically frees up more space for Level 2 inmates, where we are
still short on space. What we are doing is expanding Perryville, Tucson and
Douglas. Our construction will be done this November, and we will begin
moving in inmates in December. (Arizona Republic)
July 30, 2004
Corrections settlement: Watonga expects little fallout WATONGA - A $250,000
settlement on inmate telephone revenue shouldn't change the number of inmates
at Diamondback Correctional Facility. Watonga and Corrections
Corporation of America officials recently settled a lawsuit the city filed
seeking a portion of the revenue from inmate phone calls at the prison.
(The Oklahoman)
July 8, 2004
A May 14 riot at the private Diamondback Correctional Facility raged for more
than four hours, much longer than previously stated, a recently released
report asserts. Inmates pushed down fences, used shower rods as
battering rams and smashed windows with boards and rubble found among
construction materials left in a recreation yard, according to a report by
the Arizona Department of Corrections. Arizona had 1,199 inmates at the
prison. The fight involved about 360 Arizona inmates and was limited to their
section, which also holds 783 Hawaii inmates, the report states. The prison
holds no Oklahoma inmates. Now Arizona is retrieving 330 inmates about
two months earlier than planned because of safety concerns. The report
includes numerous criticisms of the warden and staff, as well as the prison
owner, Corrections Corporation of America. (News Ok)
July 3, 2004
Citing security concerns following a riot at an Oklahoma facility, Arizona is
curtailing its transfer of inmates to private, out-of-state prisons. A
first group of 30 prisoners was returned to Arizona and arrived Thursday at
the Arizona State Prison Complex here. Another 300 inmates will be
moved back to Arizona by August, prison officials said Friday. The
Arizona Department of Corrections is bringing home
low-custody-level inmates who were not involved in the May 14
disturbance at the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Okla.
More than 400 inmates reportedly fought with baseball bats, fire
extinguishers and boards. Two inmates were critically injured. (AP)
May 16, 2004
Two prisoners were seriously injured and 40 others
were hurt after a brawl among inmates from Arizona broke out in a recreation
yard of a private prison Friday night. The prison remained on lockdown
Saturday as officials at the Diamondback Correctional Facility investigated
the incident. The fight started at about 8:15 p.m. Friday among inmates from
Arizona. The Diamondback Correctional Facility houses about 2,050 prisoners
from Arizona and Hawaii. Arizona inmates account for 1,199 of the inmates.
(AP)
June 17, 2003
Officials here aren't sure what kind of economic effect the indefinite
closure of a private prison will have on the town's economy.
Corrections Corporation of America on Friday announced that it planned to
consolidate its Sayre operations with the Diamondback Correctional Facility
in Watonga. The 225 employees at North Fork received a written, 60-day
notice of their termination before the public announcement was made after the
stock market closed Friday. The Watonga facility has 2,160 beds and is
a medium-security prison. Officials cited the long-distance telephone
rates of the prison's 989 inmates contracted from Wisconsin as one of the
reasons for the closure. "Inmates' families were getting these
outrageous telephone bills," said Bill Clausius, a spokesman for the
Wisconsin Department of Corrections. "CCA has a contract with us that is
not facility-specific, but in that contract we have
certain requirements about phone rates. "We had spoken with CCA
about this on several occasions, but nothing was ever done concerning their
vendors. So they've decided to move the inmates to
another facility." Steve Owen, a CCA spokesman, confirmed his
company's contractual obligations with the state of Wisconsin is to provide
reasonable long-distance phone rates for its inmates. "I can't
quote you those rates (in Sayre) off the top of my head, but they were substantially
higher than our contract permits," Owen said. In Wisconsin,
prisons must use telephone vendors who charge no more than $1.25 for each
call and 22 cents for each additional minute, Clausius said. He didn't know
what SBC Communications had been charging the prison in Sayre, but he said it
was well above Wisconsin's contract requirements. CCA officials said
they will work to identify other opportunities to reopen North Fork and bring
staff and operations back to the Sayre facility. (AP)
December 27, 2001
Prosecutors filed charges
Thursday against four men accused of plotting to rob and possibly kill an
Enid doctor. Dustin Cox, 21, Corey Best, 20, and Chris Pembrook, 21, made their first court appearances on
attempted grand larceny and conspiracy charges. Authorities
issued an arrest warrant for Jami Cox, 24, brother of Dustin Cox.
Garfield County Sheriff Bill Winchester said more people could be involved in
a burglary ring that spawned the plot. The three were arrested
Saturday after an attempt to steal an automated teller machine from the Bank
of Kremlin in Drummond. According to an affidavit, an informant
told a Garfield County sheriff's investigator that the four men were planning
to rob Dr. Ross Vanhooser because they had heard he
had $2 million in a safe in his house and that they would kill him if
necessary. Pembrook, who had worked at Watonga's
private prison since Oct. 15, was fired Tuesday, Assistant Warden Jim Keith
said. Winchester said Pembrook was a prison guard.
(AP)
August 15, 1999
A disturbance started when correctional officers attempted to stop two
inmates from climbing a fence separating two recreation areas. 25 inmates
went on a rampage, and $400,000 in damage from fire, smoke, and water
resulted from 12 separate fires that were set.
Dominion Correctional Services
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
December 31, 2005 Journal Sentinel
Lobbyist Bill Broydrick testified in 2002 about how
Chuck Chvala, the former Senate majority leader,
solicited lobbyists and their clients for contributions. With Chvala scheduled to begin a nine-month jail sentence on
Feb. 13 after pleading guilty to two felony corruption charges, Broydrick was recently shown a summary of his then-secret
2002 testimony about how the former Senate majority leader solicited
lobbyists and their clients for contributions. Prosecutors say another group
that got what it wanted was Dominion Asset Services, which built a prison in
Stanley that it was trying to sell to the state. Dominion officials wrote one
check for $50,000 on June 1, 2001, and another for $75,000 on July 1, 2001,
to Independent Citizens for Democracy-Issues Inc., court records show.
ICD-Issues was the group Chvala set up to get
"soft money" donations from corporations - companies barred by
state law from giving directly to state candidates and their campaign
committees. On July 25, 2001, Chvala and
Republicans brokered a final budget that included $79.9 million to buy the
Stanley prison. Assembly Republicans long supported the purchase of the
Stanley prison, but they were unable to get the deal through the Legislature
because of Chvala's opposition to the deal.
"And then, suddenly and surprisingly, he allowed it to go through,"
said Rep. Scott Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield), who was speaker of the
Assembly at the time. Dominion built the prison even though state law bars
private companies from operating prisons. The state could have used the law
to negotiate a lower price because only the state and federal governments
could buy the facility, critics said at the time. Jensen defended the
purchase decision, saying it helped move prisoners held out of state closer
to their families while creating jobs in Stanley, near Eau
Claire. Around that time, Dominion employees gave $500 to Jensen and $500 to
Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah), who offered the
budget amendment to purchase the prison. Employees also gave $4,000 to
then-Gov. Scott McCallum, a Republican, and $9,600 to Senate Democrats. After
the state bought the prison, it delayed its opening for almost a year, after
the state determined it would cost more to run the state facility than to
keep inmates in out-of-state facilities.
January 01, 2001
Top state democratic Party officials said Wednesday that because of "new revelations," they will ask for
state and federal investigations into some $240,000 in cash gifts to Gov.
Frank Keating. Meanwhile, it was learned Wednesday that a meeting Keating set
up between his benefactor Jack Dryfus and
Department of Corrections director James Saffle was
not the first the governor had arranged so the wealthy financier could make a
pitch for the drug Dilantin to state prison officials. Dryfus
considers Dilantin a wonder drug and wanted it
used on prison inmates. Keating arranged for him to meet with federal prison
officials when Keating was an official in the Reagan administration. Saffle has said that he met with Dryfus
at Keating's request. But he said never acted on Dryfus'
proposal. Larry fields who proceeded Saffle as
director and who was forced out of office by Keating, confirmed Wednesday
that he also met with Dryfus at Keating's request.
Fields, who is now an officer in a private prison
corporation, said the initial meeting took place in the governor's office at
the Capitol. "Keating was just there at the start," Fields said.
"He introduced us, and then he left to go to another meeting."
Fields said he was attending a meeting in New York City. Fields was
corrections director from 1993 to 1997. Although he had a good reputation and
generally was well-liked by lawmakers, he ultimately resigned as director
under pressure from Keating. Fields is now President of Dominion Correctional
Services. (Tulsa World)
Grady County Jail
Grady, Oklahoma
Civigenics, Cornell, Emerald
September 2, 2003
Grady County’s jail construction fiasco is disgraceful, but not prosecutable,
a grand jury declared Friday. The panel offered sharp criticism — but
no indictments — of current and former county officials and the Missouri jail
architect who promoted the use of revenue bonds to build the jail.
Architect Lawrence Goldberg presented an “inaccurate and overly
opportunistic” feasibility study based on revenue projections “that did not
exist or were unrealistic,” the grand jury’s 16-page report reads. The
report says the grand jury was committed to investigating possible criminal
wrongdoing and “to address the culprit” if any was found. While the 12
grand jurors uncovered nothing criminal, they did find that a “lack of
attention to detail, lack of attention to overall project plans, the lack of
leadership and the lack of a sound business plan” led to the county’s current
financial crisis. The Grady County Industrial Authority issued $12.65
million in 30-year revenue bonds in 1999 for construction of a four-story,
190-bed jail and a 62-bed work release center for low-security
prisoners. Goldberg’s construction cost estimate was too low, and his
revenue projections for the jail were far higher than the county realized.
That prompted the industrial authority to issue another $4.9 million in
revenue bonds in 2001. Even with the extra money, the jail wasn’t
finished as designed. The fourth floor, designed to hold contract prisoners,
has no cells. It is being used for storage. Prisoners intended to be housed
there instead are kept at the old county jail, which the state jail inspector
wants to close. The jail’s financial woes might force the county to
turn over possession to a private prison company. Under that arrangement, the
county would lease beds and hope to get a reduced rate. The private vendor
would pay the bond debt. (The Oklahoman)
July 16, 2003
An Oklahoma grand jury will launch a criminal investigation of a Grady County
jail project financed with two revenue bond issues worth over $16 million
after voters rejected a sales tax to service the debt three times, according
to the district attorney. The investigation centers on the original
revenue projections used to sell the project to the Grady County Industrial
Authority, a nonprofit issuer that leases the jail to another public entity
called the Grady County Justice Authority. The Grady County Sheriff's Office
runs the jail under a letter agreement with the Justice Authority.
District attorney Robert E. "Gene" Christian said he expects to
impanel the grand jury the end of this month to investigate the source of
revenue projections, which states that inmate per diem fees would be adequate
to cover the debt service and jail operations. Completed six months ago, the
jail is not generating enough revenue to cover the debt service, though it
appears a default on the bonds can be avoided, officials said. The next
payment is due in November. In addition to the investigation of
criminal charges, Oklahoma grand juries can recommend the ouster of public
officials, said Bret Burns, assistant district attorney in Grady
County. "The revenue that was promised has not materialized and is
not nearly enough to pay for the bonds," Christian said. "If the
original figures were not accurate, then who made the misrepresentation? I
think the voters want to know that." Jail architect Lawrence
Goldberg said last week that he had a role in the projections but insisted
the revenues would have been adequate to service the debt before the economy
weakened. Goldberg said the state began housing fewer inmates in county jails
due to budget constraints, reducing the jail's income in per diem fees.
Goldberg also blamed political infighting in the county for problems that
forced a second bond issue after the first $12.6 million of revenue bonds
appeared inadequate to complete the project. The first bond issue was insured
by MBIA Insurance Corp., while the second issue carried no insurance.
Since a report about the Grady County jail's problems appeared in The Bond
Buyer last week, Goldberg said he has lost funding for a potential jail deal
in Logan County. That project was expected to be underwritten by Kirkpatrick
Pettis, but Goldberg yesterday said bankers from that firm say their
investors have pulled out of the deal. Officials from Kirkpatrick
Pettis were not available for comment before press time yesterday.
Current Grady County Sheriff Kieran McMullen, who has been in charge of the
jail less than four months, called the web of jail contracts for Grady County
"one of the most bizarre arrangements I've ever seen," adding that
the original figures used to build the project "totally
unrealistic." An official with Little Rock-based American
Municipal Securities in Little Rock, which underwrote the second bond deal,
declined comment but indicated that a solution is in the works. The underwriter
for the first bond deal, Miller & Schroeder Financial Inc., has since
gone out of business. Mike Haider, contracts specialist for the justice
authority, said the revenue estimates were obviously incorrect from the
outset. "Some of the figures they used in their proposals were
totally false," he said. "They were counting on $85 per day for a
federal bed. Back during the time when everything was being planned, a bed
for a federal inmate was going for $38 to $40 per day. Where they got their
numbers, I don't know. I've worked in the private prison industry for 12
years and I've never seen per diems that high." County officials
were scheduled to meet with MBIA officials last night to discuss options for
avoiding a default. (The Bond Buyer)
July 15, 2003
Three private prison companies have expressed interest in leasing Grady
County's financially troubled jail, the county's jail authority learned
Monday night. It was the authority's first meeting since voters
overwhelmingly rejected a sales tax proposal aimed at keeping the county from
defaulting on revenue bonds used to build the jail. Sheriff Kieran
McMullen, a member of the jail authority, told other members his office has
been in contact with Civigenics of Marlborough,
Mass.; Emerald Correctional Services of Shreveport, La.; and Cornell
Corrections of Houston, which runs an 812-bed private prison at Hinton.
Authority members picked a two- man committee to look at alternatives,
including a lease agreement. "I think it needs to be a fast
turnaround," McMullen said. The Grady County Jail, which opened in
November, was built much larger than needed on the idea that the county would
make its monthly revenue bond payments through contracts to house state and
federal inmates. The county's jail and minimum-security annex can hold
330 prisoners. The current population is just fewer than 300, which includes
95 inmates from Oklahoma County waiting to be transferred to prison, at $24 a
day per inmate, and 62 state inmates on contract with the state Corrections
Department, at $31 a day. While the county is making about $126,000 a
month from those contracts, it's not nearly enough to pay the $117,000-a-
month bond payments plus $100,000 a month in payroll and $65,000 a month in
other operating expenses, McMullen said. The original bond issue was
for $12.65 million. When design and construction problems arose, a second
bond issue for $4.9 million was necessary. The county's industrial
authority, which issued the revenue bonds, is in danger of defaulting. The county
has $368,000 to make its bond payment due Nov. 1, but after that the future
is cloudy. (The Oklahoman)
Great Plains Correctional
Facility
Hinton, Oklahoma
GEO Group (bought Cornell)
Jul
15, 2021 journalrecord.com
With-prison-vacant-hinton-faces-uncertain-future
When the price of crude oil nose-dived in the 1980s, this rural community
halfway between El Reno and Weatherford was in trouble. Oil rig workers, once
flush with cash and eager to spend, started leaving in droves. Hinton's
population dropped 14% from 1980 to 1990. "We had more business than we
could take care of," said Kenneth Doughty, a lifelong Hinton resident.
"Then all of a sudden it went away." Unnerved, city leaders in 1987
formed the Hinton Economic Development Authority, a public trust tasked with
attracting new businesses. After learning that Mustang's town council
rejected a construction proposal from a private prison company, it did some
research and grew convinced that a correctional facility bring jobs and tax
revenue back to Hinton. In 1989, the trust issued public bonds to fund
construction, and three years later the Great Plains Correctional Facility
was opened. The prison, leased by private corrections company The G.E.O
Group, has since housed tens of thousands of state and federal prisoners and
generated tens of millions of dollars for Hinton. G.E.O. even added 1,400
beds in 2008. On the north side of Hinton along Interstate 40, construction
of a Love's truck stop, two casinos and a Chevy dealership were made possible
after the city used money generated from the prison to expand water line
access. Closer to downtown, the town used prison revenue to invest in a new
fire station and historical museum. But with the stroke of a pen this year,
Hinton's prospects for growth took a significant hit. On Jan. 26 President
Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the federal government to not
renew private prison contracts. The Great Plains prison was vacated in late
May as a result. Oklahoma lawmakers sent a letter to Biden asking him to
reconsider, but their request fell on deaf ears. Shanon
Pack, Hinton's town administrator, said he and other leaders started
preparing for the worst immediately after Biden issued the order. Over the
past six and a half years, the G.E.O. Group has paid Hinton about $60,000 per
month in utility fees and $1.25 per day per prisoner. The town received its
final payments last month. "I remember when we first learned of that
executive order, just realizing how Hinton was going to be greatly affected
by it, not just the prison but the whole town," Pack said, adding that
Hinton will lose about $1.5 million in annual revenue with the prison empty.
Pack said the town won't fill two vacant positions in its police department.
Local businesses likely will have to start making cuts, too, as many of the
prison's 230 former employees move away. As new mandatory minimum sentencing
laws took effect and drove up demand for prison beds in the 1980s, startup
private corrections companies like CoreCivic and
the G.E.O. Group saw opportunity, and it paid. By the late 1990s, 1 in 10
rural counties was home to a correctional facility.
While the prison boom brought jobs to economically depressed areas and padded
municipal budgets, it also sparked criticism among justice reform advocates
and researchers. Critics of private prisons argued that creating a financial
incentive to lock people up is unethical and that private facilities are more
likely to cut corners on staffing, prisoner programs and medical care. The
G.E.O. Group, a publicly traded company, generated $2.47 billion in revenue
and $166 million in net income in 2019. Critics' suspicions were confirmed in
a 2016 U.S. Department of Justice report that found federal contract prisons
were more dangerous and less secure than comparable government-owned and
operated facilities. The report prompted former President Barack Obama to
issue an executive order phasing out some private prison use. The Trump
administration later rescinded that. It's worth noting that the federal
prison population has declined 27% over the past seven years. The criticism
of private prisons doesn't add up for Hinton city leaders and residents, who
argue the Great Plains facility was run just as well as, if not better than,
any public facility. "I don't think we've ever had any issues with the
prison as far as a negative impact on the town and the community," said
Jason Garner, head of the Hinton Economic Development Authority. "Before
COVID they would hold a town meeting every quarter and tell us how they were training
the inmates out there and educating them. It was a real positive vibe out
there." This isn't the first time the Great Plains Correctional Facility
has sat empty. In 2010, the Arizona Department of Corrections moved 1,700 of
its prisoners out of the prison after expanding its in-state space. The
prison remained vacant for more than four years until The G.E.O. Group and
the Federal Bureau of Prisons agreed to a contract in 2014. Pack and Garner
said that idle period has given the city some idea of what to expect as it
begins to lose revenue from the prison again. In the meantime, they said the
G.E.O. Group will continue to maintain the facility and pitch it to the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections and other government agencies. Unlike the
federal government, states remain free to enter into
private prison contracts. About 20% of Oklahoma's state prison population is
housed at two private facilities. However, demand for prison bed space has
dropped significantly over the past five years. In Oklahoma, the state prison
population has dropped 17.5% just in the last two years. The state prison
system was operating at 86% capacity on June 28, down from 105% in June 2019.
Last month the DOC announced plans to close the William S. Key Correctional
Center in Fort Supply. A declining state prison population doesn't mean the
Great Plains facility won't be repopulated. The Corrections Department could
opt to close some older facilities and move prisoners and staff to Hinton. If
the state went that route, it could elect to lease and operate the facility,
as it does with the CoreCivic-owned North Fork
Correctional Facility in Sayre. The prison's closure hasn't stopped life in
Hinton. The town's two casinos lure people traveling on nearby Interstate 40.
The Red Rock Canyon Adventure Park also is a draw. But if Hinton's largest
employer and revenue generator doesn't return, Doughty envisions a reality similar to what the town faced 35 years go. "I think
we'll survive, but I don't know that we'll thrive," he said. Oklahoma
Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that produces in-depth
and investigative content on a wide range of issues facing the state. For
more Oklahoma Watch content, go to oklahomawatch.org.
Nov 29, 2017 koamtv.com
Former Oklahoma Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Fraud
A former correctional officer at a private prison for federal inmates in
Oklahoma could be sentenced to prison himself. Charles Daniel Lynn of El Reno
Oklahoma admits he accepted a bribe and conspired to commit wire fraud. U.S.
Attorney Mark Yancey says the 34-year-old suspect entered guilty pleas Monday
in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City. Lynn was a correctional officer at
the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton, a low-security institution
that contracts with the government to house federal inmates. A federal
indictment in August alleged that Lynn agreed to deliver contraband including
cellphones, electronic music players and other items to an inmate at the
prison in exchange for money. Lynn faces up to 15 years in prison. .
Jul
11, 2017 msn.com
Inmates take 2 guards hostage in Oklahoma prison riot Associated Press July
10, 2017
TULSA, Okla. — Hundreds of inmates — some armed with baseball bats and iron
pipes — rioted at an Oklahoma federal prison for about eight hours, taking
two guards hostage and refusing to return to their cells before they were
finally corralled by law enforcement officers, authorities said Monday. The
riot started late Sunday at the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton
after a fight broke out in the prison yard, and rapidly escalated from there,
said Caddo County Sheriff Lennis Miller. Miller
said the inmates refused to return to their cells and at one point occupied
one building in the
complex located about 55 miles (90 kilometers) west of Oklahoma
City. "It was a full-fledged riot," Miller said. Miller said about
150 inmates were involved, but The GEO Group, Inc., the Florida-based
operator of the private prison, estimated Monday that about 400 inmates
caused the disturbance in two recreation yards. Miller said prisoners, some
toting bats and pipes, took two guards hostage at
the outset of the riot, but that both were freed and uninjured. It wasn't
immediately clear how the inmates got the weapons, how they were able to get
inside one of the buildings or what prompted the riot. Miller said
authorities used pepper spray and stun grenades to corral inmates into a
soccer field and an exercise yard. The riot ended early Monday after roughly
eight hours, authorities said. Pablo Paez, a
spokesman for The GEO Group, said in a statement Monday that the prison was
secured without serious injury to staff, inmates or
law officers. He said the Federal Bureau of Prisons and other agencies are
reviewing the incident. The prison houses about 1,900 inmates. Miller says no
officers were hurt, but that some inmates were taken to hospitals with
unspecified injuries. Oklahoma's prison directors have been warning for years
about potential problems inside the state's overcrowded and underfunded
correctional facilities, many of which are old state schools or hospitals
that have been converted into prisons. Inside most facilities, recreation
rooms, classrooms and other program space have all been converted into
makeshift housing units to accompany more inmates. In a presentation to the
prison system's governing board last month, Director Joe Allbaugh
said state prisons have a rated operating capacity of 17,902 but were
currently housing more than 26,000 inmates. "You can only push this
balloon so far," Allbaugh warned the panel
during the presentation. "Something is going to pop." In September
2015, four inmates were stabbed to death at a private prison in Cushing in a
fight between rival prison gangs that left three other inmates wounded. Last
year, a knife fight among inmates at a crowded housing unit at the Mack
Alford Correctional Center in southeast Oklahoma last year left one inmate
dead and three others wounded. A correctional officer suffered minor injuries
in December after a fight broke out among a small group of inmates at the
North Fork Correctional Facility in western Oklahoma. A riot at the same
facility in 2011 resulted in 46 inmates being sent to the infirmary or
hospitals after fighting erupted among black and Hispanic inmates.
Jul
10, 2017 newsok.com
'Situation' unfolding at private prison in Oklahoma
HINTON — A “situation” Sunday night inside the Great Plains Correctional Facility
in Hinton has law enforcement officers from a variety of agencies encircling
the prison, officials said, but reports of an “inmate riot” could not be
immediately confirmed. About 10 p.m. the Town of Hinton posted on its
Facebook page that “There is a situation at the prison
but the perimeter has NOT been breached. We have multiple agencies
surrounding the prison to ensure the towns safety. “We will keep you updated
as we know more. We are in communication with the warden to make sure that
any needs are met.” About 11 p.m., there was an update on the Facebook page
stating, “As far as we know all officers are safe. The CERT team from the
Lawton GEO facility have arrived on location to assist, once they are briefed
and ready, the guards will start moving in to lock down the rioting inmates.
No one has escaped.” A Correctional Emergency Response Team is a team of
highly trained corrections officers or sheriffs' deputies that is tasked with
responding to incidents, riots, cell extractions, mass searches, or
disturbances in prisons or jails possibly involving uncooperative or violent
inmates. About 10:30 p.m., a reader sent a Facebook message to NewsOK.com
saying, "Hi my father is an inmate at Great Plains Correctional System
in Hinton. He just informed me there is a huge riot going on now with 500+
inmates. There's a lot of enforcement going in & knocking down all
windows & doors.” The Great Plains Correctional Center Facility is a
1,940-bed men's prison on Sugar Creek Drive in Hinton. It is operated by the
GEO Group, a private prison corporation based in Boca Raton, Fla. Great
Plains opened in 1990, but it closed in 2010 after the Arizona Department of
Corrections ended its contract to house its prisons there. It reopened in
2014, this time to house inmates assigned to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
September 1, 2010
Phoenix New Times
An Arizona prison inmate, being housed in a private prison in Hinton,
Oklahoma, is dead after apparently taking the easy way out, rather than
completing his sentence. Officials at the Arizona Department of Corrections
tell New Times inmate Patrick Ross was found dead in his cell around 7:50
a.m. yesterday. Responding Medical teams tried to revive Ross but were
unsuccessful. DOC officials wouldn't say how Ross killed himself only saying
he died "after apparently committing suicide." Ross was serving a
13-year sentence -- at a private prison run by Cornell Companies -- for an
armed robbery he committed in Maricopa County. Ross began his sentence in
December 2009 and ended it -- apparently on his own terms -- yesterday. DOC
is investigating the death.
August 22, 2010
The Oklahoman
More than 2,000 state inmates could be displaced from private prisons if a
federal contract to house criminal illegal immigrants is awarded here. The
move could cost the state Corrections Department and Oklahoma taxpayers
millions of dollars. Corrections Corporation of America officials told state
corrections authorities in July they intended to offer three Oklahoma-based
prisons to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. They are: Cimarron Correctional
Facility in Cushing, Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville and the empty
Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga. "There shouldn't be any
surprise when something like this happens," said Justin Jones, state Corrections
Department director. "Their product is the incarceration of criminals
and it's a for-profit business." If the contract is awarded, it could
affect the placement of 1,800 medium security prisoners at Cimarron and
Davis, and 360 maximum-security inmates at Davis, corrections officials said.
The department is operating with a more than $40 million budget deficit.
Federal officials would use the private prisons to house low-security male
inmates, primarily criminal illegal immigrants who are Mexican citizens with
one year or less to serve. The business of incarceration -- Federal contracts
typically pay between $60 and $65 daily per prisoner, Jones said. Oklahoma
has one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the country. They range from
about $42 for minimum security inmates to about $57 for maximum security. If
the prisoners are moved, that could mean an increase of as much as $15 per
prisoner, Jones said. Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Steve Owen
wouldn't comment on rates discussed with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for
the contract. Offers are being accepted from companies in New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Arizona and Texas, and would require 3,000 beds, according to a bid
request from the bureau. Bids are competitive, often based on geographic needs,
Owen said. Earnings increase -- Corrections Corporation of America earlier
this month reported their second-quarter earnings had increased nearly two
percent in 2010 to $419.4 million from $412 million in 2009. The increase was
fueled by a jump in inmate populations and a boost from new contracts with
the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It notes the opening of a center in
Mississippi to house about 2,500 illegal immigrants convicted of crimes and
awaiting deportation. "We've openly been marketing our empty
prisons," Owen said. "There is a demand and a need for prison
services." Corrections Corporation of America is the largest for-profit
prison company in the U.S. It currently houses about 75,000 individuals in
more than 60 prisons and detention centers in the country, according to
information on the company website. It partners with the Federal Bureau of
Prisons, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
states and municipalities. In 2009 financial statements, competitor GEO Group
officials reported, "We believe that this federal initiative to target,
detain, and deport criminal aliens throughout the country will continue to
drive the need for immigration detention beds over the next several
years." GEO Group recently bought Cornell Cos., operator of Great Plains
Correctional Facility in Hinton. The company has offered use of the prison
for federal inmates as well. This month, officials at the prison announced
they would be laying off nearly 300 employees and sending more than 1,700
inmates back to Arizona. No Oklahoma prisoners are housed there. Even county
jails are responding to the need for federal bed space. Tulsa County
officials entered into an agreement with U.S. Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement in 2007. Garvin County also has an agreement with the agency to
house and transport federal detainees. Displaced inmates and jobs -- Jones
said if the bid by Corrections Corporation of America is accepted, the most
challenging task would be finding room for the nearly 360 maximum-security
prisoners being held at Davis. There are not enough open maximum-security
beds in the state to keep them there, he said. This might result in prisoners
being shipped out of state -- the first time it's happened since the
mid-1990s. "Obviously this would be a huge burden to families of those
prisoners," he said. "It would also probably cost us more." At
the same time state officials worry about prison beds, the question looms
about how Oklahoma jobs will be affected. The possibility of jobs returning
to the Watonga area is a bright spot. More than 300 Corrections Corporation
of America employees lost their jobs when the Diamondback prison closed there
in May. More than 2,000 inmates were returned to Arizona. It was the largest
employer in the area. Owen said company officials are anxious to get the
prison running again. He said he's not sure how employment would be affected
at Davis and Cimarron if the bid is accepted. In 2007, nearly 200 Cornell
employees at the Great Plains Correctional Center in Hinton lost work after
the state Corrections Department and the company failed to come to an
agreement about reimbursement rates. The company then negotiated a contract
for Arizona inmates.
August 11, 2010 Tulsa World
Arizona is pulling more than 1,700 of its inmates from the Great Plains
Correctional Facility in Hinton. Arizona has recently added 4,000 beds to its
existing prisons to increase capacity, Arizona Department of Corrections
spokesman Barrett Marson said Tuesday. In addition, the state's contract for
space at Great Plains is nearing an end, he said. The Great Plains private
prison is owned by the Hinton Economic Development Authority and operated by
Houston-based Cornell Cos. Cornell Cos. was previously in the process of
merging with GEO, based in Boca Raton, Fla. GEO operates the Lawton
Correctional Facility. The Arizona inmates are expected to be removed in the
coming months, said Charles Seigel, Cornell Cos. spokesman. The company has
known for several months that Arizona was considering the move, he said. The
Great Plains Correctional Facility has 272 employees with an annual payroll
of $9.1 million. "We are going to be without inmates for the
moment," Seigel said. "We are working to try to find another
customer to use it." Until then, employees will be laid off, he said.
Hinton has a population of just under 3,000, said Dave Flezickey,
a Hinton Economic Development Authority spokesman. The prison is one of the
town's largest employers. Cornell and Corrections Corporation of America have
told the Federal Bureau of Prisons that they are interested in housing
criminal illegal aliens at Great Plains and three other private prisons in
the state. The inmates would be low-security males who are predominantly
Mexican citizens with one year or less left to serve. The Oklahoma Department
of Corrections does not have the funds to contract to house state inmates at
the two Oklahoma private prisons from which Arizona has removed inmates, said
DOC Director Justin Jones. Arizona also removed inmates from Diamondback
Correctional Facility in Watonga this spring. "Obviously, I would not
rule it out, but that decision will have to be made through the legislative
process," Jones said. He said the private prison industry is a
speculative market. "It is not immune to recession and trends in
sentencing and crime," Jones said. "A lot of states have gone back
and applied research to their sentencing practices, which results in
sentences that are more evidence-based, and that obviously affects a market
that relies upon incarceration."
August 6, 2010 Market Watch
Cornell Companies, Inc. announced today that it has received notification
from the Arizona Department of Corrections of its election not to renew its
contract at Cornell's 2,048 bed Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton,
Oklahoma, which is scheduled to expire on September 12, 2010. The Company
will be working with Arizona in the coming days to determine the schedule for
the transfer of inmates, which the Company expects to complete in 2010. As a
result of this notification, Cornell intends to continue marketing the
facility to other customers. Cornell's previous 2010 guidance assumed that
the Arizona DOC would maintain its use of the Great Plains facility at its
present level through the end of the year. In May 2010, Cornell reported that
the ultimate resolution of Arizona's usage of the facility would likely
depend on the timing of Arizona's budget process and may not occur until the
third quarter of 2010. In light of the contract termination, Cornell is withdrawing
its prior annual financial guidance.
February 26, 2010 AP
Cornell Cos. Inc.'s sales and profit will decline if the state of Arizona
removes inmates from the company's Oklahoma prison, an analyst said as he
downgraded the prison operator's shares. First Analysis Securities analyst
Todd Van Fleet downgraded the Houston company to "equal weight"
from "overweight." The January budget proposals from Arizona's
governor and legislature would phase out the use of private out-of-state beds.
Arizona is struggling to close budget shortfalls. Van Fleet said there was
less than a 25 percent chance that Cornell would be able to persuade
legislators to keep Arizona inmates in the company's Oklahoma prison. The
loss of the Arizona prisoners which could cut into Cornell's annual earnings
by 35 cents to 45 cents per share. Van Fleet cut his estimate for 2010 profit
to $1.09 per share from $1.69 per share, and his 2010 sales estimate to $398
million from $440.6 million. On Wednesday, when it released fourth-quarter
earnings, Cornell predicted it would make $1.31 to $1.41 per share in 2010.
The guidance assumed that Cornell would continue to keep all its Arizona
inmates for the rest of the year. The contract for the Arizona prisoners ends
in mid-September, Van Fleet said. Cornell shares slipped 13 cents to $18.61
in midday trading. They have dropped about 25 percent since Arizona proposed
its budget in mid-January.
October 9, 2007 The Oklahoman
A convicted murderer who kidnapped and assaulted two woman after his January
escape from a private prison told investigators he has been rattling the
prison fences for five years to see whether any guards would respond. None
ever did, convicted murderer Charles McDaniels told
investigators, according to a report by the state Department of Corrections'
Office of Internal Affairs. McDaniels and another
inmate, Tony Ellison, cut through a Great Plains Correctional Facility fence
with wire cutters on Jan. 22, kidnapped a Hinton woman and then an Oklahoma
City woman, tying both up in the second woman's Oklahoma City home. The
escapees also are accused of committing a rash of home invasions in the Tulsa
area before they were captured 36 hours after their escape. McDaniels later told investigators the prison tower was
usually unmanned and that razor wire surrounding the perimeter fence was
insufficient, according to the Internal Affairs report. On Nov. 15, two
months before the escape, prison officials received a security audit from
state officials that criticized such areas as "inmate count procedures,
perimeter fencing, camera placement, and perimeter security,” according to an
April 6 letter to prison officials from Ed Evans, associate director of field
operations for the corrections department. The letter also noted that on Jan.
18, the state agency determined "additional corrective action was needed
due to the prison's inadequate responses regarding the perimeter fencing.” McDaniels and Ellison escaped four days later. Ellison
was found hanged in a Tulsa County jail cell after his capture. State
officials assessed the prison damages of $60,625 for non-performance between
Nov. 15, and Feb. 19, when the prison's second plan of action was accepted by
the agency. "I'm not sure we really had enough time to fix all the
deficiencies before the escapes,” said Charles Siegel, a spokesman for
Cornell Cos. Inc., which operates the medium-security prison for the Hinton
Economic Development Authority. "But I know we fixed most of them.”
Cornell paid the state agency the damage assessment, Siegel said. Eldon McCumber, the Hinton authority's chairman, called the
fines "extreme.” "To me, it looked like one employee didn't do
their job,” McCumber said. "It was a human
error.” McDaniels told investigators he and Ellison
began cutting the fence at 12:30 p.m. during a recreation break. When the
period was over, they entered the prison and came out with another group on
recreation break. McDaniels said he was surprised
that the perimeter officer was not more observant, according to the Office of
Internal Affairs report. "If they had just been driving around, they
would have seen us,” he told investigators. McDaniels
said he and Ellison went back and forth through the cut fence about three
times before taking off and stopping at the first available house just east
of the prison. The report also said a 4 p.m. inmate count revealed two
missing prisoners, but two more counts were taken before the prison's
emergency response team was deployed at 5:30 p.m. At the time of the escape, McDaniels was serving a life sentence for the 1988 murder
of a Tulsa taxi driver. Ellison was serving time for burglary, motor vehicle
theft and escape convictions. Authorities eventually cornered and arrested
the two inmates in Tulsa, but not until after 36-hour crime spree that
included the kidnapping of Hinton resident June Heldermon,
71, and Oklahoma City resident Teresa Mannix, 74. The women were left alive
and bound in Mannix's home. They struggled to free themselves and then called
police. McDaniels is serving a second life sentence
at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester because of the kidnappings. He
still faces charges for the Tulsa burglaries. Back in business -- The Hinton
prison closed in April after a contract dispute with the Department of
Corrections. It recently reopened. The prison houses 225 inmates and is
receiving about 80 more each week from Arizona, Siegel said. The prison is
expected to return to its 900-inmate capacity by late November, he said.
Siegel said Cornell has spent more than $600,000 on "state-of-the-art”
security, including additional perimeter fencing and sensor devices. Siegel
declined to be more specific for security reasons. Vonda Weathers, Heldermon's daughter, isn't buying Cornell's new security
pitch. "I'm still scared,” said Weathers, who can see the prison's
lights from her home seven miles away. "I work at a restaurant in
downtown Hinton, and I won't feel any safer. They said they had good security
back then.”
May 4, 2007 KOLD TV
A private prison in Oklahoma will reopen later this summer after getting
a contract to keep two-thousand inmates from Arizona. Houston-based Cornell
Companies owns the Great Plains Correctional Facility and has agreed to a
one-year deal with the Arizona Department of Corrections with four one-year
options to follow. The prison in Hinton, Oklahoma was shut down and nearly
200 workers laid off earlier this year after the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections pulled out the last of its more than 800 inmates. The prison is
currently equipped with 812 beds and the contract calls for it to open with
916 beds. The prison is to expand to hold the two- thousand inmates by the
fourth quarter of next year. The first inmates are expected in August or
September.
April 7, 2007 The Oklahoman
The last of the Great Plains Correctional Facility's nearly 200 employees
clocked out of work Friday, leaving the 9-year-old prison empty and a Caddo
County town of 1,400 people wondering what will happen next. "This is
devastating,” said Eldon McCumber, chairman of the
Hinton Economic Development Authority (HEDA) board. "This is going to
have a big impact on the community, especially HEDA. ..... "But we're
working daily to get an inmate contract. Employees, meanwhile, shared their
frustrations with each other Thursday at a farewell barbeque. No one in
attendance would speak publicly about being laid off. "I think they're
afraid they won't be hired back when the prison reopens,” said Linda Maize,
whose husband, Michael, is the prison's hospital administrator. Maize and her
husband expressed concern over employees who are already experiencing
hardships, especially couples where both spouses were employed at the prison.
"You always hear about how most of us are just one paycheck away from
being homeless,” Linda Maize said. "Well, we just got our last paycheck.”
Skeleton crew remains: By Friday, only a skeleton crew of 10 employees
remained to man the prison and its surrounding grounds. "It's a pretty
sad deal,” said Michael Maize, who has worked at the prison for four years.
"There was a group of people who clung on, hoping something would
happen. There was a family-type atmosphere there because we all watched each
other's backs ..... "The hardest part was
watching your friends lose their jobs one-by-one, and wondering when your
number was going to come up. That was tough because we all knew it was
coming.” The Hinton authority, which financed the $37.2 million prison a
decade ago, leases the facility to Houston-based Cornell Companies for
$100,000 annually and receives an additional $25,000 per month from inmate
per diems. Cornell purchased the prison in 1998, and then deeded the property
back to the Hinton authority under the present lease agreement. Since then McCumber said the authority has used revenue from the
prison to build the Sugar Creek Canyon Golf Course, spruce up local school
properties, and leverage other business projects. But those days suddenly
seem like a distant memory. "Dollar-wise, we're pretty much down to
nothing,” McCumber said. "We're cash-strapped,
although we still have a lot of money invested in properties.”
April 4, 2007 AP
A convicted killer who allegedly escaped from a private prison and abducted a
Caddo County woman will stand trial. Special District Judge David Stephens
made his decision yesterday at the end of Charles McDaniels'
preliminary hearing. The 35-year-old McDaniels is
accused of fleeing the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton on
January 22nd with another inmate. The pair allegedly broke into 71-year-old
June Heldermon's home and drove her and her vehicle
into Oklahoma City. It's there where authorities allege McDaniels
and fellow escapee Tony Ellison broke into the home of 74-year-old Teresa
Mannix, tied up her and Heldermon and left in
Mannix's vehicle. The men were captured in Tulsa after a 36-hour manhunt.
Ellison later hanged himself in his Tulsa jail cell.
March 20, 2007 Oklahoman
The Great Plains Correctional Facility will close indefinitely "the
first week of April,” leaving some 190 employees at the private prison
without work, a company spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday. "The decision to
close came down to contract negotiations with DOC (state Department of
Corrections),” said Christine Parker, a spokeswoman for the Houston-based
Cornell Companies Inc. Only 290 state inmates remain at the private prison
from a population that was once 800 as recent as October. State corrections
spokesman Jerry Massie said the remaining inmates are scheduled to be moved
no later than April 6. State guards began relocating inmates after prison
officials announced they would not renew their state contract in October.
Parker said the decision came after months of negotiations. The bulk of
Hinton's inmates were sent to the Lawton Correctional Facility, a private
prison that recently underwent a $23 million, 600-bed expansion.
"Basically, they (prison official) were telling us they were losing
money,” Massie said. "We were paying other private prisons in the state
anywhere from $40 to $45 a day per bed. They were getting around $47 a day
per bed. "So they were getting more than anyone else.” In January, the
private prison came under scrutiny when a convicted murderer and another
fugitive escaped and kidnapped two elderly women. Authorities arrested both
fugitives in Tulsa County, but only after a 36-hour manhunt that stretched
150 miles. Both women lived to tell their frightful story. At the time, a
contract extension with the state was being discussed. Massie later said the
extension wasn't necessary. "The closure has nothing to do with the
escapes,” Parker said. "We had already decided not to renew our contract
with DOC by then.”
February 11, 2007 AP
More than two-thirds of convicted killers in Oklahoma are not
incarcerated at the state's most secure prisons, but instead are housed in
state-run and private medium-security facilities, according to a published
report. Fewer than 400 first-degree murderers, including the men on death
row, are at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, according to
records for Jan. 23. Another 117 are at the Mabel Bassett Correctional
Center, a women's prison, The Sunday Oklahoman reported. ``Inmates can earn
their way down,'' Corrections Department Director Justin Jones said. ``I
think it's OK. ... For us, medium security is considered high security.'' The
issue arose after convicted killer Charles McDaniels
and fellow inmate Tony Ellison escaped from the Great Plains Correctional
Facility after cutting holes in fences. The pair abducted a woman, drove her
and her vehicle to Oklahoma City and assaulted and robbed another woman
before taking off in her vehicle. They eventually were apprehended in Tulsa,
where Ellison hanged himself at the jail, authorities said. McDaniels and 65 others with first-degree murder
convictions were held at the medium-security private prison in Hinton. ``I
had been told that they didn't have murderers there ... that it was just for
burglary and assault and so forth,'' said June Heldermon,
71, who lived near the prison and was kidnapped Jan. 22, allegedly by the
escapees. Heldermon is seeing a counselor over her
ordeal and is staying with her daughter. ``I've got to get rid of that
house,'' she said. ``I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm just not about to
go back up there and live. ... No way! One time's enough for me.''
January 29, 2007 The Oklahoman
A private prison that recently ended its contract with the state has notified
nearly 200 employees that the prison may close. The Great Plains Correctional
Facility sent notices to its employees last week telling them their jobs
could be terminated within 60 days. Warden Sam Calbone
said the prison is required by law to notify employees of a possible
termination in advance but hopes the prison won't have to close. "We're
hopefully optimistic right now that it won't come to that,” Calbone said. Prison officials and the state Corrections
Department in July were in disagreement over how much the state should pay to
keep inmates there. In October, the prison told state officials they had 180
days to relocate about 800 inmates being held at the prison. At the time of
the announcement, company officials said they were pursuing a contract with
other, undisclosed agencies for the use of the prison space. State
corrections officials learned in October the prison was negotiating with
other states, possibly California, which recently agreed to pay private
prisons in Watonga and Sayre $63 per day to house about 500 California
inmates. Oklahoma pays the Hinton prison about $47 per day per inmate.
January 25, 2007 KTUL
About 150 employees at the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton
have been told the prison will be closing in March. A spokeswoman for Cornell
Corrections says workers were given a 60-day notice of the closure last
Friday. Spokeswoman Christine Parker says the contract between the state of
Oklahoma and Cornell expired in July, and the two parties couldn't reach a
new contract. She says the 530 inmates housed there are being transferred to
other facilities. The facility has operated in Hinton since 1998. The closing
is not connected to the escape of two inmates on Monday. The two men are
accused of embarking on a crime spree before they were captured Wednesday in
Tulsa. One of the two escapees killed himself this morning in a Tulsa jail.
January 25, 2007 AP
One of two men who escaped from a prison and was suspected of going on a
crime spree before being recaptured hanged himself in jail Thursday and
apparently had a suicide pact with the other escaped inmate, sheriff's
officials said. Tony Ellison, 23, was found hanging from a bed sheet tied to
a light fixture at 8:35 a.m., 20 minutes after a routine check of his cell,
the Tulsa County sheriff's office said. Ellison and the other escaped inmate,
Charles McDaniels, discussed their plans to kill
themselves in letters found in their cells, Undersheriff Brian Edwards said. McDaniels, 35, was immediately placed on a suicide watch.
"We were very surprised when we uncovered this plot between the two of
them," Edwards said, adding that Ellison had not seemed despondent and
had not been on a suicide watch. "If a person is very determined, it is
very difficult to keep them from hurting themselves," Edwards said.
January 24, 2007 Texarkana Gazette
Authorities captured two escaped inmates, including a convicted killer, Wednesday
morning after a nearly 40-hour search. Capt. Chris West of the Oklahoma
Highway Patrol said Charles McDaniels, 35, and Tony
Ellison, 23, were captured in a central Tulsa neighborhood at about 3 a.m.
The men led authorities on a short car chase after investigators closed in on
the home where they were hiding, West said. The men crashed the car and then
fled on foot before they were arrested. There were no injuries. "We feel
very satisfied that it ended like it did tonight," West said. McDaniels and Ellison escaped from the medium-security
Great Plains Correctional Center in Hinton, 50 miles west of Oklahoma City,
on Monday by cutting through a fence in a recreation yard, said Jerry Massie,
a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Massie said he wasn't
sure how they could have done this without guards seeing them. He said there
are no towers at the prison, but guards would monitor the perimeter of the
facility. No cutting implement had been found Tuesday, Massie said.
Houston-based Cornell Cos., the private operator of the prison, offered a
$25,000 reward Tuesday for information leading to the capture of the inmates,
who are believed to have escaped at 3:24 p.m. Monday when an electronic
perimeter system sounded a series of alarms at the prison's control room.
Officials confirmed the prisoners were missing during a 4 p.m. head count and
placed the facility on lockdown. Authorities believe the pair broke into a
Hinton residence, abducted a woman and drove her and her vehicle into
Oklahoma City, where they broke into a northwest-side home. Oklahoma City
police Capt. Steve McCool said the men then tied up the women. He said the
women were somehow able to call police for help, but he didn't have exact
details. One of the women was punched and may have a broken nose, McCool
said. The escapees were able to get in the house by asking to use a
telephone. They pushed their way in when the woman tried to hand a phone to
them. The two women were identified by police Tuesday as Wanza
"June" Heldermon of Hinton, and Teresa
Mannix of Oklahoma City. McCool said Heldermon may
have been abducted to buy the men some time. "They probably did it in an
effort to give themselves a head start from law enforcement," he said.
"Then they tie them up, all in an effort to give them a head
start." McDaniels had been at Great Plains
since 2001, and Ellison had been there since October, Massie said. The
facility holds 531 men, and the Department of Corrections had been lowering
the population because the contract with Cornell was not renewed and is set
to expire in April, Massie said. In a statement, Cornell said all prison
personnel were at their assigned posts and all security systems were
functioning properly. The company said it does not know what type of tool was
used to cut through two security fences topped with razor wire, but all
prison tools and equipment were accounted for. The prison also has two rows
of razor wire between the fences, which are monitored by an electronic
system.
January 23, 2007 Tulsa World
Two men, including one who was a teenager when he killed a Tulsa cab
driver, escaped from a southwestern Oklahoma private prison Monday and
allegedly abducted one woman and broke into the home of another, authorities
said. Officials at the Great Plains Correctional Center in Hinton noticed
that Charles Marcel McDaniels, 35, and Tony L.
Ellison, 23, were missing after a 4 p.m. head count, according to a statement
from the prison's parent company, Cornell Cos. Authorities think the pair
broke into a Hinton residence, abducted a woman and drove her in her vehicle
to Oklahoma City, where they broke into another home, Oklahoma City Police
Sgt. Keith Vance said. "They took the first victim into the house, left
her there along with the second victim, but stole her (the latter victim's)
car," he said. Vance did not release the victims' names. He said the
condition of the Oklahoma City woman, who was seen in television footage
being carried from the house on a stretcher, wasn't immediately known. The
other woman has returned to Hinton, he said. The prison was locked down while
the escape is investigated, Great Plains officials said.
October 24, 2006 Enid News
The old saying, “crime doesn’t pay,” might apply to criminals, but not to
operators of private prisons. Officials at Hinton’s Great Plains Correctional
Facility recently announced they would evict 800 state inmates housed there
under contract with Oklahoma’s Department of Corrections. Cornell Cos. Inc.,
the Houston company that has owned the medium-security prison since 1998, is
evicting the DOC prisoners, according to a spokeswoman, to consider “other
business opportunities.” In other words, there are entities that will pay
Cornell Cos. Inc. more per head for housing prisoners than the Oklahoma DOC
can presently afford. State Corrections Director Justin Jones said the Hinton
prison had been negotiating a better deal with U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement officials, who are offering a better rate. California, which has
declared an emergency due to prison overcrowding, reportedly is prepared to
pay between $71 and $80 per day per prisoner to house the Golden State’s bad
guys in private prisons. The state of Oklahoma, which will pay just more than
$45 per day per inmate, can’t compete. You can’t blame Cornell Cos. Inc. They
are a private business and, as such, are entitled to charge whatever they chooses for their services. The problem is, the state
doesn’t have much room to house the 800 inmates Cornell is booting from its
cells. The state has just 180 days to find someplace to put the evicted
prisoners, but the state’s prisons are 98 percent full, meaning there’s
little or no room for inmates at the inn. Even many county jails, which
currently house more than 1,350 DOC prisoners, are at or near capacity. Such
is the case with Garfield County Detention Center. So what is Oklahoma to do?
Spend more money. The state either needs more prison beds, or must boost its
per-diem rate for housing prisoners, or both. The DOC already has asked for a
$193 million bond issue to help pay for a new 1,400-bed medium-security
prison, 750 maximum security beds and other renovations. Sen. Cal Hobson,
D-Lexington, thinks the state should pay for new prison space with money from
the state “rainy day” fund, which he said currently contains nearly $500
million. Whether from a bond issue or from rainy day funds, the state must
spend money to tackle this problem. Our police and courts are doing a good
job of catching and convicting criminals, our prison system must make
provisions to house them. This incident clearly illustrates the point DOC
can’t count on private prisons to help solve the prison overcrowding problem.
October 12, 2006
The Oklahoman
About 800 Oklahoma inmates will be kicked out of the private prison that
houses them, state Corrections Department officials learned Wednesday. The
state received notice Wednesday from Cornell Corrections, the private company
that runs the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton, corrections
spokesman Jerry Massie said. The state will have 180 days to find new housing
for about 800 inmates who currently are incarcerated in Hinton. The state has
relied on the private prison for more than six years to handle part of its
growing problem with prison overcrowding. State-owned prisons are essentially
full, running about 98 percent of capacity. Before Wednesday's development,
all public and private prisons in the state were projected to be out of space
by next year. "This is just going to make a bad situation worse,"
Massie said. Cornell's contract with the state expired in July, and both
parties weren't able to agree on terms for a new contract, leaving the
company open to seek a new tenant, said Christine Parker, spokeswoman for
Cornell. "We are in the process of considering other business
opportunities," Parker said. State Corrections Director Justin Jones
said last week the Hinton prison had been negotiating a better deal with U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, who offered a better rate.
"You're dealing with a private business here, and they are in it to make
money and answer to shareholders," Jones said. "Our mission is
public safety, and the ideologies don't always line up."
October 6, 2006 The Oklahoman
The state Corrections Department might lose its contract with a private
prison that houses 800 inmates, the agency's director said. Federal
immigration officials have been negotiating a contract with the Great Plains
Correctional Facility in Hinton that would offer more favorable terms than
those offered by the state, which pays $44 per day for each inmate housed
there, state Corrections Director Justin Jones said. Officials for Cornell
Corrections, the company that runs the prison, did not respond to inquiries
Thursday from The Oklahoman. Carl Rusnok, regional
spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said only that
"we contract with a number of facilities around the country." U.S.
Rep. John Sullivan, R-Tulsa, who has called for an increased presence by the
federal agency in Oklahoma, said the agency is looking to better serve
Oklahoma's immigration enforcement needs. "Any increased Immigration and
Customs Enforcement presence in Oklahoma is a positive step for our
state," Sullivan said in a statement. Jones said his agency already has
executed its option to renew the contract. Leasing that space to anyone else
should not be allowed under the contract, he said. Jones said corrections
officials will challenge any contract with the prison that undercuts the
department's holdings there.
September 16, 2006 The Gazette
The Colorado Department of Corrections is preparing to send as many as
1,000 inmates out of state — probably to two private lockups in Oklahoma — to
alleviate crowding in state prisons. Alison Morgan, head of the DOC’s
private-prison monitoring unit, would not discuss the department’s timetable
for moving the inmates. Last month, she visited two Oklahoma prisons, the
Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton and the North Fork Correctional
Facility in Sayre, and she is in negotiations with the companies that run them.
“Going out of state is inevitable,” she said Friday. The DOC has been warning
lawmakers for months that it will soon run out of space, the result of longer
sentences, a growing population and a multiyear budget crisis that canceled
building projects. New private prisons to hold 3,776 inmates have been
approved, and officials this year expressed optimism to the General Assembly
that they could handle the state’s caseload by double-bunking inmates and
finding unused space until the new prisons are built. It will be the first
time since the mid-1990s that Colorado has sent a large number of inmates out
of state. In 2004, 121 high-security inmates with gang affiliations were sent
to a prison in Mississippi, but officials brought them back a year later
after they were involved in a riot there.
July 24, 2006 Oklahoman
All five inmates who were hospitalized after an altercation Friday in a Caddo
County prison have been treated and returned to jail, according to a
statement from Cornell Companies Inc., the prison's private owner. Shortly
before 7 p.m. Friday, between 25 and 30 inmates started a disturbance at the
Great Plaines Correctional Facility that resulted in the injuries, the
statement says. Five inmates were injured and taken to area hospitals in the
incident, according to the statement. Earlier reports indicated seven inmates
were injured and four hospitalized. All injuries were minor, the statement
notes. The prison remained on lockdown Saturday. The medium security prison
for men can house 766 inmates, according to the Web site of the prison's
Houston-based owner. In 2005, the prison was the site of a prisoner fight
that ended in the death of an inmate. And in 2000, the prison's owner was
fined $304,000 for alleged security breaches that led to an inmate's escape.
July 21, 2006 KOCO 5
A disturbance was reported Friday among inmates at a private prison in
Caddo County. A fight broke out among a group of inmates about 6:30 p.m. at
the Great Plains Correctional Facility at Hinton, Caddo County Sheriff Gene
Cain said. Cain said six or seven inmates were transported by ambulance to a
hospital in El Reno. The severity of the injuries was not immediately known
but they did not appear to be life threatening, Cain said. The sheriff said
authorities do not know what started the fight. Capt. Stuart Meyer of the
Oklahoma Highway Patrol said troopers were notified of a disturbance at the
private prison but that details - including how many inmates were involved
and whether anyone was hurt - were not immediately known. "We've been
told there was a disturbance there. But they have not requested any
assistance from the highway patrol," Meyer said. Jerry Massie, spokesman
for the state Department of Corrections, said a fight was reported in one
housing unit at the prison, which houses about 250 minimum and medium
security inmates. But Massie did not know the severity of the incident. A
spokesman for the Hinton Police Department who asked not to be identified
said the prison was in lockdown at 10 p.m. and that all inmates were back in
their cells. Prison authorities refused to release any information. An
unidentified operator who answered the telephone at the prison told an
Associated Press reporter to call back during normal business hours and talk
to someone else. The disturbance is not the first at the facility. Inmate
Pedro Posadas, 32, was killed on March 4, 2005, in a fight with another
inmate at the private prison. The prison, owned by Cornell Corrections Inc.
of Houston, was fined by the Department of Corrections in May 2000 for
alleged security breaches that allowed an inmate to escape the month before.
The $304,000 penalty was at the time the largest ever assessed against an
Oklahoma private prison.
November 15, 2005 AP
Members of a public trust at Hinton were duped by a Georgia man into spending
more than $7.5 million on a cocoa butter plant that was doomed from the
start, state Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan said Tuesday. According to a
special audit by McMahan's office, members of the Hinton Economic Development
Authority were not informed about patent problems tied to a method of
extracting cocoa butter utilizing liquefied gas. McMahan said a conflict of
interest appears to exist because several members of the trust authority that
approved the project also became minority owners of the cocoa butter
extracting plant. Ken Doughty, vice chairman, lost $1.8 million in the deal,
auditors said. They said the other board members got a share of ownership
through promissory notes. Trust members were led to believe that Hinton
streets would "be paved with gold" from profits on the plant,
McMahan said. "Basically, the authority's board members were duped into
believing in an individual, who in my opinion, deliberately made - and
received payments on - promises he knew would not be kept," the state
official said, identifying the developer as Donald R. Hall of Savannah, Ga.
McMahan said Hall apparently contacted Hinton officials after they advertised
on the Internet, seeking economic development opportunities for the town in
western Oklahoma. He said the trust backed the project with part of an $18
million windfall from the sale of a private prison.
July 14, 2004
An appeals court Tuesday agreed with two Oklahoma private prison inmates, who
served as their own attorneys, that prison officials erred in disciplining
them. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 that prison
officials, who revoked 365 days of earned credits from Timothy Gamble and 180
days of earned credits from Kenneth Popejoy, must
restore the credits. Gamble and Popejoy were
inmates at Great Plains Correctional Facility. Officials there, who ruled the
inmates violated the law that governs inmates' use of their own funds to pay
for photocopying, misinterpreted the law, the judges concluded. (News
OK)
September 7, 2001
Although a private prison company might profit from inmate labor, the company
is not held to the terms of the Fair Labor Standards Act and does not have to
pay inmates minimum wage, an appeals court ruled. Cornell said the FLSA
definition of employee did not extend to inmates working in prison, even if
the prison was a profit-making entity. Cornell asked the courts to
grant summary judgment in the case. The trial court granted Cornell's
motion, saying that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Franks v. Oklahoma
State Industries expressly said prisoners enjoy no FLSA protections.
The court concluded that Washington was not an employee because his
relationship with the prison, and therefore with Cornell, arose from his
status as an inmate, not an employee. (Corrections Professional)
April 18, 2000
Gordon Flud, serving three life terms for assault
and battery with intent to kill and kidnapping avoided the razor wire and
escaped from Cornell’s medium security prison. After the last escape 16 months
ago, corrections officials made recommendations to Cornell to improve
security, but some of those security improvements were not made. The escapee
was filmed by video cameras during the escape, but no one saw Flud on the camera. Cornell’s warden said that the guards
are involved in other duties besides watching those monitors. (The Daily
Oklahoman, 5/18/00)
December, 1998
A convicted child molester with a history of escape climbed over the fence
and out of Cornell’s private prison. He was captured five days later in San
Bernardino, CA. Cornell reported that the escape occurred a full day after it
happened. (Tulsa World, December 13, 1999)
Lawton Correctional Facility
Lawton, Oklahoma
GEO Group (formerly know
as Wackenhut Corrections)
Sep
2, 2021 kswo.com
UPDATE: Six inmates injured in stabbing at Lawton Correctional Okla.
(KSWO)
- UPDATE: Five inmates were taken to a local hospital
and one was flown to OU Medical Center after a stabbing at the Lawton
Correctional Facility Wednesday morning. The call went out shortly before 10
a.m. A spokesperson for the GEO Group said no staff at the facility were in
the attack. The GEO Group said it started as an altercation among multiple
inmates, though the exact details of the attack are not known at this time.
The prison is currently on lockdown, with officials saying it will remain on
lockdown throughout an investigation. This is a developing story. We will
bring you the latest as we learn more.
Dec
23, 2020 swoknews.com
Stabbing
at Lawton prison under scrutiny
A
Monday afternoon assault left a Lawton Correctional Facility (LCF) inmate
hospitalized with a stab wound. Lawton police were called around 4:38 p.m. to
the prison, 8607 SE Flower Mound, on the report of a stabbing that happened
about an hour prior. Blood drops were found at the scene of the incident.
According to the police report, it appeared the crime scene had been cleaned
up by inmates from the cell block, although a blood-soaked shirt was found
sitting on a bench near the exit door. Surveillance video of Cell Block C
showed three inmates approach two others that led to
a fight where one of the two received a puncture wound to the chest and a
superficial cut to the shoulder, the report states. The injuries were
non-life-threatening. The surveillance video and bloody shirt were taken as
evidence. This is the second stabbing incident at the private prison within a
month. On Nov. 19, police were called regarding an inmate who had been
stabbed “several times.” Although the injuries were non-life-threatening and he
declined to file charges or provide information, LPD detectives are
continuing to investigate the case.
Mar
1, 2020 fox23.com
Stabbing
latest incident to be probed at Oklahoma prison
LAWTON,
Okla. — (AP) — A stabbing at a privately-run Oklahoma state prison is the
latest incident in recent months at the facility that is being investigated
by authorities. Police said a stabbing at the Lawton Correctional Facility on
Friday evening left two male inmates with non-life-threatening injuries, the
Lawton Constitution reported. “It is unknown at this time what caused the
stabbing,” said Lawton police Sgt. Tim Jenkins. The stabbing joins a couple
of other recent deaths at the prison, operated by the GEO Group for the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections, that are being investigated by
authorities. Police and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections are both still
probing the Jan. 17 stabbing death of inmate Brian Piper, 31. The Oklahoma
Department of Corrections Inspector General is also investigating the Feb. 13
death of Jerry Cochran, 38, who was found unresponsive by jail staff. The
Oklahoma Medical Examiner has not determined a cause of death. Cochran’s
family and friends had asked that his death be investigated by authorities.
Jan
19, 2020 koco.com
DOC, police investigating stabbing at Lawton prison
The
Oklahoma Department of Corrections and Lawton Police Department are
investigating a fatal stabbing Friday of a Lawton Correctional Facility
inmate. The Lawton facility is a private prison run by the Geo Group under a
contract with DOC. Prison staff found Brian C. Piper, 31, suffering from
multiple stab wounds, according to a DOC news release. Piper was transported
to a hospital and died at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Piper was serving multiple
sentences from Pontotoc County for possession of a controlled substance with
intent to distribute, possession of substances to be used a precursors to manufacture methamphetamine and using a
weapon while committing a felony, according to the release. Visitation at the
Lawton facility has been canceled for the weekend.
Jul
12, 2019 enidnews.com
Oklahoma’s
largest private prison plagued by gang violence and lockdowns
One
evening in April, a massive brawl involving 24 members of the Savage Boys and
Sureños gangs broke out at the privately operated
Lawton Correctional Facility. The Sureños, a small
but powerful gang that operates inside the Oklahoma prison system, instigated
the fight, according to an Oklahoma Department of Corrections incident
report. The altercation began when a Sureño
approached a Savage Boy on the floor of a prison pod and punched him in the
face. The punch touched off multiple fights between rival gang members on the
pod. As correctional officers used pepper spray in an
attempt to break up the brawl, some of the Sureños
began throwing meal trays at members of the Savage Boys, according to a
prison incident report. Nine prisoners were injured, including six who had to
be treated at a local hospital. Joe Allbaugh,
former director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, said in an
interview with The Frontier in May that the two Latino gangs were fighting to
control contraband and money inside and outside the prison. Allbaugh announced his resignation from the Department of
Corrections in June, one month after he spoke to The Frontier about gang
violence and conditions at Lawton Correctional Facility. “What’s happening
out there is just ugly,” Allbaugh said. “There’s no
other way to describe it. Each time I bring it up, people see dollar signs.
They don’t want to hear about money issues.” The Oklahoma prison system has
about 100 identified gangs. Many gang members are sent to Lawton Correctional
Facility because of its high level of security. Gang members sometimes
threaten to attack their enemies inside the Lawton prison unless family
members deposit money on their inmate trust accounts — effectively demanding
ransom in exchange for not hurting their loved ones, Allbaugh
said. With 2,682 beds, the sprawling Lawton Correctional Facility is the
largest of Oklahoma’s three state-contracted private prisons. It is operated
by The Geo Group Inc., a Florida based corporation that trades its shares on
the New York Stock Exchange. The Geo Group has a contract with the state of
Oklahoma worth an estimated $40 million a year to house prisoners at the
Lawton prison. The April fight was one of several recent incidents of gang
violence at Lawton Correctional Facility, according to records and
interviews. The prison is frequently on lockdown and has had problems in the
past with maintaining adequate staffing levels, records show. On June 29, a
group of prisoners attacked two other prisoners inside their cells at Lawton
Correctional Facility, according to information the Department of Corrections
has released about the incident. An ambulance transported both victims to a
local hospital, where they were treated for stab wounds. One week earlier, on
June 27, six prisoners were involved in a fight at Lawton involving crude and
improvised weapons including “mops and sharpened things,” said Matt Elliott,
a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. The Frontier sent The
GEO Group a list of questions about how the company handles gang violence at
the Lawton prison and about its procedures for lockdowns. The company did not
answer any of the questions, but did provide a brief
written statement. “The Lawton Correctional Facility adheres to strict
contractual requirements as stipulated by the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections and is accredited by the American Correctional Association,” the
statement said. “Members of our team are proud of our long-standing record in
providing high-quality correctional services in a safe, secure, and humane
environment on behalf of the State of Oklahoma.” Four women who have partners
or sons incarcerated at Lawton Correctional Facility and a former
correctional officer told The Frontier that the prisoners there are
frequently locked down and do not get adequate recreation time. “I’ve never
seen a prison locked down so much,” one of the women said in a Facebook
message. The women and the former guard did not want their names published
because of general privacy concerns, or they expressed fear that the prison
would revoke visitation privileges or otherwise retaliate against their loved
ones for speaking out. Depending on the housing unit and security status,
some prisoners at Lawton Correctional Facility may be locked down in a cell
for most of the day, Allbaugh said. Lawton
Correctional Facility also contains a “Supermax” wing that makes it capable
of holding some of the state’s highest security risk prisoners. “Depending on
what unit they are in there or if they are in a unit that is misbehaving
then, yes, they may be locked down,” Allbaugh said.
“If they are in a protective custody unit, or
depending on their classification they may be locked down 23 hours a day.”
The former correctional officer, who worked at Lawton Correctional Facility
in 2018, said the prison sometimes lacked adequate staffing to give the
prisoners recreation time. The starting pay for correctional officers at the
Lawton prison is $13 an hour. In July 2018, the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections sent a letter to The GEO Group documenting staffing shortages at
the Lawton prison. The Frontier obtained the letter from an open records
request. The Department of Corrections sent the letter just one month after
signing a new five-year contract with The GEO Group in June 2018 to operate
the Lawton prison that contained a rate increase worth an estimated $2.8
million. The letter stated that the Lawton prison had numerous positions that
had been vacant for more than 45-60 days, including more than 70 correctional
officer jobs. The Department of Corrections warned that the state would begin
withholding a portion of contract payments to The GEO Group unless staffing
levels at Lawton Correctional Facility improved. The GEO Group did not
respond to questions about staffing and recreation time at the Lawton prison.
However, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections said staffing levels had
improved somewhat since it sent the warning letter. The GEO Group has hired
50 new correctional officers for the Lawton prison since last year, DOC said.
In 2018, Lawton Correctional Facility was on prison-wide lockdown for a total
of 75 days, according to Department of Corrections records. The longest
lockdown lasted 37-days, spanning all of February and part of March
2018. The lengthy lockdowns are
demoralizing for prisoners, the former correctional officer said. “It breaks
them down because you are not allowed to talk to your loved ones and you’re
in this small cell with your cellie, the former
officer said. “I can see a lot of them wanting to take their lives.” In
response to The Frontier’s questions, Oklahoma Department of Corrections said
the number and length of lockdowns at Lawton Correctional Facility is not
unusual or excessive. After a violent or disruptive incident, prisons lock
down to protect inmates and staff, Matt Elliott, a spokesman for the
Department of Corrections said in a written response. Lawton Correctional
Facility also goes into lockdown during two prison-wide shakedowns each year.
“This is when staff search every nook and cranny of the facility for
contraband, weapons, et cetera,” Elliott said. Because of the large size of
the Lawton prison, the shakedowns can take several weeks to complete, he
said. During lockdowns, prisoners are allowed out of their cells to shower,
but access to other out-of-cell activities depends on the type and length of
the lockdown, Elliott said. “If the lockdown is anticipated to be more lengthy, then arrangements will be made to provide
some type of recreation time,” he said. Prisoners in some areas of the prison
may be allowed movement outside of their cells during a lockdown,
but must remain in their pod. “This allows them to make phone calls,
play games or other activity at the pod level,” he said. During the most
recent long lockdown, the Lawton prison was on facility-wide lockdown for 33
days between March 4 and April 7, according to Department of Corrections
records. Through a review of Department of Corrections incident reports, The
Frontier found several incidents of prisoners engaging fights, suicide
attempts and self-mutilation during the long lockdown. On March 12, eight
days into the lockdown, one prisoner needed 10 stitches in his left forearm
after he admitted to cutting himself with razor blades from the prison
commissary to “relieve stress.” On March 23, 19 days into the lockdown, a
prisoner in the medical unit was discovered with deep cuts on his throat and
left wrist, according to an incident report. The man refused medical
treatment, so prison staff used pepper spray to help extract him from his
cell and then transported him to a local hospital. On March 24, 20 days into
the lockdown, a fight broke between two cellmates where one man beat the
other with an electric hot pot. The men told correctional officers “they were
no longer getting along,” according to an incident report. On March 26, 22
days into the lockdown, a prisoner scaled a 16-foot fence on the recreation
yard with a homemade noose fashioned out of a drawstring from a laundry bag
and torn bed sheets. The man placed the noose around his neck and secured the
other end to the fence before prison staff talked him down. On March 28, 24
days into the lockdown, one prisoner refused to remain in a cell and talked
about cutting himself. A correctional officer used pepper spray on the man
during a subsequent strip search. On April 2, 28 days into the lockdown, one
prisoner stabbed another prisoner in the ear with a piece of wood. On April
24 — when records show the prison was no longer on facility-wide lockdown — a
prisoner placed a razor blade in his mouth and threatened to jump from the
railing of the second tier of a pod. It’s unclear if the man was in a locked
down housing unit. The man said he was “mad about the house being locked
down” and “mad he was not given a phone call after his uncle passed away,”
according to an incident report. During an hour-long standoff, prison staff
staged a 37-millimeter gas grenade launcher and a pepper ball gun aimed at
the prisoner. The incident ended after the man grabbed the railing with both
hands and vaulted over. When the man landed, he hit his head and the side of his
face on the floor. He lost consciousness for 35 seconds and was transported
to a hospital for evaluation, according to the report. The Geo Group did not
respond to The Frontier’s questions about the incidents and whether they were
related to the long lockdown. Allbaugh said he
would like to see Oklahoma reduce its prison population enough to reduce the
state’s reliance on for-profit private prisons. “They are supposed to adhere
to our policies and procedures, but they are for-profit entities,” Allbaugh said. “I don’t like the for-profit entities. I
don’t think the taxpayers should pay a premium for leasing a bed.”
Nov
26, 2015 swoknews
Former
Employee Files Lawsuit Against Lawton Prison
OKLAHOMA CITY - A former guard at a Lawton private
prison says he was improperly fired for complaining about an assault. Leo
"Allen" Ziembovic had worked for The GEO
Group for more than 16 years when, he said, he saw a fellow guard repeatedly
hit an inmate in the head and face while two other guards held the inmate in
place. Ziembovic said in the lawsuit that he
reported the Sept. 2, 2014, incident to a local prosecutor and to the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections. He told investigators that the guard who allegedly
assaulted the inmate ordered a video of the incident to be erased and then
threatened the jobs of those who reported the incident. In November 2014, the
lawsuit states, Ziembovic was placed on unpaid
suspension pending an investigation. He was formally terminated in January of
this year. "The termination of the plaintiff was retaliatory and in
violation of Oklahoma's constitution and clearly established public
policy," the lawsuit states. Ziembovic has
asked for compensatory damages and attorneys' fees. He now works at the Grady
County jail. Neither he nor The GEO Group could be reached for comment. Amber
L. Hurst and Mark Hammons, Ziembovic's attorneys,
did not return phone calls requesting comment. The GEO Group operates the
Lawton Correctional Facility, a 2,526-bed medium-security prison that holds
inmates from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. The lawsuit was filed in
Oklahoma County District Court. According to online court records, The GEO
Group has not been served with the lawsuit.
Aug
11, 2014 kswo.com
LAWTON,
Okla._Lawton Police are investigating the death of
an inmate at the GEO Prison Saturday afternoon. Officers responded to
the correctional facility around 6 p.m. Saturday night. Officials told
police 54-year-old Matthew Morrow was found unconscious and not responding in
his cell. GEO staff along with EMS tried to revive Morrow but it was too
late. Morrow's body was sent to the State Medical Examiner in Oklahoma City
for a complete autopsy. Morrow had been at the Lawton facility since
2000. He was serving time for several burglary charges including jumping bail
out of Oklahoma and Payne
Feb
6, 2014 kswo.com
LAWTON,
Okla. A Lawton GEO inmate underwent surgery after he was stabbed several
times and beaten. Emergency responders were called to the prison stabbing
around 5 P.M. Wednesday. The victim was stabbed in the chest and stomach
several times and was also beaten with a blunt object. Two suspects were
identified. Prison officials believe the fight started during an
argument over money. The victim was identified as Terrill Gurley. He remains
hospitalized in serious condition.
Jan
30, 2014 PCWG texomashomepage.com
Lawton
police say an inmate who was found unconscious in the GEO Corrections Unit
January 20 had a cell phone and made calls to 911 before he was found on the
floor of his cell and taken to the hospital. No charges have been filed and
no cause of death has been determined for 33 year old Christopher Glass.
Police are still waiting on the medical examiner's report. Investigators say
Glass, who police say was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood White Supremacist
gang, had no visible stab wounds, but did have some bruises and scrapes.
Recordings of a voice on that phone have not been identified. Officers say
they're talking to Glass's cellmate and other inmates to piece together what
happened. Police say inmates of the GEO Medium Security Prison Unit on Flower
Mound Road are not authorized to have cell phones.
Jan
20, 2014 newsok.com
LAWTON
— An inmate's death is Lawton's third homicide in 2014, authorities reported
Monday. Police were called about 8 a.m. Monday to Lawton Correctional
Facility, which is run by the GEO Group. The assaulted inmate, Christopher
Glass, 33, was taken to Southwestern Medical Center, Lawton police Capt. Craig
Akard said. Glass was found about 7:20 a.m. on the
floor of his cell. He was taken to the prison infirmary and then taken to the
hospital. Glass was pronounced dead at 9 a.m. at the hospital, Akard said. There was no immediate word from police on
any potential suspects in the case.
Nov
1, 2013 tulsaworld.com
LAWTON
— A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the estate of a state prison
inmate who died nearly a year ago at the Lawton Correctional Facility. The
lawsuit seeking more than $10,000 was filed in Comanche County District Court
against the state Department of Corrections, The GEO Group Inc., the prison
warden and an unknown correctional officer for the Nov. 12, 2012, death of
39-year-old William Schrader Jr. GEO operates the prison. Representatives of
GEO, the Department of Corrections and the prison did not immediately respond
to telephone calls and emails for comment. An autopsy found that Schrader
died of an overdose of medication for high blood pressure. The Lawton
Constitution reports that the lawsuit alleges that prison staff members were
negligent in administering the medication.
Oct
31, 2013 kswo.com
LAWTON,
Okla_ A Lawton GEO inmate is in an Oklahoma City
hospital recovering from a severe beating that fractured his face in three
places. Brian Bier was taken to a local hospital just before ten Tuesday
night after a correctional officer says he was beaten in his own cell. Bier's
injuries were so severe he underwent surgery. Bier wouldn't say who
assaulted him. Bier was serving time for intent to manufacture drugs.
July
18 2013 swoknews.com
One
of several inmates accused of planning and executing the stabbing death of
another inmate last summer at Lawton's GEO prison has pleaded guilty to his
role in the alleged murder. Court records show Darren "Veneno" Padron, 23, was scheduled to appear in
Comanche County District Court Tuesday for a second preliminary hearing after
the state amended his aggravated assault and battery charge to add after
former felony convictions in relation to the June 13, 2012, death of
25-year-old Sonny Limpy at the Lawton Correctional
Facility, 8607 SE Flower Mound Road. Padron not only waived his preliminary
hearing, but he also pleaded guilty to the amended charge. Comanche County
District Court Judge Gerald Neuwirth followed the prosecutor's recommendation
and sentenced Padron to 10 years with five suspended along with a $500 fine.
At the time of the murder, Padron was serving three, concurrent five-year
sentences with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections stemming from two, 2011
convictions in Greer County for manufacturing, conspiring to manufacture
methamphetamine and escape from custody. As previously reported, Padron and
two others crawled through the Greer County Jail's heat and air system to the
roof in January 2011. They had made a rope from jail blankets and used it to
climb down from the roof, but all three were arrested within 90 minutes of
the escape. While serving his sentences, Padron was implicated in the plot to
beat and stab Limpy to death. Six inmates were
charged in relation to the murder, and the state is planning to seek the
death penalty for accused ringleader Armando "Diablo" Luna.
Testimony presented at a preliminary hearing indicated 29-year-old Alonzo
"Coon" Flores actually ordered Limpy to
be killed after consulting with Luna about Limpy's
alleged refusal to join "The 13 Movement," which is an initiative
to unify all Hispanic gangs under their leadership. Limpy
allegedly claimed to remain a faithful Juaritos, so
Flores allegedly ordered the other inmates to kill Limpy.
05 April 2013 swoknews.com
An inmate formerly housed at Lawton's GEO prison is
facing up to life in prison in the beating death of another inmate. Court
records show 32-year-old Randy Teets has been
charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection with Monday's death of
Robert Day. Lawton police and the GEO Group have not said what is believed to
have motivated the Feb. 9 beating that eventually resulted in Day's death. An
affidavit filed in court alleges Teets admitted he
had been in a physical altercation with the 53-year-old Day, but the formal
charge alleges Teets did not intend to kill him.
Instead, the state alleges Teets is guilty of
manslaughter because he killed Day "while in the heat of passion"
by beating him with his hands. An Lawton police press release said Day was transported to
a Lawton hospital and later taken to a Department of Corrections-contracted
hospital, where he died Monday. Oklahoma Department of Corrections Public
Information Officer Jerry Massie confirmed Day had been serving a
20-year-sentence for manslaughter. Day was charged following a 2004
drunk-driving accident in Stephens County in which 28-year-old Larry J.
Wilson died and a 24-year-old was critically injured. Teets
is serving an eight-year sentence from Tulsa County after being convicted of
endeavoring to manufacture a controlled substance in 2011. After the assault,
Teets was transported to the Oklahoma State
Penitentiary, so he must be transported back to Comanche County to make an
initial appearance and have his bond set. Day's death marks the fifth
homicide in Lawton this year and the third homicide at the Lawton
Correctional Facility since February 2012. Officials say the number of
murders at the local prison may be because it houses more prisoners at a
given time than any other facility in the state and investigating prison
violence is no easy task. Massie said all prisons in the state, whether
private or state operated, are required to report all incidents to the
Department of Corrections, but investigations do not necessarily have to be
conducted by outside law enforcement agencies. The state has specialized unit
of certified investigators who can be dispatched to state facilities to
investigate fights, riots or other criminal activity; they have the ability
to present their findings to district attorneys to determine what charges, if
any, will be filed. Sometimes incidents may result in a disciplinary action
"in house," while others may result in additional jail time. Contract
monitors regularly visit all prisons in Oklahoma in order to ensure their
records of reported violence or sexual assaults are current.
February 23, 2012 Oklahoman
An inmate accused of strangling his cellmate at Lawton Correctional Facility
may be charged as early as Thursday, officials said. Matthew A. Dorrough, 29, was found dead in his cell about 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday. What initially was reported as a fatal accident is now thought to be
a homicide. Witness statements and forensic evidence collected at the scene
indicate Dorrough didn't die from injuries after
falling from his cell bunk, but because he was strangled, said Lawton Police
Capt. Craig Akard, who heads the city's detective
division. “He was noticeably strangled,” Akard
said. “Due to the marks around the neck, due to the individuals we talked to,
we know that that's what happened.” Dorrough's
cellmate, Joseph Palone, 24, is a suspect but
charges have not been filed. Akard said Palone has been placed in solitary confinement, and Akard expects paperwork to be filed Thursday in Comanche
County District Court.
August 23, 2011 News Channel 10
A huge fight at Lawton's GEO Prison has left a number of people injured. It
happened around 4:30 p.m., at least 15 people are injured, six of which have
been taken to the hospital. The prison is on lockdown. A 7News crew has seen
three ambulances leave the prison. There is a fourth still parked outside. We
are not sure how many people were involved in the fight or where it took
place. But police suspect the fight was gang-related. Sheriff's deputies'
cars are there and the prison's security guards are keeping our crew outside
the entrance. We are trying to get information from Sheriff Ken Stradley, on what exactly happened.
June 24, 2011 Oklahoman
Family members of a Lawton private prison inmate who was strangled to death
in his cell have been awarded a $6.5 million verdict in a wrongful-death
lawsuit. “I think it's fair to say that the jurors were appalled at the
evidence we brought them of inconsistencies among the staff, some applying
the rules and procedures of the facility, some not, and seemingly no
disciplinary action taken to those that aren't applying rules and
procedures.” Tulsa attorney Gary Richardson Lawton Correctional Facility
inmate Ronald Sites was strangled in 2005 by cellmate Robert Cooper, said
Tulsa attorney Gary Richardson, who represented Sites' son and two daughters
in the wrongful death lawsuit. Cooper was later convicted of first-degree
manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison. Richardson said Cooper should
never have been put in the cell because he had a prison history that made the
killing predictable. Nine months before being placed in a cell with Sites,
Cooper had been placed in isolation by the prison staff because “he told a
counselor he sat on his bunk with a sheet in his hand, fighting off the urge
to kill his cellmate,” Richardson said. Cooper's prison file showed he had
stabbed another inmate and had twice been caught with shanks in his
possession, the attorney said. Richardson said his investigation revealed the
staff knew that Cooper, already a convicted murderer, wanted to go back to
McAlester and had concluded the only way he was going to get to do that was
to kill someone. Protective custody -- Meanwhile, Richardson said the
cellmate Cooper subsequently strangled was a former police officer who had
suffered a traumatic brain injury in an oil-field accident. Richardson said
the brain injury had left Sites unable to control his constant talking, which
proved to be a “real annoyance” to staff members and other inmates. Sites was
in protective custody and was supposed to have been kept in a cell alone, but
prison officials ignored the restriction and placed a series of cellmates in
with him, Richardson said. None stayed very long because of Sites' behavior,
the attorney said. “The whole thing was covered up,” Richardson said.
Richardson said the warden and the vice president of The Geo Group, the
private prison's operator, maintained throughout the trial that they had not
failed at anything. “The state of Oklahoma did a window-dressing-type
investigation,” Richardson said. Richardson said the judge who presided over
Cooper's murder trial recommended a grand jury investigation, but “the
attorney general closed it down.” $6M in actual damages -- Richardson's
clients were awarded $6 million in actual damages and $500,000 in punitive
damages by the Comanche County jury. Richardson said he found out later that
two jurors wanted to award his clients $25 million.
“It absolutely was a verdict that was given by very conscientious jurors who
listened to seven days of testimony of conduct in a prison system that should
not be acceptable,” Richardson said. “I think it's fair to say that the
jurors were appalled at the evidence we brought them of inconsistencies among
the staff, some applying the rules and procedures of the facility, some not,
and seemingly no disciplinary action taken to those that aren't applying
rules and procedures.” The Geo Group's attorney could not be reached for
comment.
December 1, 2009 The Oklahoman
Investigators are trying to determine if a prison attack Saturday may be tied
to a series of coordinated prison fights that took place a week earlier
between Hispanic and American Indian prisoners. In the latest attack, Lawton
police said Saturday that two inmates at the Lawton Correctional Center were
attacked by two other inmates wielding homemade hatchets and knives. The
injured inmates were taken by ambulance to a Lawton hospital, and one of the
men required surgery. The private prison is owned by Florida-based GEO Group
Inc., which on Monday referred questions to Lawton police. Calls to Lawton
police detectives Monday were not returned. A Lawton television station
reported that two American Indian inmates attacked two Hispanic inmates. Last
week, Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel said he
had heard the initial prison gang fights stemmed from the arrest of an
American Indian man accused of shooting, stabbing and burning three women and
a Hispanic man at a southwest Oklahoma City house on Nov. 9.
November 30, 2009 AP
Two inmates are recovering after a weekend attack at a private prison in
Lawton. Lawton police say the two inmates were attacked Saturday by two other
inmates wielding homemade hatchets and knives at the Lawton Correctional
Center. Both were transported by ambulance to a Lawton hospital, where one of
the victims required surgery. The prison is owned by Florida-based GEO Group,
Inc., and a GEO spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for
comment. After the attack, police say GEO officers locked down all inmates
and secured the crime scene. Police say the attack was captured on videotape,
which was taken as evidence.
November 6, 2009 Oklahoman
A three-time convicted drug trafficker was arrested early Friday after
using a fake court document to hoodwink the Lawton Correction Facility into
releasing him from prison. Richard Lynn Dopp, 47,
was sleeping at his mother’s rural Ottawa County home around 2:30 a.m. when
he was taken into custody and returned to the Corrections Department, said
Ottawa County District Attorney Eddie Wyant. He was
released from the Lawton Correction Facility, a private prison, on Oct. 5
after the prison received a fraudulent modified judgment and sentence report.
“Unbelievable – Unbelievable,” Wyant said of the
prisoner’s plan. The bogus document indicates Wyant
attended the July 27 court hearing where Dopp’s
life sentence with no chance of parole was modified to 10 years and a $25,000
fine forgiven. The document also has an Ottawa County District Court file
stamp dated Aug. 11. No copy of the document was ever filed in Ottawa County
District Court, Wyant said. Wyant
did not attend the meeting and was the first person to notice Dopp’s game when Corrections Department officials sent
out a notice listing Dopp as being released from
prison. Wyant learned the sham legal document was
fraudulently signed July 27 by Bruce David Gambill.
July 24, 2009 Oklahoman
Prison inmate Richard Hayes, 59, of Ada died Tuesday after guards found him
unresponsive in his cell at the Lawton Correctional Facility, officials said.
Lawton police Capt. Rusty Wright said Hayes died about 7 a.m. at a local
hospital. The cause of Hayes’ death was still under investigation Thursday.
Wright said officers found possible drug overdose indications.
February 14, 2009 AP
Lawton police are investigating the death of an inmate at private prison
there. The man was found hanging in his cell at the Lawton Correctional
Center just before 10 p.m. Friday. The prison is operated by the GEO Group
Inc. Lawton police did not immediately release the inmate's name and age.
December 16, 2008 Tulsa World
Taking a tougher approach, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections has
withheld more than $589,000 in payments to private prison operators in the
past year because of staffing shortages. Cimarron Correctional Facility in
Cushing has had five payments of $40,000 or more withheld since December for
failing to fill vacancies within 45 days, including several positions in the
medical field. In April, the state withheld $59,191 in payments because 19
positions remained unfilled within 45 days. Among them was a clinical
supervisor slot that DOC officials said had been open for 457 days. The Davis
Correctional Facility in Holdenville also has had about $76,000 in payments
withheld since August because of staffing incidents. Both facilities are
owned by Corrections Corporation of America, based in Nashville. A company
official says it has had difficulty filling medical positions because of a
nationwide shortage. In addition to the money it has already withheld, the
DOC has another $50,000 in fines pending for November. The DOC has withheld
payments to private prisons in 28 instances since last December for failing
to fill positions in a timely manner. The department's decision to penalize
private prisons financially for contract violations stems from a recommendation
made in a performance audit of the Department of Corrections requested last
year by the Oklahoma Legislature. "The audit felt like we were giving
too many warnings to private prisons and that we needed to start doing more
liquidated damages," DOC Director Justin Jones said last week. An
official with the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, which sought
information on the fines, said the organization is concerned whether private
prison contractors are actually fixing the problems, or simply paying the
fines. Mark Beutler, director of communications,
said Monday that OPEA is sponsoring legislation in the upcoming legislative
session that will make contractors more transparent. "We believe
contractors should be held more accountable in reporting violations and also
in the ways they are spending taxpayers' money," Beutler
said. Calling the shortage of medical personnel a problem for prisons,
Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Steve Owen said the company is
making a good faith effort to fill its medical services vacancies as quickly
as possible. Until the positions are filled, Owen said the facilities will
hire part-time employees or pay overtime to prevent a drop-off in services.
"This is hitting us in the wallet, but it's not costing the taxpayer,"
Owen said. The state has about 4,540 inmates housed in three private prisons
in the state. In addition to the CCA facilities in Cushing and Holdenville,
the third private prison that contracts with DOC is the Lawton Correctional
Facility. The Lawton facility has had about $23,000 in fines since last
December, including about $10,000 that is pending for November. The facility
is owned by the GEO Group Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. The performance audit,
which was released Dec. 31, 2007, said the enforcement of liquidated damages
provisions in the state's contract with private prisons was extremely rare
and time-consuming. "DOC's process is somewhat cumbersome in that it
requires multiple levels of consideration by executive staffs," the
audit report said. It called DOC's failure to use liquidated damages
effectively "a serious problem with DOC's management process" that
has eroded the credibility of the contract monitoring system. In the past,
DOC has used more informal sanctions in response to contract breaches, which
sometimes resulted in adjustments in a facility's population level. "As
system crowding worsens, however, the flexibility to reduce population in
response to problems diminishes significantly," the audit reported.
August 5, 2008 AP
A second inmate has been charged with murder in the September 2007 beating
death of another prisoner at a private prison in Lawton. Prosecutors upgraded
a conspiracy charge against 50-year-old James Hamilton to first-degree murder
in the death of 44-year-old Darrell Myers at the Lawton Correctional
Facility. Inmate Charles Snail pleaded guilty to murder in the case and was
sentenced last week to life in prison. An affidavit in the case says another
inmate heard the 40-year-old Snail and Hamilton plotting to kill Myers in
order to be transferred to another prison. The affidavit says Hamilton told
investigators he was present during the killing but did not take part in it.
August 1, 2008 AP
A prison inmate has been handed a life sentence for the 2007 slaying of his
cell mate at a private prison in Lawton. Charles W. Snail was sentenced
Wednesday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after pleading
guilty to one count of first-degree murder. Smith was charged with killing
Darrell Myers in September 2007 at the Lawton Correctional Facility. Myers
died of blunt force trauma to the head. At the time, the 40-year-old Snail
was serving a five-year sentence for escape. Another man, 50-year-old James
Hamilton, is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the
killing. Court records show Myers died of blunt force trauma to the head and
neck.
July 29, 2008 KSWO
Cell phones are increasing in number, and in addition to teens being ardent
users, prisoners are trying to get their hands on them. Most prisons and jails
prohibit cell phones, which officials consider contraband since cell phones
enable inmates to potentially commit crimes on the street - even when
incarcerated. Prisons across the country - including the Lawton Correctional
Facility of GEO Group - say that they are confiscating cell phones at an
alarming rate. Some inmates have cell phones because they would like to keep
in touch with family and friends, while others use them to continue their
criminal activity, which can lead to inmates harming each other, prison
guards, and former victims. Warden of Lawton's GEO Correctional Facility,
David Miller, says it isn't hard for inmates to get cell phones. "Often
times we'll find a cell phone because a victim will call and say, ‘I just
heard from this person.' In a correctional facility, anytime you open a door
there's a chance there's something not authorized coming through." It is
a possibility that those who enter the building could be bringing contraband
along with them - anyone from visitors to corrupt staff. "They're
subject to disciplinary charges, and also, during the last legislative
session, it was made where it is a misdemeanor now to bring in or possess a
cell phone in a correctional facility without authorization," says
Miller.
January 1, 2008 AP
An inmate at a private prison in Lawton took a dentist and a dental assistant
hostage with a homemade knife during a brief standoff before surrendering to
authorities. Lawton police were called to the GEO Correctional Facility in
south Lawton about 10:45 a.m. Monday after inmate Frank Elliott took the pair
hostage. No injuries were reported, and police reported the prison's hostage
negotiation team was able to talk Elliott into releasing the hostages and
surrendering. Lawton police reported Elliott was taken into custody and
transferred to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Prison records
show the 49-year-old Elliott is serving a life sentence for a first-degree
murder conviction out of Pottawatomie County. Elliott has previous
convictions for escape, embezzlement and failure to return rented property.
Warden David Miller said Tuesday the incident was being investigated by the
Lawton Police Department and declined further comment.
September 28, 2007 The Oklahoman
Prison officials are investigating the second homicide this week to occur
behind prison walls. Darrell Myers, 44, was found dead inside his cell
Wednesday night at the Lawton Correctional Facility, said Jerry Massie,
Department of Corrections spokesman. Lawton police are investigating the death
at the private prison as a homicide, Massie said. Myers is the sixth Oklahoma
inmate to be killed behind prison walls this year, including another death
Monday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Myers died of a blunt
force injury to the head and was serving a 15-year sentence for a rape
conviction.
March 20, 2007 The Oklahoman
The Great Plains Correctional Facility will close indefinitely "the
first week of April,” leaving some 190 employees at the private prison
without work, a company spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday. "The decision to
close came down to contract negotiations with DOC (state Department of
Corrections),” said Christine Parker, a spokeswoman for the Houston-based
Cornell Companies Inc. Only 290 state inmates remain at the private prison
from a population that was once 800 as recent as October. State corrections
spokesman Jerry Massie said the remaining inmates are scheduled to be moved
no later than April 6. State guards began relocating inmates after prison
officials announced they would not renew their state contract in October.
Parker said the decision came after months of negotiations. The bulk of
Hinton's inmates were sent to the Lawton Correctional Facility, a private
prison that recently underwent a $23 million, 600-bed expansion.
"Basically, they (prison official) were telling us they were losing
money,” Massie said. "We were paying other private prisons in the state
anywhere from $40 to $45 a day per bed. They were getting around $47 a day
per bed. "So they were getting more than anyone else.” In January, the
private prison came under scrutiny when a convicted murderer and another
fugitive escaped and kidnapped two elderly women. Authorities arrested both
fugitives in Tulsa County, but only after a 36-hour manhunt that stretched
150 miles. Both women lived to tell their frightful story. At the time, a
contract extension with the state was being discussed. Massie later said the
extension wasn't necessary. "The closure has nothing to do with the
escapes,” Parker said. "We had already decided not to renew our contract
with DOC by then.”
November 28, 2006 The Oklahoman
The parents of two Oklahoma prison inmates joined their sons as convicted
felons Monday after pleading guilty to conspiracy in Oklahoma County District
Court in Oklahoma City. Alfred Gene Anderson, 68, and Patricia Kaye Johnson,
62, will be on supervised probation for the next three years after admitting
their roles in a scheme to smuggle drugs into a private prison in Lawton.
They were among five people indicted in February by a state grand jury.
Anderson and Johnson allegedly gathered more than $140,000 from the families
of other inmates between November 1998 and October 2004, according to the
indictment. Anderson allegedly bribed a prison guard a dozen times to get
drugs for his stepson, Darrin Marcel Brewer, who was serving time on drug
convictions out of Garfield County, the indictment states. Brewer, 39,
pleaded guilty last month to all charges in the 15-count indictment. He was
sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison. Charges are pending against
Brewer's wife, LaShanda Annette Ross Brewer, and
associate Carlene Misner, who are due in court Friday.
October 31, 2006 The Oklahoman
An inmate was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday in Oklahoma County
District Court after pleading guilty to participating in a ring that smuggled
and sold illegal drugs inside the Lawton Correctional Facility. Inmate Darrin
Marcel Brewer, 39, sold drugs to other inmates, who bought the drugs on
credit, according to a state grand jury indictment returned in February.
Inmates who purchased drugs would have relatives or friends make payments to
Brewer's wife and other associates outside the prison, the grand jury
alleged. A guard allegedly was bribed to smuggle drugs inside the prison, and
LaShanda Brewer allegedly concealed nearly $60,000
in payments from drug sales. Brewer was serving time for drug convictions out
of Garfield County when the smuggling occurred. Four alleged co-conspirators
were indicted along with Brewer. They included his wife, LaShanda
Brewer, 31; stepfather Alfred Gene Anderson, 68; and associates Patricia Kaye
Johnson, 64, and Carlene Misner, 53. They waived their rights to preliminary
hearings Monday. Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office assists the state's
multicounty grand jury and conducted the investigation in cooperation with
the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Oklahoma Corrections
Department.
October 26, 2006 The Oklahoman
Police detectives presented evidence Wednesday to Comanche County
District Attorney Robert Schulte, accusing two prison gang members of killing
a fellow Lawton Correctional Facility inmate in his cell. Schulte said he
will delay filing charges to see the results of further investigation.
Investigators identified inmates Brandon James Horne and Michael Sean Rose as
the two men who allegedly killed Charles A. Willingham in his cell Monday,
according to a Lawton Police Department statement. Willingham, 53, died at
the Southwestern Medical Center emergency room. He was serving 20 years in
the private prison for lewd molestation. "There is no sense of urgency
here since the suspects are already incarcerated," Schulte said.
"So the investigation will continue." Detectives said Horne and
Rose were known members of the Aryan Brotherhood, a gang notorious for
extorting protection money from sex offenders. Two witnesses told
investigators Horne and Rose entered Willingham's cell to either extort money
from him or rob him of his belongings. The witnesses claim when Willingham
refused to pay them $100, he was knocked to the ground and stomped to death.
October 25, 2006 KSWO
The inmate killed at the Lawton Correctional Facility yesterday afternoon
has been identified. Lawton police identified him as 53-year-old Charles A.
Willingham, who was serving time for lewd molestation and a felony firearm
conviction. Willingham was pronounced dead at Southwestern Medical Center
yesterday afternoon. "It was apparent to CSI personnel and the examiner
both that this was more than likely a homicide, " said Captain John DeBoard, the Criminal Investigation Division Commander
for the Lawton Police Department. "His injuries to his upper body and
head are consistent with a beating. At this point police do not have an
official cause of death or manner, but that's what we're suspecting at this
point." DeBoard said the official cause of
death will need to be determined by the State Medical Examiner. Meanwhile CSI
personnel from LPD are processing the evidence gathered at the scene and a
team of detectives have begun their investigation. DeBoard
said detectives will interview some 300 inmates who had access to the victim
and, in addition, will begin reviewing video surveillance and interviewing
prison staff responsible for the cell block. Willingham's death is the first
suspected murder at the prison since January 2005 when Robert Cooper
strangled his cellmate, Ronald Sites, to death. Cooper was convicted of
manslaughter and sentenced in April of this year. During Cooper's trial
allegations were made against LCF employees and the prison itself. "A
prison shouldn't be a Holiday Inn, but there are basic human rights even
people in prison are entitled to and I have some concern," said District
Judge Alan McCall at Cooper's trial in April 2006. Judge McCall was so stunned
by Robert Cooper's allegations of drug dealing and corruption inside the
prison that he called on Oklahoma's Attorney General to form a multi-county
grand jury. Today, a spokesman for the Attorney General said they have
received Judge McCall's information and they are following up on that
information. The next multi-county grand jury is set to be convened on
November 7th, but there's no word if Cooper's allegations will make the bill.
September 29, 2006 Tulsa World
All of the jail and prison space in the state will be taken in the coming
months, the Board of Corrections was told Thursday. Although statistics show
the state system is at 97.96 percent of capacity, it is technically full
because some beds have to be reserved for inmates who can't have a cellmate,
for administrative segregation and for offenders in transit, said Oklahoma
Department of Corrections Director Justin Jones. "Anytime we get over 97
percent, we are full," Jones said. Another 1,193 state inmates are
backed up in county jails awaiting transfer into the state system. But
Oklahoma is not alone in facing a space crunch. California needs 25,000 beds
right away, Jones said. "They called us as courtesy to say they would be
shopping in our state," he said. The Board of Corrections is seeking a
supplemental appropriation of slightly more than $47 million to get through
the current fiscal year, said Jim Harris, DOC chief financial officer. The
bulk of the funds, nearly $34 million, would be to cover contract beds,
Harris said. Another $5.8 million would add 600 contract beds at the Lawton
Correctional Facility, a private prison operated by the GEO Corp.
September 25, 2006 Yahoo.com
The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO - News; "GEO") announced today
the opening of the 600-bed expansion to the Lawton Correctional Facility (the
"Facility") located in Lawton, Oklahoma. As a result of the
expansion, the Facility which houses Oklahoma inmates now has a new contract
capacity of 2,518 beds, representing the largest correctional facility in the
state of Oklahoma.
February 5, 2006 The Oklahoman
An inmate, his wife and stepfather and two others have been indicted for
their alleged roles in a drug-smuggling ring at the Lawton Correctional
Facility. The inmate, Darrin Brewer, 38; his wife, Lashanda Brewer, 31; stepfather
Alfred Gene Anderson, 67; Patricia Kaye Johnson, 63; and Carlene Misner, 52,
were indicted last week. They are charged with conspiracy, concealing drug
money, bribery and racketeering. The indictment became public Friday. State
grand jurors allege the accused bribed a guard a dozen times to smuggle drugs
to Darrin Brewer to sell to other inmates at the private prison. Grand jurors
allege relatives and friends of the drug users paid Lashanda Brewer and
others. Lashanda Brewer allegedly concealed almost $60,000 in payments from
the drug sales.
December 22, 2005 The Oklahoman
A former inmate at a private prison and his wife have been charged for their
alleged involvement in a drug-smuggling ring. Darrin Marcel Brewer, 38, and LaShanda Annette Brewer, 31, were indicted by the state
grand jury last week. The indictment was made public Wednesday. Grand jurors
allege Darrin Brewer sold smuggled drugs and other contraband goods to
inmates at the Lawton Correctional Center. Grand jurors allege inmates arranged
for friends or relatives to pay LaShanda Brewer.
October 28, 2005 The Oklahoman
The warden of a Lawton private prison testified Thursday before
Oklahoma's multicounty grand jury as jurors resumed their probe of a large
drug-smuggling ring that operated inside the prison. David Miller, warden of
the Lawton Correctional Facility, declined to discuss his testimony, but said
he had done nothing wrong. Grand jury testimony is closed to the public.
Grand jurors also heard from some inmates who were taken back and forth in
shackles and under guard. Law enforcement authorities revealed last June they
had uncovered a drug-smuggling ring providing inmates inside the prison with
marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. Officials tracked more than
$200,000 coming from 14 states that was used to buy the drugs, a spokesman
for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control said at the
time. At least 100 inmates were suspected of being customers. Former
correctional officer Michael McClain was accused of being the main supplier.
He resigned in February. The Lawton Correctional Facility houses about 1,900
inmates. About one in five were convicted of drug crimes.
June
23, 2005 The Oklahoman
A new grand jury spent parts of Tuesday and Wednesday hearing secret
testimony about a possible prison drug smuggling ring. No indictments have
been handed down. Grand jurors return Aug. 9-11. The state's 10th multicounty
grand jury is looking into an alleged drug ring at the Lawton Correctional
Facility. The private prison houses about 1,900 inmates. Investigators have
identified one guard as involved.
June 20, 2005 The Association Press
State & Local Wire
A drug-smuggling ring that
provided inmates at a private prison with marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine
and heroine will be the focus of a multi-county
grand jury investigation that begins Tuesday. Officials have tracked
more than $200,000 coming from 14 states used to buy the drugs for inmates at
the Lawton Correctional Facility, said Mark Woodward, spokesman for the
Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control. At least 100
inmates are suspected customers. Inmates and their families organized
the shipments and a guard suspected of helping run the operation brought the
drugs from Oklahoma City, according to court records. Former
correctional officer Michael McClain is accused of being the main
supplier. "He could get whatever they wanted as long as they
paid," Woodward said. McClain resigned in February, said Pablo Paez, a spokesman for Geo Group Inc., which owns the
private prison. The prison houses about 1,900 medium- and minimum-security
inmates. About one in five were convicted of drug crimes. Inmate Darrin
Brewer, 38, told investigators he was facilitating drug deals while
incarcerated in Lawton, Tim Coppick, an
investigator with the Department of Corrections, wrote in a warrant filed in
Oklahoma County. Brewer is on parole after serving time for trafficking and
delivering narcotics. Brewer said he orchestrated the operation by
using a cell phone McClain smuggled into the prison. Inmates are not allowed
to have cell phones. Investigators uncovered a similar scheme last year
at the Cimarron Correctional Facility, a private prison in Cushing. That
prison is owned by Corrections Corporation of America. Five people, including
a guard, were charged.
February 1, 2005 News
OK
A man serving life in prison for murder is the main suspect in the strangling
death of his cell mate, police said Monday. The Lawton Police Department is
investigating the death of Ronald Stanley Sites, 48, at the Lawton
Correctional Facility. The facility is a private prison run by the Geo Group
Inc. Sites' roommate, 32- year-old Robert M. Cooper, was in the locked cell
with Sites and is the main suspect, Wright said.
February
13, 2004
A deputy warden at a Lawton prison resigned Thursday, a day after being
arrested on child pornography charges. Ronald Jay Champion, 51, is
charged with possession of child pornography, distribution of child
pornography, possession with the intent to distribute child pornography and
violating the state computer crimes act. Champion has been deputy warden at
the corporate-owned Lawton Correctional Facility. "Mr. Champion,
as of today (Thursday), has resigned from the company as deputy warden,"
said Pablo Paez, spokesman for the prison's owner,
Geo Group Inc. According to a court affidavit, undercover police in
Irving, Texas, began an online dialogue in December with a user with the
Internet profile name "Golden1567." The user name has been linked
to a computer used at Champion's home, court records state. In their
correspondence, Golden1567 sent the Texas officer images consistent with
child pornography. He also told the officer that he'd recently had sex with
an 11-year-old girl, the affidavit states. Irving police contacted
Oklahoma authorities. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
obtained a search warrant for Champion's Piedmont home and seized a computer
that had several pornographic images, the affidavit states. Champion
provided the OSBI oral and written confessions to possessing the illicit
material, according to the affidavit. OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown
said Champion is a former prison administrator for the state Corrections
Department. He is free on $40,000 bail. (The Oklahoman)
February 12, 2004
A prison administrator from Piedmont is free on bail after turning himself in
to law enforcement Wednesday. Canadian County prosecutors filed four
felony charges related to child pornography against Ronald Jay Champion,
51. Champion is an assistant warden at the Lawton Correctional
Facility. He was released Wednesday afternoon from Canadian County jail after
posting $40,000 bail, sheriff's department Capt. Cyndi Rogers said.
(The Oklahoman)
June 28, 2003
An inmate who was critically injured in an attack earlier this week died
Friday from his injuries, Lawton police report. Samuel J. Fidler, 20,
died about noon Friday after suffering numerous head, neck and facial
injuries. His death has been ruled a homicide, Lawton police Capt. William
Mathis said. Fidler was an inmate at the Lawton Correctional Facility,
a private prison that houses medium- and minimum- security Oklahoma
inmates. A correctional officer found Fidler beaten and unconscious in
his cell Wednesday. An ambulance was called and he was taken to a Lawton
hospital. Two units at the prison were locked down after the
attack. Fidler, serving a sentence for lewd molestation out of Oklahoma
County, had been at the prison only 20 hours when he was attacked, Mathis said.
No suspects have been named by police, and investigators haven't said how
Fidler's wounds were inflicted. Police suspect more than one person carried
out the attack. Fidler's body was taken to Oklahoma City for an
autopsy. Investigators hope to have a cause of death and a motive for the
attack identified soon, Mathis said. He said he thinks police can
present evidence for charges to prosecutors next week. (The Oklahoman)
June 27, 2003
An inmate at the Lawton Correctional Facility was on life support Thursday
after being severely beaten, officials said. Two units of the medium-
security, privately run prison were still on lockdown after the Wednesday
attack, said Dean Caldwell, prison spokesman. A correctional officer
found Samuel J. Fidler, 20, beaten and unconscious in his cell Wednesday
afternoon. An ambulance was called and he was taken to a Lawton hospital,
Caldwell said. Fidler was last reported to be in critical condition and
on life support, Caldwell said. He'd suffered numerous wounds to his head,
face and neck, according to the state Department of Corrections. Lawton
police Capt. William Mathis said Fidler was attacked by more than one inmate,
but wouldn't say how he was attacked, who the attackers were or whether a
weapon was found. Police haven't determined a motive for the
attack. Fidler was sent to the Lawton prison in January 2002. He is
serving a 61/2-year sentence for lewd molestation out of Oklahoma County.
The prison, owned by Wackenhut Corrections Corp., houses 1,883 medium- and
minimum- security Oklahoma inmates. (The Oklahoman)
Norman
School Board
Norman, Oklahoma
Sodexho
November 5, 2002
Sodexho Management will lay off employees to accommodate a request by Norman
Public School Officials to lower the district's custodial contract by
$100,000. The Norman School Board will approve or disapprove the
Sodexho contract at $:30 p.m. today. With the layoffs, Sodexho has
agreed to provide fewer nonessential custodial duties. Four custodial
positions will be eliminated for an approximate savings of $64,000.
Cleanings at middle schools will be reduced four hours per evening.
Norman's two high schools will receive eight hours less of evening cleaning,
with classrooms being cleaned every other day. Absent evening employees
will not be replaced or substituted, and overtime will not be used.
Norman Finance Director Brenda Burkett said when the district contracted with
Sodexho for its custodial services in the
mid-1990s, the district's custodians were transferred to the company.
All custodians within the school district became Sodexho employees.
(The Oklahoman)
North
Fork Correctional Facility
Sayre, Oklahoma
CCA
Sep 5, 2018 kecofm.com
Oklahoma: Corecivic settles big time with city
The City of Sayre is due to receive a hefty settlement as the result of a
recently settled district court case. According to a story in the Beckham
County Record, the city’s industrial governing body, the Sayre Industrial
Authority, took CoreCivic, formerly known as CCA,
the Corrections Corporation of America to court for non-payment of municipal
impact fees dating back to November of 2004.
CoreCivic, a company out of Nashville, Tennessee that owns and manages private
prisons and detention centers, owns North Fork Correctional Center located on
the east side of Sayre. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections now leases the
facility from CoreCivic. The story in the Beckham
County Record reports that the two parties reached a settlement whereas the
Sayre Industrial Authority, or SIA, would receive a maximum of $975-thousand
dollars and an additional $34-thousand a month for 39 consecutive months for
the period of April 2018 through June of 2021. According to an original
agreement between the SIA and CCA, the prison company would pay a set amount
of telephone system revenues. The original agreement was amended in October
of 2007 and was fulfilled by CCA until the loss of a contract between CCA and
the California Department of Corrections whose prisoners filled North Fork
Correctional. The lack of contract for prisoners closed the prison in 2015
and the facility sat empty until the Oklahoma DOC worked out it’s contract with CCA in May of 2016. SIA, reportedly,
claimed that CCA didn’t re-initiate the phone revenue payments. CCA claimed
that the beds weren’t filled with their prisoners. The stand
off led to the suit and the recent settlement.
Mar 23, 2018 readfrontier.org
Town sues private prison company, says it is owed nearly $1 million in
fees
A small western Oklahoma town is suing one of the nation’s largest
private prison companies, saying the corporation stopped making payments to
the town’s industrial authority based on the number of prisoners held at the
facility located there. The Sayre Industrial Authority’s lawsuit against CoreCivic, which owns four private prison facilities and
several prisoner reentry program sites in Oklahoma, alleges that the company
breached its contract with the city by failing to pay nearly $1 million in
“impact fees” owed to the city based on the number of prisoners held at the
North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre since August 2016. In 2004, CoreCivic took over the inmate phone system from the
city, and agreed to pay the “impact fees” in lieu of the money the city was
getting from fees associated with prisoner phone calls. In the late 1990s and
mid-2000s, the city entered into agreements with CoreCivic,
formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, in an effort to provide
economic development and jobs for its residents in exchange for incentives,
guarantees and promotion of the facility to lawmakers. But the relationship
between the two appears to have soured since the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections began leasing the facility in 2016, as the lawsuit points out CoreCivic’s hundreds of millions in annual revenue
contrasted with the financial struggles of people in the Sayre area. “The
loss of the income attributable to the Impact Fees has been burdensome for
the City of Sayre. The City of Sayre is one of a number of small communities
in the State of Oklahoma still struggling with the economic downturn, in
particular the downturn in the oil and gas industry, which has a heavy
presence in Beckham County,” the suit states. “Meanwhile, CCA is receiving
$37.5 million from its lease of Northfork with the
State of Oklahoma.” The facility, built in 1998, once held prisoners sent
there from mostly California, but it closed in 2015 after the state pulled
its inmates from the facility. It was reopened about six months later after
the Oklahoma Department of Corrections entered into a five-year $37.5 million
agreement with CoreCivic to lease the 2,400-bed
facility. Prior to the facility being completed in 1998, the Sayre Industrial
Authority entered into agreements with Corrections Corporation that required
the city to, among other things, help promote the facility, provide
incentives to the company for the project, and obtain bond financing for the
project in the event the company wanted the city to purchase the facility.
“The SIA contributed substantial economic resources to develop Northfork in concert with CCA,” the lawsuit, filed Jan.
30 in Beckham County, states, “and has provided additional economic resources
over the years to CCA as Northfork has expanded,
including but not limited to agreements regarding utility service to the
facility and the like.” Under the 1998 contract between the city and
Corrections Corporation, the city retained the right to provide telephone
services for the inmates housed at North Fork and was entitled to any profits
from the fees charged to inmates making phone calls. “In other words, SIA was
obligated to commit substantial financial resources to develop Northfork under the Amended Acquisition and Construction
Agreement, which CCA ultimately obtained ownership of and was entitled to all
revenue derived from operation of Northfork except
the revenue generated by the inmate telephone system under the Residential
Services Contract,” the lawsuit states. However, in 2004, Corrections
Corporation and the city amended that deal, allowing Corrections Corporation
to operate the inmate phone system and take any phone usage fees. In
exchange, the company would pay the Sayre Industrial Authority monthly
“impact fees” based on the average daily number of prisoners held at the
then-1,400-bed facility. Under that agreement, the company would pay the city
a maximum of $36,000 per month. When the prison expanded to more than 2,400
beds in 2008 the agreement was again amended, requiring the company to pay up
to $68,000 per month. Under the contract, Corrections Corporation would not
have to pay the city impact fees if any federal, state or local authorities
determined that the collection of inmate phone commissions or any profits or
revenue from the operation of an inmate phone system were illegal or
restricted. The fees were paid to the city until about December 2015, when
California removed its inmates from North Fork, the suit states. After the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections agreed to lease and re-open the facility
in 2016, Sayre sent CoreCivic an invoice for July
for $36,000 in impact fees. That invoice, and other monthly invoices sent to
the company later, were rejected. Jonathan Burns, public affairs director for
CoreCivic, said the company does not comment on
pending litigation. However, in a letter to the city from CoreCivic
included in the lawsuit filing, a company attorney stated that because CoreCivic does not have unrestricted rights to inmate
phone revenue at the facility since it is being leased by the Department of
Corrections, the company is not obligated to make the payments. “The State of
Oklahoma prohibits CoreCivic from receiving any
inmate phone commissions during the term of the State’s lease of the
Facility,” a letter from Jean Shuttleworth, assistant general counsel for CoreCivic states. “Consequently, per the express terms of
the Agreement, no impact fees are payable to the City.” Matt Elliott, spokesman
for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, said DOC installed its own phone
system at North Fork after it entered into the lease agreement with Core
Civic. However, the lawsuit states that the North Fork lease contract between
DOC and CoreCivic does not restrict the company
from collecting inmate telephone use fees, and therefore the impact fees are
still required to be paid. As of January, the Sayre Industrial Authority
estimated that it was owed $902,000 by CoreCivic. A
phone message left for the Sayre Industrial Authority was not immediately
returned Wednesday. As of Monday, 2,261 prisoners were being held at North
Fork, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
Jun 2, 2016 tulsaworld.com
State Reformatory inmates to move to leased private
prison in July
VINITA — Inmates from the Oklahoma State Reformatory in
Granite will begin moving to the North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre,
which the Department of Corrections has leased from a private prison company,
as soon as July 5, DOC Interim Director Joe Allbaugh
told the Board of Corrections on Thursday. In the board's monthly meeting,
held at Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center in Vinita, Allbaugh
said the DOC is expected to have 1,200 to 1,300 inmates at North Fork, which
had been closed in 2015, by the end of July. Inmates at 15 work centers
across Oklahoma that are set to close will in turn be moved to the Oklahoma
State Reformatory. Only four board members — Chairman Kevin Gross, Frazier
Henke, Todd Holder and Michael Roach — attended Thursday's meeting, just
enough to have a quorum. The board opted to postpone the election of officers
for committees until its July meeting at North Fork, when all seven members
are expected to be present. The Board of Corrections unanimously approved the
closure of the work centers and the lease of the Sayre facility from
Nashville, Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America during its May
board meeting, with the state operating and staffing the prison at no extra
cost to the DOC for 18 months. Lease payments to CCA would begin in 2018 at
$4.5 million and will gradually increase to $12 million in 2021. Republican
House and Senate leaders supported the decision to lease North Fork and close
the work centers, but multiple legislators, primarily from rural districts,
said they should have been informed of the change further in advance because
the inmates at the work centers provide labor for those areas. All 190 work
center employees will be offered jobs within the Department of Corrections. Allbaugh has said consolidation of the work centers at
Oklahoma State Reformatory is expected to save the agency nearly $18 million
annually, and he maintains that the inmates will have access to more programs
at the Granite prison. Laura Pitman, division manager for field services for
the Department of Corrections, said Thursday that the team handling the
transition of resources and people to North Fork consists of five section
chiefs, who will head areas such as administration and facility operations.
She and Allbaugh told the board members the team
involved is "far larger" than what appeared in their packets
detailing the transition team members' duties. "There's a multitude of
moves involved, and we are in the process of hiring additional correctional
officers," Allbaugh said of the facility
addition. "This is a massive effort, one we've never undertaken before.
… The biggest concern is safety. Safety for inmates, safety for our employees
and safety of the public." North Fork can hold up to 2,599 inmates and
could be filled as early as the next fiscal year, Pitman said. Gross, noting
that the DOC is at more than 120 percent of inmate capacity in its prisons,
said the agency theoretically could fill North Fork as early as it opens with
people in county jails awaiting transfer to DOC custody. But Allbaugh said he is in "no hurry" to fill the
space, which he considers "critical" to DOC operations and which he
has in the past called a "relief valve." He hopes to get beds out
of areas in other prisons that are designed for inmate recreation and
programming, but he said he wants to ensure that the inmates are a good match
for the facility. "We have to give classification and population a
little time to properly review the rest of our population to make sure the
next move is what needs to be done," he said. "It makes no sense to
just hurry and fill up a facility." Also on Thursday, the board
unanimously approved the DOC's Capital Improvement Budget request for fiscal
year 2018, which seeks just more than $114 million dollars for 84 projects.
Of those projects, the DOC said its top priorities are updating the
offender-management system — a $16.5 million project — as well as a $2.75
million allotment for overhauling a water treatment plant at Mack Alford
Correctional Center in Stringtown. Thursday's board
meeting was the first since a multicounty grand jury released a report May 19
that strongly criticized the DOC's handling of the Jan. 15, 2015, execution
of Charles Warner and the attempted Sept. 30 execution of Richard Glossip.
The board did not discuss the grand jury's findings or recommendations, which
call for the revision of the DOC's lethal-injection and overall execution
protocols, but Allbaugh said after the meeting that
agency officials are continuing to review the report. He said it's unlikely
that he will comment at length on the report's contents until at least the
Board of Corrections' September meeting. Executions in Oklahoma have been on
hold since October 2015, and the Attorney General's Office has said none will
be scheduled until at least 150 days after the DOC's newest protocol is
finalized.
SEPTEMBER
23, 2015 cheyennestar.org
Last
Day at Northfork Correctional Facility Announced
By
Paul Joseph, Paragon News Director – The last work day at the Sayre prison is
less than 60 days. Correctional Corporation of America, CCA, owner of the Northfork Correctional Facility in Sayre, announced that
due to the rate at which California is drawing down the inmate population at
the Sayre facility, CCA has moved the last work day at the prison to November
14, 2015.
October
12, 2013 tulsaworld.com
OKLAHOMA
CITY - Two years after a riot sent dozens of California inmates to hospitals
all over western Oklahoma, a group of prisoners who lived through the melee
is suing the private prison company that owns the sprawling facility. The
inmates, who are black men, claim they were put in harm's way when the former
warden allowed them to mix with large groups of Hispanic gang members at
North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre. The suit alleges that poorly
trained prison guards and reckless understaffing are to blame for the
"severe and permanent physical and mental injuries" suffered by the
four inmates, who are identified in court records as Michael Bolton, Jamar
Henry, Kevin Hicks and Jabaar Walton. The men were
serving time at the private prison in far western Oklahoma on Oct. 11, 2011,
when a massive riot erupted. The riot started at 11:37 a.m. after a
"one-on-one fight" in the facility's main dining hall, court
records state. "Thereafter, fighting spread to the West Yard, Gym A,
Bravo North, the expansion dining hall and the Hotel Alpha housing
unit," an attorney for the inmates wrote in the petition, "with
Hispanics associated with the Surenos prison gang
systematically attacking and beating African- American inmates, including
plaintiffs." The inmates' attorney specifically blamed Corrections
Corporation of America, the owner of North Fork, and Fred Figueroa, the
prison's former warden. The prison company has refused to comment.
"Defendants ... were aware that by concentrating a large number of
Hispanics associated with the Surenos prison gang
at North Fork, they were putting plaintiffs, African- American inmates, at a
significant risk of harm," the attorney wrote. The attorney also wrote
that understaffing at the prison prevented guards from offering much
assistance. "Often, they merely watched the attacks from outside the
area until the attacks stopped on their own or ... were able to gather enough
manpower to try and intervene," the attorney wrote in the suit. Reports
from the private prison company at the time indicate that nearly 50 inmates
were injured. Sixteen required hospitalization at nearby medical centers.
Some inmates required extensive recovery time. Four inmates were taken to a
nursing home in Midwest City so they could recover in a safe environment. The
inmates, who were guarded by armed men while at the nursing home, included a
murderer and rapist, drawing the ire of officials from the state Health
Department. The nursing home was fined more than $150,000 for allowing the
inmates to live there. Beckham County District Attorney Dennis Smith said
Friday that it's unlikely any inmates involved in the North Fork riot will be
charged with a crime, despite the fact that dozens of inmates were brutally
assaulted and some nearly died. Smith said video evidence is of poor quality
and has provided little help to investigators. Other inmates have offered no
assistance. "Even the victims — and we kind of expected this — would say
things like, T don't have anything to say,' or T didn't see what
happened,'" Smith said.
12/9/2012 By
ANDREW KNITTLE NewsOK.com
The actions of a private prison company, which took months to turn over
investigative materials to local agencies after a prison riot last year in
Sayre, could lead to a change in Oklahoma law. Jerry Massie, a spokesman for
the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, said the agency will propose an
amendment to an existing law dealing with private prison companies during the
upcoming legislative session. The change would force private prison companies
housing out-of-state inmates in Oklahoma to provide information concerning
"a riot, escape or other serious emergency and facility operations upon
request of Oklahoma DOC," agency records show. It would also allow the
state agency to fine companies who don't comply. Minutes from a recent
corrections board meeting show the Oct. 11, 2011, prison riot at the North
Fork Correctional Facility - which required a sizable response from local law
enforcement agencies - is the impetus of the soon-to-be-proposed law change.
"The riot received much publicity from local sheriff offices talking
about the incident, which happened in October 2011," Corrections
Department documents state. "By December 2011, local law enforcement
still had not received information on charges to be filed on the offenders
involved in the riot, nor had they received any reports on the
incident." The riot, which is still somewhat shrouded in mystery, left
46 prisoners injured. Sixteen of those were hurt badly enough to be taken to
local hospitals. Three prisoners were in critical condition, prison officials
said shortly after the melee. All of the inmates at the facility are from
California, which began transferring prisoners out of state years ago to ease
overcrowding. North Fork, located in the western Oklahoma town of Sayre, is
owned by Corrections Corporation of America. The company owns and operates
dozens of prisons across the nation, including three others in Oklahoma. Massie
said the Corrections Department is allowed to review the security plans
private prison companies will implement in Oklahoma and also is permitted to
screen inmates coming in from out of state. "We have some oversight
responsibilities ... even though they're not our inmates," Massie said.
"If they're going to send those inmates to Oklahoma, they ought to be
willing to give us information ... if they have something happen at one of
the prisons." When the amendments were discussed at a recent corrections
board meeting, Director Justin Jones pointed out that Corrections Corporation
of America is not subject to open records laws because it's a private
company. When asked by The Oklahoman whether the amended laws, if passed,
would trump open records laws, Massie said he wasn't sure at this point."We hope so," he said. "We certainly
think it does." Steve Owen, a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of
America, said the company has and will continue to work with local agencies
and prosecutors. "For the past 14 years, CCA has consistently worked
closely with local law enforcement agencies and the district attorney's
office," Owen said. "At all times our facility management and staff
fully cooperate with and support the investigative processes of law enforcement
officials and prosecutors."
12/30/2012 Tulsa World
MIDWEST CITY - California corrections officials knew a private
prison company was housing a convicted murderer, rapist and two other felons
at a Midwest City nursing home, but contend they had no "role in
approving or objecting to this facility," a department spokeswoman said
Friday. Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the state agency is in "constant
communication" with Corrections Corporation of America, the private
company that has thousands of inmates from the Golden State under its
purview. Documents available on the state Health Department's website reveal
the California inmates were housed at Buena Vista Care and Rehabilitation Center
from Oct. 19, 2011, to Nov. 15, 2011, although Thornton said they were there
even longer. The inmates, severely injured during an Oct. 11, 2011, riot at
North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, were shackled and chained to their
beds, not far from the typical residents one would find in any nursing
facility. Armed guards, reportedly as many as three at a time, watched over
the prisoners at all times, the Health Department report states. Thornton
said Buena Vista fit the prisoners' needs. "This is a skilled nursing
facility that also provides rehabilitative services," she said. "It
was selected because it met the treatment and rehabilitative needs of these
inmates. It also satisfied security concerns." Thornton said the
convicts housed at Buena Vista have since been transferred out of Oklahoma.
She said one is in a private prison in Arizona while the other three are back
in California. "The four inmates had all suffered severe head
injuries," she said. "They could not be transferred back to
California or anywhere else, for that matter, until their conditions had
improved." California began transferring inmates out of state years ago
to ease overcrowding, but the nation's most populous state is now in the
process of bringing those prisoners back home. The inmates currently being
housed at North Fork are expected to be gone by the end of 2013, Thornton
said. Buena Vista was fined $168,000 for taking in the inmates
- an arrangement that placed 120-plus residents in
"immediate jeopardy," the Health Department report shows. Dorya Huser, chief of long-term
care for the state's Protective Health Services division, said the inmates'
stay at Buena Vista Care and Rehabilitation Center is "completely
shocking ... and I've been doing this awhile." Huser
said it's the first time she's heard of such a thing. "To put felons in
a nursing home is just appalling," she said. "They had been
convicted of extremely serious crimes, and that in itself would make them a
danger to other residents." Huser said the
realization that four dangerous felons had lived at the nursing home came
during a routine inspection in March. "We went in there to do a regular
survey and came upon this," Huser said.
"Everybody was puzzled as to how on earth this happened." Huser said residents of the facility were "very much
impacted" by the presence of the inmates. "The prisoners were taken
through the facility at times, and the residents saw them during that
time," she said. "It was very unsettling for them. Try and imagine
that."
July 31, 2012 Tulsa World
What's happening in the southwestern Oklahoma town of Sayre is a cautionary
tale about community reliance on private prisons. Sayre began enjoying an
economic boost several years ago when the North Fork Correctional Facility,
owned by Corrections Corporation of America, received more than 2,000 inmates
from California. The city enjoyed increased revenue - about $1.3 million
annually to the town of 4,000. Business activity increased and employment
soared. But now, California is withdrawing its inmates. The inmates were sent
to Sayre in the first place because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that
ordered California to reduce its enormous prison population. There's
confusion about how many of the more than 400 jobs linked to the private
prison in Sayre will be lost. There are also questions about a riot in
October, which injured 46 inmates and resulted in at least 20 charges for
violent offenses. Prosecution of these cases has put a strain on the Beckham
County district attorney's office. Private prisons offer a pressure valve for
state prisons that are at capacity. But in some ways states become the
"prisoners" of private prisons. When those companies raise rates,
states must come up with extra money. If a crime program - the Justice
Reinvestment Initiative - pays off in the next few years, more nonviolent
inmates could be handled in the community, thus negating the need for more
prisons or contracting with private prisons. If it had to do it over, Sayre
probably would not turn down the economic boost of at least $1.3 million
annually, nor those 400 extra jobs. But now that economic windfall is headed
out of town - at least for the time-being. Take note: The state has other
private prisons, which it relies upon heavily. Should it?
July 26, 2012 NPR
When California ran out of space to house its growing inmate population, it
turned to Corrections Corporation of America, which owns private prisons in
16 states, including Oklahoma. Now there are more than 2,000 Californians
locked up at the North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre. The arrangement
wasn’t supposed to cost Oklahoma anything, but a recent riot at North Fork is
changing that. Forty-six inmates were injured before CCA guards were able to
restore order in the October 2011 riot. The company isn’t saying what caused
the riot, but prosecutors say some of the California inmates who started it
committed crimes in Oklahoma, and will have to face justice here. That task
falls to Beckham County District Attorney Dennis Smith’s office. “Now, this
riot will create substantial costs to us,” Smith says. “A lot of that is
going to depend on how many cases we actually file. It’s already added a
strain. So, for me to be able to expound exactly how much it costs — there
are so many factors that go into that. How many people are prosecuted? How
many are convicted? How many are actually going to serve time.” Smith
oversees a five-county district, and his office is still dealing with job
cuts resulting from the state budget crisis. Resources are thin, and the
possibility of having to prosecute up to 20 riot-related violent crimes won’t
help matters. “D.U.I.s, shoplifting, burglary, we see that kind of stuff,”
Smith says. “Conversely, you get into cases that we don’t deal with a lot.
One of those is prison cases.” Charges are expected to be filed within weeks,
but prosecution is only part of the cost to the state. “When we prosecute
someone, say it’s for assaulting a guard or assaulting a fellow inmate, and
we assign them some length of sentence, they’re not going to serve it in CCA.
They’ve suddenly become the property of the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections when it’s time to serve their sentence. That’s an additional cost
to the citizens, taxpayers of Oklahoma,” Smith says.
July 17, 2012 Oklahoman
Prisoners doing time at the North Fork Correctional Facility in western
Oklahoma soon will be headed home to California. All of the inmates
incarcerated at the privately owned facility are from the Golden State, which
has been sending prisoners to Oklahoma for years to ease overcrowding. The
prison, with a capacity to house more than 2,000 inmates, was built in the
late 1990s by Corrections Corporation of America. All of the California
prisoners are expected to be gone by the end of 2013. If the prison shuts
down — as it did in 2003 amid a phone call billing dispute with Wisconsin
inmates — it means the loss of Sayre's largest employer. Terry Thornton, a
spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
said the state of California currently has 9,300 inmates doing time out of
the state. At its peak, there were 10,400, she said. “This is going to happen
by attrition,” Thornton said. “So, as of now, we will stop transporting
inmates to out-of-state prisons.” Thornton said the removal of the inmates
has nothing to do with a riot that erupted at North Fork in October, leaving
dozens of inmates injured.
July 13, 2012 AP
The California Department of Corrections plans to withdraw its inmates out of
a private Oklahoma prison where a brawl took place last year. California
corrections spokeswoman Dana Simas told radio station KECO Friday that all
2,323 inmates are scheduled to be removed from the North Fork Correctional
Facility in Sayre by December 2013. The prison is operated by Nashville,
Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America. At least 46 inmates received
medical treatment after prisoners fought at the facility in October. One
inmate was stabbed, but no staff members or law enforcement officers were
injured. Company officials told the station it's too early to tell whether
any of the 400 jobs at the facility will be affected. If there are
reductions, officials will first leave vacant positions unfilled before
cutting the staff.
May 4, 2012 Oklahoman
An October riot at a private prison in Sayre that left dozens of inmates
injured has yielded a 2,700-page report and could lead to several new felony
cases being filed in Beckham County. Mike Machak, a
spokesman for the private North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, said 19
inmates involved in the Oct. 11 riot could face “attempted murder” charges,
although such a crime doesn't exist in Oklahoma. The riot, which is still
somewhat shrouded in mystery, left 46 prisoners injured. Sixteen of those
were injured badly enough to be taken to local hospitals. Three prisoners
were in critical condition, prison officials said shortly after the melee.
Corrections Corporation of America, the company that runs North Fork, is
based in Tennessee and has prisons sprinkled across the country. In a
prepared statement to The Oklahoman, Machak said
that “violence between security threat groups is a challenge for every prison
system,” although he didn't answer questions about which prison gangs were
involved in the riot. All of the prisoners housed at North Fork are from
California, which began transferring inmates out of state in 2007 to ease
overcrowding. Dennis Smith, district attorney for Beckham County, said he has
an experienced prosecutor analyzing the massive report submitted by the
prison company but hesitated to confirm that 19 inmates would be charged with
serious violent felonies related to the riot. He said the prosecutor also has
spent considerable time viewing video footage of the riot during the course
of the lengthy investigation. “First of all, we don't even have ‘attempted
murder' in Oklahoma ... we have similar charges but not ‘attempted murder'
like his statement says,” Smith said. “I believe that charges will be filed,
but we have to go through each one and make sure they can be prosecuted.”
Smith, who is the district attorney for five counties in western Oklahoma,
said his offices are short-staffed and he didn't know when charges would be
filed. “It's a lot of information to look at — 2,700 pages is a lot,” Smith
said. “My biggest murder case was something like 500 pages, if that tells you
anything.” In addition to California prisoners, Machak
said inmates from Colorado, Idaho, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Vermont
have been housed at the prison over the past 12 years. Lawsuit offers look
inside -- A lawsuit filed in federal court by a California inmate being
housed at the North Fork Correctional Facility could shed some light on what
happened during the October riot. Melvin Fisher filed the lawsuit against the
prison's warden, a guard and a California prison system administrator, court
documents show. According to the lawsuit, Fisher, who is black, is claiming
that the warden of the prison didn't afford him adequate protection by
allowing large groups of Sureno gang members to
populate the prison. The inmate claims these Hispanic gang members are
“troublemakers” and outnumber blacks five to one at North Fork. Fisher claims
he broke his nose during the Oct. 11 riot when he and three other black
inmates were attacked in a gym by dozens of Sureno
gang members. Fisher said the guard named in the lawsuit held the door
leading out of the gym closed with her foot, causing him to run into it and
break his nose. “We started yelling through the door for her to let us out,”
Fisher wrote in the lawsuit. “Finally, she let the door go after the response
team instructed her to do so and come to their safety net.” A California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation administrator also is named in
the lawsuit because she allowed “Northern Mexicans” to be transferred out of
North Fork and be replaced by Sureno gang members.
“They both knew that by increasing the numbers of Sureno
Mexicans, (it) would give them power over other races of inmates,” Fisher
wrote. “They both knew that it was an excessive risk of a riot happening.”
January 14, 2012 Oklahoman
A lack of charges filed against inmates involved in an Oct. 11 riot at the
North Fork Correctional Facility highlights an ongoing issue between private
prisons and authorities, a local prosecutor said. More than three months
after the riot, private prison officials have yet to release details about
what exactly caused the melee. The nature of the injuries suffered by dozens
of inmates also remains a mystery. “When you're dealing with a private entity
like that, you're kind of at their mercy,” Beckham County District Attorney
Dennis Smith said. “We keep being told that they're going to present charges,
but they're just taking time to do it.” Mike Machak,
a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of America, said the company had
nothing to report as of Wednesday and “any criminal charges brought against
inmates would be managed by the Beckham County district attorney office.” Machak said “there are no arbitrary time frames” for
wrapping up the investigation and that sharing details of the inquiry “could
pose a risk to both inmates and staff.” “Any disclosure of information must
be weighed against that important consideration,” he said. Smith acknowledged
the challenges of investigating a prison riot, including having to deal with
uncooperative witnesses, and said he'd rather “them get it right than do it
fast.” “It has been a while,” he said. “But again, there's not a whole lot we
can do.” Prison houses out-of-staters -- The riot at the private prison in
Sayre, which houses more than 2,000 prisoners from California, sent 16
inmates to the hospital with injuries and required the assistance of local
law enforcement agencies to quell the melee. Ralph Jackson, public
information officer with the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, said weapons found at the scene were “weapons of
opportunity,” including mops and broom handles. Shortly after the riot broke
out, Beckham County Sheriff Scott Jay said it was the worst one he'd seen at
the medium-security prison.
December 10, 2011 Oklahoman
Nearly a month after a riot that injured inmates at a private prison in
western Oklahoma, prison officials say they do not have a cause that they can
release. They will say that 16 of the inmates who were hospitalized after the
riot have since been released, but they won't say what types of injuries they
suffered in the Oct. 11 melee. Mike Machak,
spokesman for Corrections Corp. of America, said it's too early to release
details on the riot at the North Fork Correctional Facility. “While we are
not aware of any criminal charges that have been filed, we do know that the
Sayre Police Department's investigation is ongoing,” Machak
said. “To that end, we do not want to release details that might undermine
those ongoing efforts.” Sayre Police Chief Ronnie Harrold said he has yet to
receive anything from the prison regarding the riot. He said he thinks
something is close to happening, but that the prison corporation has “been
giving us the runaround.” “It's coming close to the point where we would
expect for them to turn it over to us,” Harrold said. “At some point, if they
want charges filed, they'll have to turn it over to us.” Prison spokeswoman
Michelle Deherrera said the riot erupted just
before noon, and the help of local law enforcement agencies was required to
subdue the prisoners. In addition to the 16 inmates who required
hospitalization, another 30 were treated at a medical facility at the prison,
she said. Deherrera said no prison staff members or
assisting law enforcement officers were injured. The more than 2,000
prisoners held at the private prison are from California. Machak
said inmates from Colorado, Idaho, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Vermont
have been housed at the prison over the past 12 years.
October 18, 2011 AP
Four inmates who were injured in a prison riot at the North Fork Correctional
Facility last week remain hospitalized. Corrections Corporation of America
spokesman Mike Machak (MAY'-chak)
said Tuesday the prisoners were still being treated at area hospitals. Machak said he couldn't elaborate on the inmates' medical
conditions. A total of 46 inmates were hurt during the riot between prisoners
from California. Thirty were treated by prison medical staff and 16 initially
were hospitalized. Machak said an investigation
into the cause of the riot is still under way and no disciplinary action has
been taken. He also said none of the inmates have been returned to
California.
October 13, 2011 Oklahoman
Eight inmates injured during Tuesday's riot at a private prison in this
western Oklahoma town remain hospitalized, although the extent of their
injuries is unclear. Mike Machak, spokesman for
Corrections Corporation of America, said federal privacy laws prevent his
company from releasing the medical conditions of the inmates. He also declined
to say why the riot started, citing the ongoing investigation. The inmates
being housed at the North Fork Corrections Facility are from California. The
facility remained locked down on Wednesday. Prison spokeswoman Michelle Deherrera said the riot erupted just before noon Tuesday
and required the help of local law enforcement agencies to subdue the
prisoners. Sixteen inmates were taken to hospitals and another 30 were
treated at a medical facility at the prison, she said.
October 12, 2011 KFOR TV
There were no deaths, no escapes and no staff members hurt. But there was
certainly a lot of stress and fear in Beckham County when a prison riot broke
out there Tuesday afternoon. Uncontrolled fights all over the grounds left 46
prisoners injured. Many of them had to be taken to the hospital and at last
check, three were still listed in critical condition Wednesday night. North
Fork Correctional Facility is a private prison housing only male inmates from
California. While covering the the riot Tuesday,
KFOR discovered a lot of people are weary of the setup there. Local law
enforcement and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections only steps in in a
time of crisis. They really have no control over the facility. Now the
fighting is over and the prisoners are locked away in their cells. The
investigation into what exactly caused the riot will go on for days just like
the talk in town. Laurie Fairless lives in Sayre. She said, "I just
don't like the prison out there. Never will." She's been against the
medium security private prison for some time. She said, "It's scary
because you are out in the country and stuff so, you know, you never know
somebody might go up to your house and break into your house or whatever.
They could do something to you." Beth Mullen just moved into town. She
faces her fear of the correctional facility with humor. She said, "You
never know. They might escape and something might happen. I have nieces and
nephews and a little sister so it kind of scares me, but my uncle has a gun
so it's all good." Then there's Nathan Courtney. He lives only a mile
from the facility and said it doesn't bother him. Courtney says, "I
don't care either way. It's jobs for the people who work out there."
We've learned the warden invited the Beckham County Sheriff out to look at
the extensive damage to the prison grounds. Sheriff Scott Jay said he hopes
to do that in the next few days. A spokesman with the owner of the prison,
the Corrections Corporation of America said, "While working on
recruitment and retention, all mandatory posts necessary for security are
filled."
October 12, 2011 CNN
A total of 46 inmates were injured during a prison riot at the North Fork
Correctional Facility in western Oklahoma, but there were no fatalities,
prison officials said Wednesday. Multiple fights had broken out in the
2,500-bed facility on Tuesday, but order was restored and the facility was
completely locked down, according to a statement by Corrections Corporation
of America, which runs the prison. As of Wednesday there were no reports of staff
injuries, CCA said. Regarding the injuries, 16 inmates were transported to
facilities outside the prison for treatment, including one who has already
returned to the facility. Another 30 inmates were treated on-site by medical
staff, CCA said. While the riot was taking place, a morgue was set up in a
tent outside the prison, though there were no fatalities. Aerial video of the
scene from CNN affiliate KOCO showed armed officials holding prisoners at
gunpoint.
October 12, 2011 Oklahoman
Beckham County Sheriff Scott Jay said Tuesday's riot at the North Fork
Correctional Facility is the worst he has heard about since the private
prison opened in 1999. When he arrived at the scene, Jay said. “We saw mass
fighting all over the yard.” Sixteen inmates were taken to area hospitals to
be treated for injuries, according to a statement released about 8 p.m. by
the operator of the private prison, Corrections Corp. of America. One had
been returned to the prison by evening. The statement also said that 30
inmates were treated at the facility. No staff injuries were reported, the
statement said. Prison spokeswoman Michelle Deherrera
said the riot broke out about 11:45 a.m. at the medium-security facility that
houses inmates from California. Officers contained riot -- Jay said he saw
weapons in use by the brawling inmates, but he couldn't identify what they
were. Knowing prison culture, Jay said, he would speculate they were homemade
weapons. Smaller incidents have happened at the prison, Jay said, but he was
only aware of one other time when local law officers were called in to help.
Officers from the Beckham County Sheriff's Department, and the Sayre and Elk
City Police Department, as well as the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, helped
contain the riot. Ambulance crews from nearby towns such as Elk City and
Erick provided medical care. At 5 p.m., after as many as a dozen patients had
been taken to the hospital, seven ambulances remained lined up outside the
gates. Jay said at least 11 ground ambulance runs were made from the prison.
Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes said at
least two injured prisoners were taken by medical helicopter to Midwest
Regional Medical Center. Midwest City police were asked to provide security
until prison employees arrived, Clabes said.
Inmates also were airlifted to OU Medical Center, a spokesman said, but he
referred further questions to corrections authorities. “Right now, we don't
know if this was racially motivated, or they had a beef with the facility or
what,” Jay said. Deherrera did not release any
information about a possible reason for the riot. Sayre police escorted
ambulances to the Sayre hospital, and Elk City police provided security for
ambulances that took injured inmates to the hospital in Elk City, Sayre
Police Chief Eddie Holland said. “We'll be here as long as it takes,” Holland
said about 4 p.m. “Right now, the whole place is a crime scene.” Relatives
concerned -- Relatives of prison employees, gathered at the county barn about
two miles away shortly after the riot broke out, spent the afternoon pacing
and waiting for their cellphones to ring. A Beckham County dispatcher said
local law officers and ambulance crews were called about 11:50 a.m. to assist
in the riot at 1605 E Main St. Bill Barrett, spokesman for Great Plains Regional
Medical Center in Elk City, said multiple patients were taken to that
hospital. Deherrera said public safety was never
threatened. She did not say how long it took the staff to contain the riot.
Dale Denwalt, a reporter for the Daily Elk Citian,
said a sheriff's deputy provided details about the riot to the waiting
relatives. A source inside the prison said 530 people are employed there but
did not release numbers on how many were at work when the riot broke out.
Louis Thompson, 20, of Elk City, said his mother, Cherie, is a correctional
officer with CCA. He said he heard about the riot from his sister and was
pacing across the street from the prison throughout the afternoon, worrying
about his mother's safety. “She said they had a couple of small riots, but
nothing very big,” Thompson said. “She said she could feel something was
about to happen, and it did. I just hope she's all right.”
October 11, 2011 AP
Widespread fighting broke out at an Oklahoma prison Tuesday between black and
Hispanic California inmates, sending at least 21 inmates to the infirmary or
hospitals before police and prison guards were able to restore order,
authorities said. The fighting began shortly before noon at the North Fork
Corrections Facility, a privately run medium-security prison in Sayre that
houses 2,381 inmates from California. Greg Williams, an official with the
Oklahoma Department of Corrections, told The Associated Press that the
fighting appeared to have been between black and Hispanic inmates, but he
didn't know if it was gang-related. No staff members or law enforcement
officers were hurt, but 14 inmates were treated at the prison infirmary and
seven others were taken to a hospital, Williams said. At least one inmate had
been stabbed, he said.
October 11, 2011 Tulsa World
Law enforcement agencies responded Tuesday to a disturbance at the North Fork
Correctional Facility in Sayre, officials said. The private prison is run by
Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America and houses offenders from
California. At 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, prison staff responded to multiple inmate
fights in various areas of the facility, according to Steve Owen, CCA senior
director of public affairs. By 3:30 p.m., the fighting had ceased, Owen said.
"Facility management and staff are in the process of systematically
going through every area of the facility to secure inmates in those areas and
to identify inmates requiring medical treatment for injuries," he said.
Multiple inmates were being treated at the prison for various injuries. Five
inmates had been taken to area hospitals for further treatment, Owen said. No
staff were reported injured; no one was taken hostage; and no offenders
escaped, Owen said. As a precautionary measure, the facility's special
operations response team was activated, along with additional teams and
support staff from other CCA facilities. The facility was placed on lock
down, Owen said. "More information is pending further investigation and
will be released as it becomes available," he said. Joyce Jackson,
Oklahoma Department of Corrections communications director, said she had
little information about the situation. "Basically, there is supposed to
be a disturbance with approximately 80 to 90 Hispanic offenders and they have
barricaded themselves in the dining area," she said. Local law
enforcement had secured the perimeter of the facility, said Greg Williams,
Department of Corrections administrator of field operations. Capt. Chris
West, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, said his agency had been
contacted for assistance. Officials from the Sayre Police Department and
Beckham County Sheriff's did not respond to requests for comment. The
facility is medium security and houses males. It has 2,500 beds.
July 11, 2009 KLEW TV
The Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) announced that it has completed
the transport of 188 inmates from an Oklahoma prison to Idaho, signaling an
end to the department’s four-year practice of renting out-of-state beds to
ease overcrowding. “This is a milestone for the department and something the
people of Idaho can truly celebrate,” said IDOC Director Brent Reinke, in a
news release from the department. “We’re saving taxpayer dollars, and in the
long run, making our communities safer.” IDOC said the return of the inmates
is made possible, in part, by the opening of 628 new beds at Idaho
Correctional Center (ICC). It will cost $40.00 a day to house one inmate at
ICC versus $61.53 at North Fork Correctional Facility (NFCF) in Sayre,
Oklahoma. As a result, IDOC will save $1.4 million in Fiscal Year 2010.
June 22, 2009 AP
Another batch of Idaho prisoners has returned to the state after spending
time in an Oklahoma prison. Officials with the Idaho Department of
Corrections says another 68 inmates have been transferred back to Idaho from
a private prison in Sayre, Okla. Two buses with the prisoners arrived in
Boise Monday. The latest shipment leaves the department with just 120 inmates
housed in out-of-state lockups. Those inmates are slated to return to Idaho
by the end of the summer. Idaho has been relying on out-of-state prisons in
Oklahoma and Texas to house inmates for several years. But the state has been
able to bring many back in the last year due to a declining prison population
and the creation of new prison beds at the Idaho Correctional Center south of
Boise.
March 25, 2009 AP
The legislative budget-writing committee on Tuesday approved a plan to
cut the Idaho Department of Correction 2010 budget by almost $30 million, in
part by bringing home the last Idaho inmates housed in other states. Idaho
began shipping inmates out of state, most recently starting in 2005, after a
federal judge ruled that overcrowded conditions here were dehumanizing. Since
then, the state has built 628 beds at the Idaho Correctional Center in Boise
and bolstered drug court programs and treatment to try to slow prison growth.
By next spring, more than 1,000 new beds will be available in prisons across
the state. Over the last eight months, the state has transferred 380 inmates
back to Idaho prisons. As of February, Idaho had more than 7,226 people
incarcerated. Department of Correction Director Brent Reinke said Tuesday
that with the overcrowding issues resolved, Idaho can bring the last 318
prisoners home by August. The inmates are currently at the North Fork Correctional
Facility in Sayre, Okla.
October 30, 2008 Magic Valley
Times-News
An Idaho Department of Correction Virtual Prison Program inmate was
charged a week ago with the second-degree murder of another Idaho inmate for
an alleged attack at a private prison in Sayre, Okla. Inmate Aren Dean Wight, 31, allegedly struck or hit Idaho inmate
David Drashner in Drashner's
cell at Northfork Correctional Facility run by
Corrections Corporation of America on June 25. He was charged Oct. 22 in
Beckham County District Court in Oklahoma. Oklahoma law enforcement
authorities allege Drashner's death resulted from a
non-premeditated attack. He was pronounced dead later that night at a Sayre
hospital. Drashner was found on the floor of his
cell, according to the only June IDOC press release issued concerning him. Drashner was allegedly attacked twice after he told Wight
and another inmate to "act like adults" and not yell at a female
corrections officer, Oklahoma court records show. Wight's cellmate allegedly
told police Wight was "thumping" on Drashner,
and he heard a "thud" come from Drashner's
cell, according to Oklahoma court records. Drashner
died from a right subdural hematoma - intracranial bleeding caused from an
injury to the right side of the skull - Oklahoma court records show. About an
hour and a half elapsed between when Wight went into Drashner's
cell and when officers found him on the ground. Video from the privately run
facility shows Wight went into Drashner's cell at
about 6:07 p.m. Drashner was found by authorities
at 7:35 p.m., Oklahoma Court records show. Wight also allegedly gave Drashner a bloody nose earlier on the same day at 3:15
p.m., according to Oklahoma court records. DOC didn't issue a press release
about the charges. "We rely on the local jurisdiction to announce
that," said Jeff Ray, IDOC spokesman. IDOC also didn't tell Drashner's wife, Pam Drashner,
of Nampa, that anyone was officially charged with killing her husband, she
said. "They forgot about me," Drashner
said about IDOC. "They haven't called me back." Ray said he doesn't
know if IDOC routinely informs spouses of murdered inmates when other inmates
have been charged. Wight is doing time for burglary, robbery, aggravated
battery and grand theft crimes out of Bannock and Bingham counties, and is
next eligible for parole in 2012, according to IDOC online offender
information. IDOC put Drashner in Oklahoma in
September 2007. He was doing 12 to 20 years for a fourth DUI conviction out
of Canyon County. Pam Drashner, like other family
members of out-of-state inmates, wants the state to stop shipping prisoners
out of Idaho. "I honestly believe if Dave was still here in Idaho he'd
still be alive," she said. "I think anytime you move someone it's
going to cause a lot of anxiety and stress for everybody." An IDOC
Virtual Prison Program official was in Oklahoma "performing
assessments" when Drashner, died and also
helped investigate.
October 1, 2008 AP
For a decade, Idaho has been shipping some of its prisoners to out-of-state
prisons, dealing with its ever-burgeoning inmate population by renting beds
in faraway facilities. But now some groups of prisoners are being brought
back home. Idaho Department of Correction officials are crediting declining
crime rates, improved oversight during probation, better community programs
and increased communication between correction officials and the state's
parole board. The number of Idaho inmates has more than doubled since 1996,
reaching a high of 7,467 in May. But in the months since then, the population
has declined to 7,293 -- opening up enough space that 80 inmates housed in
the North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, Okla., and at Bill Clayton
Detention Center in Littlefield, Texas, could be bused back to the Idaho State
Correctional Institution near Boise. The inmates arrived Monday night. Idaho
Department of Correction Director Brent Reinke hailed their arrival as one of
the benefits the system was reaping after years of work. "It's more
about having the right inmates at the right place at the right time,"
Reinke said. "People are communicating better and we're working together
better than we were in the past."
September 26, 2008 Magic Valley
Times-News
An Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation official on Thursday confirmed
that an Idaho inmate was murdered in the custody of a privately-run prison in
Sayre, and they're eyeing a suspect. The suspect's name, however, isn't being
released without an arrest or charges, said OSBI Spokeswoman Jessica Brown.
Brown said she doesn't know when that may happen. Idaho Virtual Prison Inmate
David Drashner, 51, of Nampa, was found lying on
the floor of his cell in June at the Northfork
Correctional Facility in Sayre, Okla. He was in prison for drunken driving
and is one of three Idaho inmates who have died in the custody of private
lockups in other states since March 2007. He was the first this year. On Aug.
18, Twin Falls native Randall McCullough, 37, apparently killed himself at
the Bill Clayton Detention Center in Littlefield, Texas. IDOC has said
they're waiting on results from his autopsy. Sex-offender Scott Noble Payne,
43, killed himself in March 2007 at a Geo lockup in Dickens, Texas. The
Littlefield lockup is run by Geo Group Inc., and the Sayre facility is run by
Corrections Corporation of America. CCA also runs the state-owned Idaho
Correctional Center in Boise. Almost 10 percent of Idaho's prisoner
population is doing time at lockups outside Idaho under contracts with
private prison operators, because there's not enough room for them here.
Idaho Department of Correction developed the Virtual Prison Program last year
to monitor out-of-state inmates and contracts. Its role in the investigation
isn't clear. "IDOC is cooperating with the investigation, but I do not
know precisely what the department is doing," said IDOC Spokesman Jeff
Ray in an e-mail. Ray wouldn't say if a suspect has been identified in
connection to Drashner's death. "That's best
left to the authorities in Oklahoma who are conducting the criminal
investigation," he said in an e-mail. Drashner's
widow, Pam, said she's happy there's a suspect in her husband's death.
"I'm really glad they found the person, but it still doesn't bring Dave
back. I just want some sort of justice to happen," she said. "If he
was here in Idaho he would have never been killed." Other family of
Idaho Virtual Prison inmates have also said they think Idaho should stop
sending prisoners to other states, because they can't visit as easily.
September 21, 2008 Times-News
Pam Drashner visited her husband every weekend
in prison, until she was turned away one day because he wasn't there. He had
been quietly transferred from Boise to a private prison in Sayre, Okla. She
never saw him again. In July, she went to the Post Office to pick up his
ashes, mailed home in a box. He died of a traumatic brain injury in Oklahoma,
allegedly assaulted by another inmate. David Drashner
was one of hundreds of male inmates Idaho authorities have sent to private
prisons in other states. About 10 percent of Idaho's inmates are now
out-of-state. The Department of Correction say they want to bring them all
home, they simply have no place to put them. Drashner,
who was convicted of repeat drunken driving, is one of three Idaho inmates
who have died in the custody of private lockups in other states since March
2007, and was the first this year. On Aug. 18, Twin Falls native Randall
McCullough, 37, apparently killed himself at the Bill Clayton Detention Center
in Littlefield, Texas. McCullough, serving time for robbery, was found dead
in his cell. IDOC officials say he left a note, though autopsy results are
pending. His family says he shouldn't have been in Texas at all. "Idaho
should step up to the plate and bring their prisoners home," said his
sister, Laurie Williams. Out of Idaho -- Idaho has
so many prisoners scattered around the country that the IDOC last year
developed the Virtual Prison Program, assigning 12 officers to monitor the
distant prisons. In 2007 Idaho sent 429 inmates to Texas and Oklahoma. This
year; more than 700 - and by one estimate it could soon hit 1,000. But
officials say they don't know exactly how many inmates may hit the road in
coming months. The number may actually fall due to an unexpected drop in
total prisoner head-count, a turnabout attributed to a drop in sentencings,
increased paroles and better success rates for probationers. The state will
also have about 1,300 more beds in Idaho, thanks to additions at existing
prisons. State officials say bringing inmates back is a priority. "If
there was any way to not have inmates out-of-state it would be far, far
better," said IDOC Director Brent Reinke, a former Twin Falls County
commissioner, noting higher costs to the state and inconvenience to inmate
families. Still, there's no end in sight for virtual prisons, which have few
fans in state government. "I do think sending inmates out-of-state is
counter-productive," said Rep. Nicole LeFavour,
D-Boise, a member of the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee.
LeFavour favors treatment facilities over prisons.
"We try to make it (sending inmates out-of-state) a last resort, but I
don't think we're doing enough." Even lawmakers who favor buying more
cells would like to avoid virtual lockups. "It's more productive to be
in-state," said Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Rules
Committee, who said he would support a new Idaho prison modeled after the
state-owned but privately run Idaho Correctional Center (ICC). "We don't
want to stay out-of-state unless we have to ��-
It's undesirable." A decade of movement -- Idaho has shipped inmates
elsewhere for more than a decade, though in some years they were all brought
home when beds became available at four of Idaho's state prisons. The
1,500-bed ICC - a state-owned lockup built and run by CCA (Corrections
Corporation of America) - also opened in 2000. But that wasn't enough:
"It will be years before a substantial increase in prison capacity will
allow IDOC to bring inmates back," the agency said in April. In 2005,
former IDOC director Tom Beauclair warned lawmakers
that "if we delay building the next prison, we'll have to remain
out-of-state longer with more inmates," according to an IDOC press
release. That year inmates were taken to a Minnesota prison operated by CCA,
where Idaho paid $5 per inmate, per day more than it costs to keep inmates in
its own prisons. "This move creates burdens for our state fiscally, and
can harden our prison system, but it's what we must do," IDOC said at
the time. "Our ability to stretch the system is over." Attempts to
add to that system have largely failed. Earlier this year Gov. C.L.
"Butch" Otter asked lawmakers for $191 million in bond authority to
buy a new 1,500-bed lockup. The Legislature rejected his request, but did
approve those 1,300 new beds at existing facilities. Reinke said IDOC won't
ask for a new prison when the next Legislative session convenes in January.
With a slow economy and a drop in inmate numbers, it's not the time to push
for a new prison, he said. Still, recent projections for IDOC show that
without more prison beds here, 43 percent of all Idaho inmates could be sent
out-of-state in 2017. "It's a lot of money to go out-of-state," Darrington said. Different cultures -- One of eight
prisons in Idaho is run by a private company, as are those housing Idaho
inmates in Texas and Oklahoma. The Bill Clayton Detention Center in Texas is
operated by the Geo Group Inc., which is managing or developing 64 lockups in
the U.S., Australia and South Africa. The North-Fork Correctional Facility in
Oklahoma is owned and operated by CCA, which also has the contract to run the
Idaho Correction Center. CCA houses almost 75,000 inmates and detainees in 66
facilities under various state and federal contracts. Critics of private
prisons say the operators boost profits by skimping on programs, staff, and
services. Idaho authorities acknowledge the prisons make money, but consider
them well-run. "Private prisons are just that - business run,"
Idaho Virtual Prison Program Warden Randy Blades told the Times-News.
"It doesn't mean out-of-sight, or out-of-mind." Yet even Reinke
added that "I think there's a difference. Do we want there to be?
No." The Association of Private Correctional and Treatment Organizations
(APCTO) says on its Web site that its members "deliver reduced costs,
high quality, and enhanced accountability." Falling short? Thomas
Aragon, a convicted thief from Nampa, was shipped to three different Texas prisons
in two years. He said prisons there did little to rehabilitate him, though
he's up for parole next year. "I'm a five-time felon, all grand theft
and possession of stolen property," said Aragon, by telephone from the
ICC. "Apparently I have a problem and need to find out why I steal. The
judge said I needed counseling and that I'd get it, and I have yet to get
any." State officials said virtual prisons have a different culture, but
are adapting to Idaho standards. "We're taking the footprint of Idaho and
putting it into facilities out-of-state," Blades said. Aragon, 39, says
more programs are available in Idaho compared to the Texas facilities where
he was. Like Aragon, almost 70 percent of Idaho inmates sent to prison in
2006 and 2007 were recidivists - repeat IDOC offenders - according agency
annual reports. GEO and CCA referred questions about recidivism to APCTO,
which says only that its members reduce the rate of growth of public
spending. Aragon said there weren't enough case-workers, teachers, programs,
recreational activities and jobs in Texas. Comparisons between public and
private prisons are made difficult because private companies didn't readily
offer numbers for profits, recidivism, salaries and inmate-officer ratios.
During recent visits to the Bill Clayton Detention Center in Littlefield,
Texas - where about 371 Idaho inmates are now held - state inspectors found
there wasn't a legal aid staffer to give inmates access to courts, as
required by the state contract. Virtual Prison monitors also agreed with
Aragon's assessment: "No programs are offered at the facility," a
state official wrote in a recently redacted Idaho Virtual Prison report
obtained by the Times-News. "Most jobs have to do with keeping the
facility clean and appear to be less meaningful. This creates a shortage of
productive time with the inmates. "Overall, recreational activities are
very sparse within the facility ��-
Informal attempts have been made to encourage the facility to increase
offender activities that would in the long run ease some of the boredom that
IDOC inmates are experiencing," according to a Virtual Prison report.
The prison has since made improvements, the state said. Only one inmate case
manager worked at Bill Clayton during a recent state visit, but the facility
did increase recreation time and implemented in-cell hobby craft programs,
Virtual Prison reports show. Other inmate complaints have grown from the way
they have been sent to the prisons. Inmates describe a horrific bus ride from
Idaho to Oklahoma in April in complaints collected by the American Civil
Liberties Union in Boise. The inmates say they endured painful and injurious
wrist and ankle shackling, dangerous driving, infrequent access to an
unsanitary restroom and dehydration during the almost 30-hour trip. "We're
still receiving a lot of complaints, some of them are based on retaliatory
transfers," said ACLU lawyer Lea Cooper. IDOC officials acknowledge that
they have also received complaints about access to restrooms during the long
bus rides, but they maintain that most of the inmates want to go
out-of-state. Many are sex offenders who prefer the anonymity associated with
being out-of-state, they said. Unanswered questions -- Three deaths of Idaho
interstate inmates in 18 months have left families concerned that even more
prisoners will come home in ashes. "We're very disturbed about...the
rate of Idaho prisoner deaths for out-of-state inmates," Cooper said. It
was the razor-blade suicide of sex-offender Scott Noble Payne, 43, in March
2007 at a Geo lockup in Dickens, Texas that caught the attention of state
officials. Noble's death prompted Idaho to pull all its inmates from the Geo
prison. State officials found the facility was in terrible condition, but
they continue to work with Geo, which houses 371 Idaho inmates in
Littlefield, Texas, where McCullough apparently killed himself. Noble
allegedly escaped before he was caught and killed himself. Inmate Aragon said
he as there, and that Noble was hog-tied and groaned in pain while guards
warned other inmates they would face the same if they tried to escape.
Private prison operators don't have to tell governments everything about the
deaths at facilities they run. The state isn't allowed access to Geo's
mortality and morbidity reports under terms of a contract. Idaho sent
additional inmates to the Corrections Corporation of America-run Oklahoma
prison after Drashner's husband died in June. IDOC
officials said an Idaho official was inspecting the facility when he was
found. IDOC has offered few details about the death. "The murder
happened in Oklahoma," said IDOC spokesman Jeff Ray, adding it will be
up to Oklahoma authorities to charge. Drashner said
her husband had a pending civil case in Idaho and shouldn't have been shipped
out-of-state. She says Idaho and Oklahoma authorities told her David was
assaulted by another inmate after he verbally defended an officer at the
Oklahoma prison. Officers realized something was wrong when he didn't stand
up for a count, Drashner said. "He was
healthy. He wouldn't have been killed over here," she said.
July 19, 2008 The Oklahoman
The North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre was on lockdown after a fight
Friday morning. Officials at the 2,599-bed private prison said a fight
broke out among inmates about 5:30 a.m. Friday in the dining hall. Six
inmates were seen for slight abrasions.
May 24, 2008 The News Tribune
Four Washington prison inmates who were shipped out of state because of
overcrowding are under investigation for allegedly assaulting prison workers
in Oklahoma on Thursday. The attacks took place at the North Fork
Correctional Facility in Oklahoma, a private prison run by the Corrections
Corporation of America. Washington has 304 of its inmates serving time in
that prison, part of the 1,160 total number of inmates who are now out of
state, said Washington prison official Gary Bohon.
A prison officer and sergeant were injured, treated at a hospital and
released, said a CCA spokeswoman. The four offenders were placed in
segregation. Washington also has offenders housed in Arizona and Minnesota to
prevent overcrowding in Washington’s 15 prisons, where the population is more
than 17,000, including work-release centers. Washington’s Department of
Corrections plans to bring back a small number of offenders in the next six to
eight weeks, Bohon said. And the state remains on
track to bring back all of the out-of-state inmates by the end of 2009.
That’s when a bigger prison at Coyote Ridge in Eastern Washington is expected
to be fully operational. Bohon said the four
inmates could be sent back to Washington or could face local charges as a
result of the attacks.
February 22, 2008 The Denver Channel
The Colorado Department of Corrections has sent two investigators to an
Oklahoma prison to probe whether correctional officers staged ‘ultimate
fights’ among prisoners and rewarded the fight's winner with a cell phone,
corrections sources told CALL7 Investigators. The DOC inspector general's
staff traveled this week to the privately owned North Folk Correctional
Facility at Sayre, Okla., about 130 miles west of Oklahoma City, to
investigate the complaint of ‘ultimate fighting,’ sources said. It was
unclear Friday whether the details of the complaint have been substantiated.
DOC Executive Director Ari Zavaras, in a phone
conversation with CALL7 Investigator Tony Kovaleski,
confirmed investigators were sent out to Oklahoma. "There is an ongoing
investigation and we do not comment until the investigation is
complete," he told Kovaleski. The facility is
owned and operated by the Corrections Corporation of America and houses about
480 Colorado inmates on a contract basis. CCA also owns the Crowley County
Correctional Facility, which came under DOC scrutiny in 2004 after a riot.
The DOC report criticized the "lack of responsiveness" by private prison
operators to state corrections officials. CCA also owns about 70 facilities
nationwide, including four in Colorado. The Colorado facilities are Bent
County Correctional Facility, Huerfano County Correctional Center, Kit Carson
Correctional Center and the facility in Crowley County. DOC spokeswoman
Katherine Sanguinetti declined to confirm any details but said introducing a
cell phone into a correctional facility is a federal offense if it happened.
CCA spokesman declined comment and directed questions to Sanguinetti.
February 19, 2008 Casper
Star-Tribune
A state investigation determined Wyoming had no policies in place last year
to track violence against inmates being housed in out-of-state prisons. The
probe also found that the beating of a state inmate by other inmates at a
private prison last year in Oklahoma was not thoroughly investigated. The
investigation by Maj. William Moore of the Wyoming Department of Corrections
found "no WDOC Policy, Procedure or Directive is in place that requires the
tracking and compliance of out of state incidents to ensure that these
incident (sic) are properly tracked for compliance." The investigative
report, completed last fall, was recently obtained by The Associated Press
under the state's public records law. The investigation was launched after an
inmate was beaten last April at the private Northfork
Correctional Facility in Sayre, Okla. Wyoming houses 375 inmates there and
has paid Corrections Corporation of America nearly $12.5 million from June
2006 through December 2007 for their housing and medical care. An
investigator with Corrections Corporation of America, which owns the Oklahoma
prison, looked into the inmate beating and concluded there was "no
institutional deficiency that may have contributed to the inmate on inmate
assault." The inmate, whose name was redacted from documents released to
The AP, sustained injuries in the beating and was airlifted to Oklahoma City
for treatment. He later returned to the prison that day. In his report, Moore
found the CCA prison investigator "conducted the most rudimentary of
investigations regarding this incident and what little was accomplished
focused only on the assault." Attempts to reach a spokesperson at the
Oklahoma prison were unsuccessful. An official with the Wyoming Department of
Corrections said the agency has taken steps to boost its monitoring of
out-of-state inmates since last year's report. Wyoming has a full-time
contract monitor at the Oklahoma prison and routinely sends investigative
teams to the prison to look into inmate complaints, said Steve Lindly, deputy director of the Department of Corrections.
Lindly said he doesn't doubt that Moore's report
was accurate when it was written last year. But Lindly
said state corrections officials were already independently coming to the
conclusion that more oversight of out of state inmates was necessary. Lindly said his department is satisfied the Oklahoma
prison now is meeting its obligation to ensure Wyoming inmates are protected
from assault at the Oklahoma prison. "The warden has been responsive to
our insistence that we meet the standard," Lindly
said. Stephen Pevar, an ACLU lawyer, said he remains concerned about the
safety of Wyoming inmates at the Oklahoma prison. His lawsuit forced security
improvements at the state penitentiary in Rawlins. Last summer, U.S. District
Judge Clarence Brimmer of Cheyenne ended five years of federal oversight of
the Rawlins prison, which stemmed from the ACLU's lawsuit. The lawsuit was
called the Skinner case, named after inmate Brad Skinner who was beaten by
three other inmates in 1999. Although conditions have improved in Rawlins,
Pevar said he's received complaints about assaults against Wyoming inmates at
the Oklahoma prison. "All I can confirm is that there have been a number
of very egregious assaults at these facilities to which Wyoming is sending
its prisoners," Pevar said. There have been 14 confirmed
inmate-on-inmate assaults last year involving Wyoming prisoners at the
Oklahoma facility, according to Melinda Brazzale,
spokeswoman for the Wyoming Department of Corrections. There were 65 assaults
in 2007 at the Rawlins state prison, which holds about 644 inmates, Brazzale said. Pevar said he's written to the Wyoming
Attorney General's office about the state's contract with CCA. He said he's
told the state that it must insist on standards limiting inmate violence,
just as it requires inmates to be given adequate food, shelter and medical
care. Pevar said believes the state needs to ensure Wyoming prisoners,
"will be adequately protected from assault, and that the same procedures
that the court held in the Skinner case were constitutionally required should
likewise be adopted in these facilities that house Wyoming prisoners. And
it's clear to me that they're not." Pevar also said he doesn't feel
Wyoming is doing an adequate job investigating "the sufficiency of the
facilities to which Wyoming is sending its prisoners." "Those
facilities are doing some things that I don't think would be acceptable in
Wyoming," Pevar said. Lindly said it was clear
the CCA investigations into inmate violence were not as thorough as the
investigations Wyoming's own staff members would conduct and noted the state
is building a 700-bed prison in Torrington that will allow the department to
house all its inmates in state. "We're comfortable with the process
right now," Lindly said. "It's not as
good as having them under your own wing, which is why we're having another
prison built."
October 28, 2007
The Daily Sentinel
Nearly 400 Colorado inmates being held at a Sayre, Okla., private prison have
sued their prison warden in an attempt to return to Colorado. In a lawsuit
filed earlier this year, 34-year-old inmate Jeremy G. Gardner, a convicted
thief, argues because his crime was committed in Colorado and he was
convicted in Colorado, he should be imprisoned in Colorado. According to
Beckham County, Okla., District Court records, at least 380 Colorado inmates
have joined in his lawsuit against North Fork Correctional Facility Warden
Fred Figueroa, filing nearly identical complaints with the county court
between May 14 and Oct. 19. Colorado transferred 480 inmates, including Grand
Junction man Stephen Dallas Peck, to the private prison in December 2006 and
January 2007. Inmates’ families have since complained that the move was not
only unfair but also hindered their abilities to help rehabilitate their
relatives. Peck’s complaint, which mirrors that of his peers, argued he has
committed no crimes in Oklahoma; therefore, he “has been deprived of all
constitutional due process rights.” Peck argues that the contract the
Colorado Department of Corrections entered into with the Corrections
Corporation of America is illegal, and therefore moot. “(Figueroa) should be
ordered to release the petitioner … due to his complete lack of authority to
detain him,” Peck’s complaint states. Officials from the North Fork
Correctional Facility could not be reached for comment last week. Beckham
County Associate District Judge Doug Haught consolidated the inmates’ cases
last week into a single case, “because the petitioners are located at the
same confinement facility, and because of the similarity of claims, the court
finds that consolidation is appropriate.” Colorado Department of Corrections
Director Ari Zavaras, Rep. Steve King, R-Grand
Junction, and Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, are scheduled to visit the
Oklahoma prison today and Monday. King and McFadyen have expressed interest
in bringing Peck and his peer inmates home to
Colorado. “With proper oversight, a private prison is a way of leveraging tax
dollars, a way of having adequate bed space and so forth,” King said. “From a
policy standpoint, that adequate supervision part, in my mind, means that
those prisons are in Colorado, not in Oklahoma.”
October 15, 2007 Daily Sentinel
It has been months since Roger Peck has seen his son. A year ago, Peck and
his wife, Millicent, twice a month were driving more than 400 miles from
Grand Junction to see their son, 47-year-old Stephen Dallas Peck, at the
Crowley County Correctional Facility in Olney Springs. But when Peck and 479
other inmates were relocated in December and January to the privately owned
North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, Okla., those visits ended. “It’s
almost impossible for us to get to Oklahoma, and I’m sure we’re more capable
than a lot of people that have loved ones in prison,” Roger Peck said. The
retired couple said their contact with their son, who was sentenced in early
2004 to 18 years in prison for felony theft and methamphetamine possession,
has become relegated to brief collect calls twice a month. The Colorado
Department of Correction’s decision to ship its healthiest and best behaved
inmates more than 300 miles southeast of Colorado’s closest prison in
Trinidad, the Pecks said, is “completely opposite” the state’s goal of
promoting prisoner wellness and reducing recidivism. “They skimmed the cream
to start with. They took inmates who were in relatively good health and have
no violent history and were not in there for violent crime,” Roger Peck said.
“So they took the cream of the crop, so to speak, and sent them to this
facility whose sole purpose in life is making money.” Without their support,
the Pecks said, they fear how well their son will cope with his
methamphetamine addiction, which also landed him in prison in 1997. Rep.
Steve King, R-Grand Junction, said in an attempt to address some of the Peck
family’s concerns, he and Colorado Department of Corrections Director Ari Zavaras are going to visit the North Fork Correctional
Facility at the end of this month. King said after he met the Peck family
earlier this year, he began to wonder if Colorado was abandoning its
oversight responsibilities by shipping felons out of state. “I had some real
concerns about us giving up our ability, in some ways, to have oversight of
these people that are Colorado citizens,” King said. “Granted they’re felons,
but they’re our felons, and we have a responsibility to make sure they’re
doing their time in a safe environment.” King said “outsourcing our felons”
removes them from the support network of friends and family they need to
transition from their criminal lifestyles and addictions back to living
normal lives. Zavaras said from a purely financial
standpoint, private prisons — the six in Colorado and the North Fork
Correctional Facility — are a cost-effective way to deal with Colorado’s
exploding corrections population. According to Department of Corrections
statistics, Colorado’s inmate population has nearly doubled over the past
decade, from 13,242 inmates in 2006 to 22,424 inmates this year. Nearly 5,000
of Colorado’s inmates reside in private prisons. Zavaras
said sending prisoners outside Colorado is neither ideal nor fair to the
inmates, but it is necessary. “Managing prisoners out of state, quite
frankly, is very, very difficult for us,” Zavaras
said. “If we would have had in-state beds, we wouldn’t be out of state. We’re
only there as a last resort.” He said there are plans to expand two existing
private, in-state prisons. As soon as those expansions are completed, he
said, “We will bring them back.” Zavaras said he
plans to scrutinize the Sayre, Okla., prison during his and King’s Oct. 28
and Oct. 29 visits. He said during that time he will not only speak with
Colorado inmates but look into the concerns of inmates’ families. Rep. Buffie
McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, said that ideally Colorado would pull out of private
prisons, whose missions are directly contrary to reducing recidivism.
McFadyen, who has 12 state and federal prisons in her southern Colorado House
district, said private facilities have no reason to attempt to reintegrate
felons back into society. She said private facilities see felons as possible
repeat customers, so they have no incentive to decrease recidivism. Removing
inmates from Colorado, she said, is an even better way for private prisons to
maintain demand for their beds. “Sending an inmate out of state is almost
guaranteeing they’ll come back in the system because of the lack of support,”
McFadyen said. “I don’t know how an inmate succeeds when they have no support
from home.”
April 1, 2007 Denver Post
If Joe Nacchio ends up in the slammer, he'd better hope it's not one run by
Corrections Corporation of America, though Qwest retirees just might feel
particular glee at the thought of his working most of a day to pay for a roll
of toilet paper. About 480 inmates from Colorado have been transferred to
CCA's North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, Okla., since December, and
they're finding that hard time is a lot harder in a prison run for profit.
The inmates, all culled from state prisons based on their release dates,
records for compliance and nonviolent prison histories, have been rewarded
for their good behavior with lousy food, fewer visits from family members,
limited access to phones, delays in mail service, a lack of access to
Colorado law books and prices in the prison canteen that have been jacked up
in some cases to three times those in Colorado institutions. "It seems
like minor stuff to people outside of prison, but it's created a real powder
keg," said Christie Donner, executive director of the Colorado Criminal
Justice Reform Coalition. Parents of inmates housed at Sayre have reported
that a boycott of the commissary was organized as a prison protest, and when
a guard was perceived to be harassing an inmate at lunch recently, the entire
room stood in solidarity. They worry that tensions could erupt into a riot
similar to what happened at the CCA prison in Crowley County in 2004.
"The guys are really upset," said Tracy Masuga,
whose son was transferred to Sayre in December. Among the recent price hikes
at the canteen were: peanut butter that sold for $1.48 in January now going
for $2.34, AIM toothpaste jumping from $1.45 to $2.23, raisin bran going from
$2.99 to $4.75, and a 25-watt light bulb going from $1.20 to $3.69. In
Colorado state prisons, peanut butter is $1.80, AIM toothpaste 95 cents, and
banana nut granola (the closest thing to raisin bran on the commissary list)
is $2.11. Toilet paper sells for 70 cents a roll in Sayre compared with 44
cents at state-run prisons. "This might not seem like much, but we're
talking about people who make literally a dollar a day," said Ann Aber,
an attorney with the Colorado Public Defender's office. "It's arbitrary
and inexplicable exercises of power like this that can create a really
incendiary situation." Alison Morgan, chief of private prisons for the
Department of Corrections, said a team from Colorado visited the Sayre
facility this month and talked to about 200 inmates. Complaints about the price
hikes were rampant, she said, but she insisted that the prisoners' concerns
were being addressed. "The warden is looking at the commissary list and
has reduced prices for about 40 items, including the price of light
bulbs," she said. Steve Owen, spokesman for CCA, said that after a brief
drop in purchases from the canteen around March 9, sales have returned to
normal. Gary Golder, director of prisons for the DOC, said CDs of Colorado
statutes are on order for use in the Sayre prison library, but delivery by
the vendor has been delayed. Problems with phones, mail service and other
issues will be resolved, Morgan said. As for the food, which was described as
inedible by inmates two months ago and resulted in many of them reporting
significant weight loss, Morgan describes it now as "fabulous."
"The previous food-service manager was fired." State Rep. Buffie
McFadyen said she has heard some of the complaints, and while she is
concerned, focusing on things like commissary prices and phone service
ignores the larger issue. "They shouldn't be there at all," said
the Democrat from Pueblo West. "Sending inmates out of state is almost
guaranteeing a 100 percent recidivism rate," said McFadyen, who has
eight state prisons in her district. "We're taking the inmates with the
best track records within our system and punishing them by sending them out
of state away from their families. When inmates don't have that support
system in place to help them re-enter society, it almost guarantees
failure." McFadyen said this is all part of the private-prison system's
business plan. "High recidivism rates ensure profits for their
stockholders," she said. "There's no incentive to do what's best
for inmates. They profit by having them come back into the system." Owen
called such criticism "completely false." "We invest a great
deal in innovative programs to rehabilitate inmates," he said. "We
consider ourselves professionals." CCA receives $54 per day per Colorado
inmate. The cost to keep comparable inmates in state institutions is $77 per
day, Morgan said. Even at 30 percent less per inmate, CCA has delivered
impressive profits to shareholders. The company racked up $105.2 million in
net income in 2006. How do they do it? "The private-prison industry
makes its money out of bodies and souls," McFadyen said.
September 16, 2006 The Gazette
The Colorado Department of Corrections is preparing to send as many as
1,000 inmates out of state — probably to two private lockups in Oklahoma — to
alleviate crowding in state prisons. Alison Morgan, head of the DOC’s
private-prison monitoring unit, would not discuss the department’s timetable
for moving the inmates. Last month, she visited two Oklahoma prisons, the
Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton and the North Fork Correctional
Facility in Sayre, and she is in negotiations with the companies that run
them. “Going out of state is inevitable,” she said Friday. The DOC has been
warning lawmakers for months that it will soon run out of space, the result
of longer sentences, a growing population and a multiyear budget crisis that
canceled building projects. New private prisons to hold 3,776 inmates have
been approved, and officials this year expressed optimism to the General
Assembly that they could handle the state’s caseload by double-bunking
inmates and finding unused space until the new prisons are built. It will be
the first time since the mid-1990s that Colorado has sent a large number of
inmates out of state. In 2004, 121 high-security inmates with gang
affiliations were sent to a prison in Mississippi, but officials brought them
back a year later after they were involved in a riot there.
October 13, 2003 Nearly 1,000 criminals
were hauled away from here this summer, all of them incarcerated convicts,
never to return. It pained nearly everyone to see them go. The exodus from
this remote western Oklahoma town took with it about 225 jobs and a third of
the government's revenues after a furor over the cost of inmates' phone calls
led to the closing of a prison. "It's a huge blow," said Elaine
Barker, the city clerk. With the prisoners gone, the operating budget this
year has been chopped by a third to $2.7 million, Ms. Barker said. Plans for
a new City Hall have been halted indefinitely. The city has put off
renovating an old building for the Police and Fire Departments and
constructing a 60-unit apartment complex to relieve the acute housing
shortage. Hiring has stopped. One of five water department jobs has been cut.
With nothing to build, the city construction manager has been let go. The job
of economic development director has been eliminated. The city had budgeted
for a full-time treasurer to succeed the part-time treasurer, who retired,
but now Ms. Barker has inherited those duties. After a heady run of
rebuilding and face-lifting, Sayre, about 120 miles west of Oklahoma City, is
at a dead stop, all because of the collapse of its primary economic engine: a
five-year-old, $35 million, red-roofed, gray-walled, privately run
medium-security prison, the North Fork Correctional Facility. Over the
summer, the prison management company, the Corrections Corporation of
America, sent the 989 inmates, all from Wisconsin, to another of its
facilities, 100 miles northeast of Sayre. Now the state-of-the-art prison in
Sayre languishes in its prairie-grass setting. Sayre's travails arose from
the loss of commissions it had received on prisoners' collect, long-distance
telephone calls home to Wisconsin. Their families each paid about $22 for 20
minutes. Sayre collected up to 42 percent, and the contractor, AT&T, took
the rest. For the fiscal year that ended in June, Sayre's share amounted to
$656,000, close to the entire city budget in the years just before the prison
opened. "We got ourselves into a situation where we were unable to
control the outcome," Jack W. Ivester, the
mayor and a lawyer, said. "Looking back, there were a couple of road
signs that we missed." Sayre, population 4,114 before the inmates left,
is one of about 200 rural communities in the nation, many ravaged by
population declines and the loss of farms, factories and mines, that brought
in prisons to bolster their economies during the 1990's. Swallowing fears
about the proximity of criminals, the towns tapped into a growing population
of prisoners and a shortage of prisons in many states. "To my
mind," Jack McKennon, the city manager of
Sayre, said two years ago while the town prospered, "there's no more
recession-proof form of economic development." But in some states,
growth in the number of prisoners has stalled, and some are opening new
prisons so they won't have to send inmates elsewhere. Burned, Mr. McKennon says now, "It's just like a manufacturing
plant that says they're going to move to China or Mexico." For a couple
of years, Wisconsin pressed the corrections company, based in Nashville, for
lower telephone rates. But the company, which had no say about the contract
that would not expire until next November, deferred to Sayre and AT&T.
City officials say that they tried to renegotiate it but that AT&T
declined. "The rates we charge are no higher in Oklahoma than anywhere
else," a spokesman for AT&T, Kerry Hibbs, said. The corrections
company, faced with losing its contract to house the Wisconsin prisoners,
moved the men to its prison in Watonga, Okla., where it holds the telephone
contract and can meet the Wisconsin limit of about $8 for a 20-minute call.
Sayre officials said that six and seven years ago, during the discussions
about building a prison, no one — not they, the corrections company or the
state of Wisconsin — raised doubts about charging inmates much higher rates
than consumers pay. The fees were high, Ms. Barker said, "but in defense
of the city, the contract was in place when Wisconsin signed the contract
with C.C.A. to house their prisoners here." Still, Mayor Ivester said, "when Wisconsin prisoners went to
Sayre, we started getting complaints." "When we received those
complaints," he continued, "we conveyed them to AT&T, and
that's where I think the problem was. AT&T was inflexible. On two
occasions, the city went to AT&T and said, `You need to accommodate the
rates with the complaints from Wisconsin.' "In both cases we were
rebuffed," the mayor said. "The answer was no. A third time we went
to C.C.A. and said, `We've tried. You talk to them.' C.C.A. experienced the
same inflexibility we did." Bill Clausius, the spokesman for the
Wisconsin prison department, said the state repeatedly pressed the
corrections company to bring rates down to $1.25 to connect and 22 cents per
minute, well below the Sayre rate of $3.95 to connect and 89 cents a minute.
Mr. Hibbs at AT&T said: "We find it hard to believe that they would
shut down the prison over telephone rates. We had no interest in shutting the
prison down." Ms. Barker said, "AT&T wanted us to buy out the
contract for a price of $850,000, which was way above our means." With
the corrections company looking more and more determined to move the men,
AT&T let Sayre out of the contract in late June at no cost to the city
and washed its hands of further business here. In a statement then, AT&T
said, "We wish Sayre well in finding a new phone service provider for
its prison and hope that the facility and accompanying jobs will be
saved." But by then Wisconsin and the corrections company had had
enough, and the vans to Watonga were rolling. "Everyone tried to get
those rates lowered," said Louise Green, vice president for marketing at
the corrections company. "It was not done." Sayre and the
corrections company, both with big stakes in the prison here, are seeking a
new customer. Once they have one, Sayre could resume collecting water and
sewer fees from the prison and a sales tax from the prison commissary but
much less from the telephone calls. To avoid another closing, Ms. Barker
said, "we're negotiating with different phone companies, and we've got
some really nice proposals." Mostly, though, they would be nicer for
prisoners. "It would cut our income tremendously," she said. (The
New York Times)
August 15, 2003
The challenge of keeping a $17.5 million Grady County, Okla., jail out of default
could become tougher now that a private prison in Sayre, 80 miles to the
west, has fallen vacant. The two detention facilities -- one
built with public funds, the other private -- are expected to compete for the
same inmates, including federal prisoners who bring higher daily payments for
beds. "In theory, we are in competition, not only with other
companies but our public counterparts," said Steve Owen, spokesman for
the Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America, owner of the North
Fork Detention Facility in Sayre. The North Fork facility, specifically built
by CCA to house inmates from Wisconsin, was forced to close last week over a
long-distance telephone rate dispute. Wisconsin officials say charges for
long-distance service for the 989 inmates exceeded costs spelled out in the
contract between CCA and the state. With a skeleton crew of 13
maintaining North Fork, CCA moved the Wisconsin inmates to another of its
Oklahoma facilities, called Diamondback, in Watonga. While Sayre officials
look for a more affordable long-distance provider, Owen said prospects for
returning Wisconsin inmates to the facility are slim. Instead,
the facility will either be used for other state and federal inmates or sold
to another operator. "The company experienced its share of
heartburn in speculative facilities back in the '80s and '90s," Owen
said. "This management wants to take a more responsible
approach." In Chickasha, meanwhile, accountants are
recommending a 20% cut in the Grady County budget to cover debt service on
the 330-bed jail, which has become the subject of a grand jury investigation.
(The Bond Buyer)
June 22, 2003
The immediate future looks bleak for Sayre's North Fork private prison,
scheduled to close in two months over inmate phone rates.
Insiders say it's too late to work out a deal for the prison owner to keep
its inmates there, and the state of Oklahoma doesn't have the money to buy
the prison. Meanwhile, the city is stuck in a five-year contract for
inmate phone calls it made with AT&T, even if the prison owner,
Corrections Corporation of America, moves inmates to Sayre from another
state. "This is very devastating," said Rick Moody, a captain
at the prison. "We're just hoping and praying something is
done." The prison, filled exclusively with Wisconsin inmates, is
the city's biggest employer. The inmates' telephone calls generate funding
for the city, and the prison paid $449,000 in property taxes to the county in
2002. Sayre negotiated for the prison's telephone rights six years ago
and remains locked in a contract with AT&T that ends in November 2004.
Under the agreement, Sayre received a monthly commission on revenue collected
by AT&T on collect calls made by inmates. City records show those monthly
commission checks have ranged from $15,000 to $92,000 in the past year.
The problem came in November, when Wisconsin renewed its contract to keep 989
inmates at the prison. Wisconsin law prohibits prisons from charging inmates
more than $1.25 for a call connection fee plus 22 cents for each minute. But
AT&T and Sayre had agreed to a connection charge of $3.95 and 89 cents
per minute -- rates that far exceed the Wisconsin cap. Now the city is
stuck with the five-year telephone contract. By Aug. 11, the prison's 989
inmates -- all contracted with the state of Wisconsin -- are scheduled for
transfer to Corrections Corporation's 2,160-bed medium security Diamondback
Correctional Facility in Watonga. "We haven't given up hope,"
said Larry Kirkland, a North Fork prison spokesman. "We are pursuing
other avenues to receive other inmates. As long as there's time, we're not
going to give up hope." But the transfer of inmates appears to be
ahead of schedule. "I spoke with (North Fork) Warden Jody Bradley
recently," said state Sen. Gilmer Capps, D- Snyder. "He assured me
that the Wisconsin inmates were gone." Capps since has turned to
Ron Ward, director of the Oklahoma Corrections Department, for
assistance. "I asked him if he had any inmates he could move to Sayre,
but he hasn't been able to find the numbers," Capps said. "I hate
to see us lose those employees." As for any possible attempt by
the state to purchase North Fork, Capps said not to count on it, given
Oklahoma's sluggish economy. "I don't think the state is
interested at this time," Capps said. State corrections spokesman
Jerry Massie cut to the heart of the matter: "We're about $20 million
short as it is right now." Corrections Corporation of America
spent $34.5 million to build the prison in 1998. Its market value now, according
to county tax rolls, is $42.7 million, Beckham County Assessor Loretta Hill
said. Sayre Mayor Jack Ivester thinks about
the 225 jobs' reported $6 million annual payroll that will vanish with the
closure and wonders whether the situation can be salvaged, even at this late
date. "All I know is the city is going to pursue every option
available to us to try to save the prison," he said. He said he
talks to Corrections Corporation representatives every day and has been
trying to set up a meeting. But so far, no date has been finalized. An
obvious hurdle for Sayre is its contract with AT&T. The contract does not
have a buyout clause or a penalty specified for breaking it. AT&T offered
to let Sayre get out of its contract for $850,000, city Attorney Kent Whinery said. He said the city can't afford that
much. "The city council is going to have to make some tough
decisions," Whinery said in regard to a
potential buyout. AT&T would not discuss whether the company
offered to lower its charges for inmate telephone calls. Company
spokesman Kerry Hibbs said he couldn't go into details because the
negotiations are private. Meanwhile, the scramble for inmates looks
grim. Forty-one of 50 states showed an increase in prison populations between
July 1, 2001, and June 30, 2002, according to recent figures by the U.S.
Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. But, as in Oklahoma, money
is tight in other states. "The inmates are out there," said a
prison official who asked to remain anonymous. "But who has the
money?" Steve Owen, a Corrections Corporation of America
spokesman, said eventually a customer will be located and North Fork will
reopen. "We're eager to put people back to work there," Owen
said. State Rep. Purcy Walker, D- Elk City,
said he hopes so. "It's a nice facility," Walker said.
"I can't see where CCA would be satisfied with just a little more than
four years of use out there to the point where they would be willing to just
move off and leave it. I would find that hard to believe. "They
say they will come back. I guess we'll just have to take their
word." (The Oklahoman)
June 22, 2003
Most inmates in Oklahoma appear to be paying less per phone call than those
at the ill- fated North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre.
Corrections Corporation of America announced recently that it would close the
prison because its Wisconsin prisoners were paying too much for phone
calls. Prisoners there pay a $3.95 connection fee and an 89-cent charge
for each additional minute. Inmates in state-run prisons pay a range of
fees depending upon the area's provider, AT&T or SBC Communications. They
pay a $3 service charge, up to 33 cents for the first minute and up to 31
cents for each additional minute for AT&T calls. SBC calls cost up to $3.90
to connect and up to 55 cents for the first minute and then up to 47 cents.
Rates depend upon the distance called and time of day. If AT&T uses
subcontractor T-Netix at the facility, connect
charges range from $2.15 to $5.15 and per-minute charges range from 41 cents
to 89 cents. Inmates' families complain frequently about the cost of
calls, state Department of Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie said. However,
phone and prison officials point out that rates are less of an issue for
state-run prisons because they hold mostly Oklahoma prisoners who are less
likely to be calling farther away. The state agency requires that
private prisons have comparable phone rates to those at state-run prisons.
Massie said the department checks those rates in audits each year. Private
prisons in Holdenville and Cushing are the same as those in Department of
Corrections facilities, according to department documents. The phone
calls have long been a moneymaker for the department, private prisons and the
towns that do business with private prisons. (News Ok)
May 5, 2003
Wisconsin prison officials will travel to a privately run prison in Oklahoma
today to investigate a disturbance Monday that resulted in minor injuries to
a guard and about $12,000 damage to a prison kitchen. The North Fork
Correctional Institution in Sayre, Okla., still was on "lockdown"
Wednesday, as prison officials tried to sort out what happened, said Steve
Owen, a spokesman for the Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of
America. CCA houses 1,199 Wisconsin prisoners at North Fork under
contract with the state. The incident, which lasted three hours, began
around 6 p.m. in a recreation yard as prisoners were moving to a dining
hall. About 146 prisoners were in the dining hall, but Owen didn't say
how many may have been involved. (Wisconsin State Journal)
July 17, 2000
Fifteen guards and one inmate were injured after a 20-minute fight broke-out
between Wisconsin inmates. Six of the guards were sent to the hospital.
Teargas was needed to break up the fight and inmates were in lock-down. (The
Dallas Morning News and AP, July 18, 2000)
March 19, 1999
A dispute between a Wisconsin inmate and a correctional officer in the
dining hall spread to other inmates, including inmates in a housing unit. Gas
was used to control the inmates. All inmates in the facility are from WI.
Oklahoma
CCA
August 28, 2002
An Oklahoma corrections
company has agreed to pay more than $152,000 in back wages to 96
women denied employment because of their gender. Corrections Corporation
of America agreed to pay the women back wages after a U.S. Department
of Labor audit showed female applicants, who were equally or better
qualified than men hired, were rejected. (AP)
Oklahoma
County Jail
Oklahoma, Oklahoma
Correctional Healthcare Management
July 8, 2003
A plan by Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel to
add a full-time psychiatrist and physician's assistant to the staff at the
county jail was put on hold Monday by county officials. Members of the
Oklahoma Board of County Commissioners were asked Monday to approve a
one-year contract with Correctional Healthcare Management of Oklahoma Inc.
totaling $4,227,276 -- about $237,000 more than previously reported.
Instead of approving the contract, commissioners Stan Inman and Jack Cornett
voted to delay consideration for one week, while Commissioner Jim Roth argued
they should not be questioning Whetsel's judgment
on what he needs to operate the jail. Whetsel
previously warned commissioners and county budget board members he expected
the contract for this fiscal year, which started July 1, to go up by $828,000
to cover increased costs. Inman, however, said he came away from that
same meeting with the impression the county already is meeting minimum jail
standards. A report from the analysis has not been completed, so Inman
argued Whetsel's request represents one
interpretation against another. Inman said he opposes making changes at
the jail until U.S. Justice Department inspectors complete an investigation
into conditions and alleged civil rights violations. "We have
nothing to go on that says we're giving substandard services at the
jail," Inman said. "We have no report that says we're doing good or
bad. Are we going to spend a quarter million dollars guessing what is going
to be in the report?" Inman also questioned why the contract
allows automatic renewal by Whetsel and the vendor
without any input from the budget board or the commission. The contract
has not been subjected to competing proposals since late 2000 when the first
full one-year agreement was signed with Correctional Healthcare Management of
Oklahoma Inc. The Parker, Colo.-based company was hired in June 2000
for a six-month, $1.3 million contract. The company prevailed over three
competing proposals, even though it was only three years old at the time with
a customer base that included a dozen smaller jails in Colorado and
Wyoming. The company won a second round of competing bids in late 2000,
beating proposals by other vendors by more than $1 million. The company
was a $500 contributor earlier this year to Whetsel's
unsuccessful effort to convince voters to pass a permanent sales tax that
would have doubled his department's budget. Capt. John Waldenville, who heads the sheriff's budget office, said
the department plans to submit the contract to competitive bids again for the
2005 fiscal year. "I really have a problem with the contract
itself," Inman said. "There is no provision for it to end -- it has
no real end date." (The Oklahoman)
September 7, 2002
A private company could operate the Oklahoma County jail with more
accountability and maybe even less cost, a representative of a private
corrections company on Thursday told a committee studying administration of
the jail. The committee was appointed by county commissioners to study
whether commissioners should appoint a trust to run the jail or ask voters to
approve a different kind of trust. The committee also will decide
whether to recommend commissioners contract a private company to run the
jail. Branham said CCA's new contract with a Tulsa County jail
authority provides the company $46 per inmate per day. Oklahoma
County's jail- operated, like most jails across the state, by the
sheriff-spends $34 a day to house its average inmate, sheriff's Capt. Rickey
Barrow said after the meeting. "You have to remember they're in
the business of making money. We can't make money, by law."
He said staff turnover at private jails is lower because those jails hire
staff that want to work in corrections, while sheriff's departments often
hire people whose goals are to work in law enforcement outside of
jails. He said, a contract with a private company helps contain legal
costs. It would cover costs that could be incurred by the county for
tort claims and civil rights lawsuits. "That's all accounted
for," Branham said. After Branham's presentation, the committee
heard from Lee Slater, who for many years was secretary of the State Election
Board. Slater, an attorney, said no contract can insulate county
officials from legal liability for what goes on in a jail.
"Dodging liability is not something the county is going to be able to
do," he said. Slater discussed the legal requirements of
submitting a vote of the people the question of whether a trust authority should
run the jail. Asked if he thought a trust authority is a good idea,
Slater said all studies he saw in his decades in state government concluded
the state has too many boards and commissions and that spreading out
responsibility among board members leads to "a lack of accountability."
(The Saturday Oklahoman)
Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Jul
11, 2021 nationalreview.com
Prison Reform Takes Center Stage at CPAC
The
Saturday agenda for CPAC featured two governors whose work on prison reform
has likely gone underappreciated. Governor Ken Stitt from Oklahoma and
Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee were interviewed by Matt Schlapp
regarding their efforts to decrease recidivism and reintegrate former
prisoners into American society. Both commented that former president Trump's
leadership on the issue helped open the conversation on conservative
approaches to criminal justice reform. The results could have major
implications for conservative justice reforms. Bill Lee of Tennessee aptly
set the stage for the conversation, identifying that 95 percent of prisoners
today will be released back into civil society at some point. Of those
released, nearly 50 percent will re-enter the criminal-justice system. As I
have documented before, Lee is entirely correct in identifying recidivism as
a major issue in modern society (in fact, the total recidivism rate
nationally is actually much higher than 50 percent).
Lee was clear that he believed criminal-justice reform "is actually a
conservative issue." Ken Stitt backed up Lee's initial point by
repeating a phrase he said has guided his own policies in Oklahoma:
"Let's lock up people we are afraid of, not people we're mad at."
Stitt has the numbers to back up his claim. According to Stitt, Oklahoma had
the highest percentage of incarcerated people in the United States when he
took office. Because of that discrepancy, Stitt authorized the largest
commutation of sentences in one day ever. Stitt was quick to point out that
this change has not resulted in an increase in crime. On the contrary, recidivism
rates have gone down, as have violent and non-violent-crime rates, according
to Stitt. Both Stitt and Lee attribute the decrease in criminality to
intentional policies implemented in their respective states. Stitt has set up
a seminary inside of a prison, saying that "we know that makes a
difference." Lee has similar personal experience, working for 20 years
as a mentor for ex-cons. According to Lee, his religious program had a
recidivism rate of only 8 percent, a massive decrease from the national average.
Matt Schlapp jokingly pointed out that it seemed
like Lee was implying "Jesus is the best parole officer." Both Lee
and Stitt brought up the economic benefits of decreasing crime and prison
re-entry rates. Stitt claimed that he saved 25 million taxpayer dollars by
closing a single private prison. Yet, the main focus
of the discussion was on rehabilitating Americans that are caught up in the
penal system. Given the economic and social benefits of reducing criminal
feedback loops, hopefully, other governors will look to Oklahoma and
Tennessee as an example for their own criminal justice reforms.
Aug 24, 2017 kfor.com
Oklahoma inmates sue Gov. Fallin,
parole board over unsafe conditions
OKLAHOMA
CITY - A group of Oklahoma inmates filed a lawsuit against Gov. Mary Fallin in federal court on Thursday. The lawsuit alleges
unfair parole hearings and corruption among top Oklahoma lawmakers. According
to recent data, Oklahoma incarcerates women at a higher rate than any other
state in the country. Also, there are more African-American men behind bars
in Oklahoma per capita than anywhere else in the United States. According to
the plaintiffs, Oklahoma prisons are the most dangerous in the country.
"Oklahoma has the highest homicide rate in of in the country," said
criminal justice reform advocate Gwendolyn Fields. "We incarcerate more
African-American males than anywhere in the country. One out of every 15
black men is in prison." According to plaintiffs in the lawsuit, not
only does Oklahoma lock up more people than in any other state, but lawmakers
have an interest in keeping inmates incarcerated. Parole rates have been
historically low under Fallin, just 10 percent of
eligible inmates are paroled each year. "You have an aging population,
people who are 60, 65 years old who have been in prison for decades.
Statistically, we know they are not a risk to public safety," Fields
said. Fields blames prison overcrowding on Fallin's
cozy relationship with two large private prison operators. In recent years,
lawmakers have guaranteed 98 percent occupancy to private prisons operating
in Oklahoma. Fields walked the lawsuit into Fallin's
office Thursday morning. "She along with other top legislators have been
incentivized by private prisons through campaign contributions and other
gifts and, for that reason, she continues to lock up black and brown people.
Then they close the doors and obstruct access," Fields said. The group
has petitioned the US Department of Justice to intervene, and they expect
more inmates to join their lawsuit in the coming months. Fallin's
spokesperson, Michael McNutt, released the following statement regarding the
lawsuit: "The governor’s office has a general policy of not commenting
on pending litigation. The matter has been referred to the attorney general’s
office. The governor’s office is confident the attorney general's office will
competently defend this issue." Department of Corrections spokesperson,
Mark Myers, declined to comment because the litigation is ongoing.
Jul 30, 2016 tulsaworld.com
Authorities arrest man outside Sapulpa who escaped from Louisiana prison
after manslaughter conviction
A Louisiana prison escapee was arrested Friday outside Sapulpa, ending a nearly
month-long period in which he had been on the run. Wilson Bryant, 41, was
arrested around 5 p.m. by the Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force and
Creek County sheriff's deputies, said U.S. Marshals Service Warrants
Supervisor Tommy Roberts. Bryant had escaped from a private prison, the
Madison Parish Detention Center in Tallulah, Louisiana, on June 30. He had
served about three years of a 15-year sentence for manslaughter when he
escaped, Roberts said. A Monroe, Louisiana, NBC affiliate TV station reported
last month that Bryant and another inmate, who was captured the day of his
escape, left the prison the morning of June 30 after damaging a security
fence. Bryant was initially charged with murder in the June 2013 death of
27-year-old Greg Smith Jr. of Tallulah but later pleaded guilty to
manslaughter. Despite having no connections to the Tulsa area through family
or friends, Roberts said, Bryant had been in the area for nearly all the time
he had been on the run. Bryant reportedly admitted his identity after being
questioned by members of the task force. He remains in the Creek County Jail
without bond pending transport back to Louisiana.
Feb 11, 2016 spokesman.com
State needs to close prisons, says
corrections director
OKLAHOMA CITY — The interim
head of Oklahoma Department of Corrections says the state needs to close some
of its ailing prisons. Joe M. Allbaugh stopped
short of naming facilities he believes should be closed during an interview
Wednesday. But in 15 or 16 surprise visits to facilities across the state, Allbaugh said he's discovered a system running on
"baling wire and pliers," just trying to make it through each day.
“We have a whole host of facilities that need to be closed down,” said Allbaugh, who had been on the job just 32 days. “They are
a danger to our population. They’re a danger to our corrections officers and
a danger to our administrative staff. It’s just a matter of time before we
have a serious incident.” Allbaugh, 63, was
appointed last month after Robert Patton abruptly quit to take a job in
Arizona. Allbaugh previously served as chief of
staff to Texas Gov. George W. Bush, headed Federal Emergency Management
Agency and most recently was CEO of a consulting business. He said he hasn’t
spoken with Patton. He didn’t mince words as he described the troubles he
saw. “It’s about a broken system that horribly needs attention and needs to
be fixed, and everybody in the this state has
ownership of how it got this bad and how we need to fix it," he said. Allbaugh said it will cost more than $750 million to
repair the aged and ailing infrastructure. His prescription comes as
lawmakers and officials cut department budgets to make ends meet, and face a
shortfall of at least $900 million as they put together a spending plan for the
coming fiscal year. “We need to close some facilities, and that’s going to
cause a lot of pain, particularly with people who don’t believe their
facility should be at risk,” he said. “And I understand that. But either we
gain some efficiencies in the system, or give me more money to build the
prison." The state's prisons already battling are overcrowding issues.
As of Wednesday, DOC was about 122 percent over capacity, he said. More than
28,000 inmates are housed in Oklahoma prisons. Allbaugh
said the state should look to private prisons for a solution, and consider
asking for proposals to reopen the two private facilities that stand empty in
Sayre and Watonga. Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga is owned by
Corrections Corporation of America. It was closed in 2010, and state Rep.
Mike Sanders, R-Kingfisher, announced in April 2014 he was working to reopen
the facility, although nothing came of the efforts. CCA also owns North Fork
Correctional Center in Sayre. “I’m not a fan of private prisons, but in this
particular case they are a relief valve for the state of Oklahoma," Allbaugh said. "Right now, what is saving our bacon
are the private prisons.” Nearly 6,000 state inmates currently are housed in private prisons. Among
the woes Allbaugh said he's encountered during
surprise visits to prisons are bad morale; untrained cadets who are put in
potentially dangerous situations; good programs lacking support or space to
expand; a broken boiler at the State Penitentiary in McAlester that will cost
$2.8 million to replace; doors and locks in cells that don’t work; and
inmates at community centers and halfway houses who are not properly
supervised. “I’ve seen and tasted bad food. I’ve seen holes in fences. I’ve
seen our electronic fences that are not working," he said. Gus
Blackwell, a former lawmaker and spokesman for Oklahoma Corrections
Professionals, said corrections employees have been “awed” by Allbaugh’s visits and the fact he spends one-on-one time
with them to truly grasp the issues they face. Blackwell said it might be
hard for Allbaugh to get a true picture when a
warden knows he's coming and can prepare for the visit. The "true
picture," he added, is what he needs to see and share with lawmakers.
What happens next, Blackwell said, will come down to money. If Allbaugh can find a way to house inmates cheaper, he
might be able to sell lawmakers on his plan.Still,
Blackwell said he doesn't necessarily support closing prisons. “I’m not sure
if I’d be in favor of completely closing those, but I know at least some of
them need to have the offender count drastically reduced,” he said.Allbaugh side-stepped questions about whether he's
interested in taking on the job permanently, saying the decision is up to the
Department of Corrections' advisory board. For now, he said he’s accustomed
to making tough decisions and has the ability to enforce those decisions. He
also believes in holding people accountable. “There is a problem in the
Department of Corrections, and the governor, the Legislature and society as a
whole has ownership of this problem,” he said.
Jan 3, 2016 newsok.com
Move by former Oklahoma DOC boss merits attention
ROBERT Patton's tenure as director of the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections was marked by controversy. Now his departure is doing the same.
Patton's decision to take a job with a private prison company in his home
state of Arizona has the attention of an Oklahoma lawmaker who says that at
the very least, it violates the spirit of a state conflict-of-interest law.
“Enough of those things and people start losing their faith in government,”
Rep. Mark McCullough told Oklahoma Watch. It may be too late for that.
However, McCullough's concerns over Patton's move are understandable and
merit attention. McCullough was principal author of a law passed in 2009 that
added a penalty to an existing law that says any state officer or employee
who has some say in awarding a state privatization contract can't go to work
for that company for at least a year after the contract is awarded. The
penalty is to prohibit the company from contracting with the state agency for
a year after the violation occurred. In September, the state Board of
Corrections renewed and amended a contract with Geo Group, a Florida-based
company that owns the Lawton Correctional Facility. Patton signed the
contract, which was dated Oct. 1. Now he's going to work for Geo Group in
Arizona. Doing so doesn't violate state law, corrections spokeswoman Terri
Watkins told Oklahoma Watch, because the corrections board approved the
contract. She said her former boss didn't have a role in negotiating,
reviewing or approving the contract. Instead, negotiations were handled by
the agency's Western Division director, Watkins said. However, in minutes
from a corrections board meeting July 9, Patton said he was involved in
conversations with private prison groups about expanding their contracts.
Watkins reiterated that Patton had “no discretionary control over the
contract.” McCullough, R-Sapulpa, argues that while the corrections board
approves the contract, Patton, as director, is “the executive officer who has
to sign it. He's not just a functionary. He's the executive. He's the guy.”
And now after serving in this important role, one that benefited Geo Group,
the lawmaker says Patton's new employment with the company should be viewed
with high skepticism. The original conflict-of-interest law was passed,
without a penalty provision, in 1999 in light of several DOC officials
leaving the agency to work for private prisons. McCullough said his bill was
intended to beef up the original law and serve as a deterrent to
job-shopping. Patton isn't talking, and has moved on following a tumultuous
tenure in which his agency got mired in controversies regarding executions
and execution protocol. We wrote when he announced his resignation in early
December, after less than two years on the job, that he may have been trying
to beat the posse out of town. Was Patton planning in September, when the Geo
Group contract was renewed, to bolt for home just a few months later and go
to work for the company? Did he violate the law, and if so, did he do it
willfully? That will be up to state investigators to determine, if they
choose to do so. What can be said is that this episode certainly looks bad,
and McCullough is right to be bothered by it.
Dec 23, 2015 oklahomawatch.org
Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton’s quitting to take a job
with a private prison company that contracts with his agency is raising
questions about whether the move violates state law. Patton announced earlier
this month that he would step down as Corrections Department director to
become deputy warden at a private prison in Kingman, Ariz., which Geo Group
took over as operator on Dec. 1. Patton, who worked in the Arizona prison
system before being hired as Oklahoma corrections director in early 2014,
said he wanted to be closer to his family. His resignation is effective Jan.
31, but he will take accrued leave starting Christmas Day. Under an Oklahoma
conflict-of-interest law, any state officer or employee who exercises
discretionary or decision-making authority in awarding a state privatization
contract cannot be employed by the contracted company for one year after the
contract award date. The penalty for violating the law is to prohibit the
company from contracting with the state agency for a year after the violation
occurred. In September, the state Board of Corrections renewed and amended a
contract with Florida-based Geo Group, which owns the Lawton Correctional
Facility. The amended contract increased by 100 the number of private prison
beds leased to the state by Geo Group. More than 2,600 inmates in minimum,
medium and maximum security levels are incarcerated at the Lawton facility.
Patton signed the contract, dated Oct. 1, 2015. Rep. Mark McCullough,
R-Sapulpa, who was the principal House author of a 2009 bill specifying a
penalty for the conflict law, said he hopes the issue will be investigated to
determine whether the arrangement violates state law. “I think somebody ought
to look into that,” McCullough said. “I don’t think that’s what directors of
major agencies ought to be doing. I don’t think they ought to be going and
seeking employment with somebody the agency has already contracted with.”
Corrections Department spokeswoman Terri Watkins said Patton’s acceptance of
the Geo Group job in Arizona would not violate state law because the Oklahoma
Board of Corrections approved the contract. Patton also did not play a role
in negotiating, reviewing or approving the contract, she said. “He signed it
(the contract) at the discretion and request of the board after their
approval,” Watkins said. “It was (DOC Western Division Director) Greg
Williams who was doing the negotiations. Any discussions, any negotiations,
any conversations were done with (Williams) and at the direction of the
board.” Corrections Department policy also requires negotiations with private
prisons to be done by the department’s western division director and general
counsel. However, according to corrections board minutes from July 9, Patton
said he was involved in conversations with private prison groups about
expanding their current contracts. “Director Patton stated he is in
discussion on a daily basis with the associate directors and the private
partners around the state,” the minutes read. “He stated he hopes to have an
expansion proposition of approximately $2 million for approval at the next
regular board meeting.” Patton declined a request for an interview. When
asked about the meeting minutes and Patton’s signature on the contract,
Watkins reiterated that the director has no control over contract
negotiations or approval. Patton had “no discretionary control over the
contract,” Watkins said. “All actions, as per statute, were done by the board
and taken under the direction of the board.” In response to Oklahoma Watch’s
questions, Geo Group issued a statement praising Patton’s experience and
saying he would be a valuable asset in the company’s takeover of the Arizona
prison’s operations. A company spokesman declined to answer questions about
the employment arrangement with Patton. When asked whether the arrangement
violated Oklahoma law, the company said the corrections board approves
contracts. “As a matter of policy, our company does not discuss specific
details with respect to employment arrangements,” Pablo Paez,
vice president of corporate relations for Geo Group, said in a written
statement. “As it relates to GEO's contractual relationship with the State of
Oklahoma, our company's contract for the management of the Lawton
Correctional Facility has always been approved and awarded by the Oklahoma
Board of Corrections.” The conflict-of-interest law was passed by the
Legislature in 1999, but a penalty provision was stripped from the bill prior
to its passage, said Trish Frazier, policy director for the Oklahoma Public
Employees Association, a strong backer of the bill. “At the time, there were
a lot of people who were working for the Department of Corrections and moving
straight into private prisons,” Frazier said. “If you were in a leadership
role at the Department of Corrections and had dealings with their
contractors, the legislators felt like this should be taken care of.” The employees association also supported the 2009 bill, passed
and signed by Gov. Brad Henry, that added the 1-year contract suspension
penalty into the law. A 2009 association newsletter said the impetus for the
law was that “DOC administrators have used this loophole to immediately go to
work for private prison companies after writing contracts.” McCullough said
his bill was one of several “good government” bills that year and the
intention was to give the law teeth. “That’s kind of the whole point of it,
so there won’t be a revolving door,” McCullough said. Frazier said she did
not know whether Patton’s move to the Geo Group facility violated the law.
McCullough said the move does appear to at least violate the spirit of the
law. Enforcement of a penalty would likely fall to the Oklahoma Office of
Management and Enterprise Services or the Attorney General’s Office. “It
seems like the clear intent of the bill is to keep directors from immediately
going and working for entities who are contracting with the entity over which
they had supervisory capacity in approving these contracts,” McCullough said.
With Geo Group’s contract, “the board approves it, but he’s (Patton) the
executive officer who has to sign it,” McCullough said. “He’s not just a
functionary. He’s the executive. He’s the guy. He’s approving this contract
and now he’s going to work for the company that’s contracted with the state.
That’s the point of the statute.” McCullough said the law is intended to
ensure arms-length transactions when using taxpayer money. “Emphatically,
that (Patton’s involvement in the contract) is not an arms-length transaction
... Enough of those things and people start losing their faith in
government.” Gov. Mary Fallin’s office referred
questions about whether the move would violate the law to Attorney General
Scott Pruitt’s office, which referred questions about the issue to the state
Corrections Department. Patton’s term as director has been controversial,
mainly because of the botched execution of Clayton Lockett in April 2014 and
the last-minute stopping of the execution of Richard Glossip in September
2015 because a wrong execution drug was about to be used. The Oklahoman later
reported that the same wrong drug was used in the execution of Charles Warner
in January this year. In October, Patton testified before a multi-county
grand jury about the Glossip incident. An interim director will be named
after Patton’s departure, and the Board of Corrections will immediately
launch a national search to fill the position, according to the Corrections
Department.
Oct
18, 2015 newsok.com
Private
prisons cost Oklahoma $92.2 million last year — a 16 percent increase over
the year before, according to the Oklahoma Corrections Department.
Oklahoma's
bloated incarceration system is becoming increasingly dependent on corporate
prison beds. And it's costing us. Private prisons cost $92.2 million last
year — a 16 percent increase over the year before, according to the state
Corrections Department. The mounting cost caused the agency to trim other
areas, such as programs and services for inmates. “The increased use of
contract prison beds…resulted in expenditure growth beyond the agency's
appropriated resources,” an annual Corrections Department report states. “To
meet this cost growth, numerous facility infrastructure, technology, vehicle
replacements, programmatic and staffing needs have been chronically deferred,
reduced in scope or reallocated.” The GEO Group, Inc., and Corrections
Corporation of America are the country's two largest for-profit prison
companies. They own or operate a combined five prisons in Oklahoma. Together,
the two companies boast annual revenue of $3.3 billion. They are also a
powerful lobbying force on Capitol Hill and have spent $10 million on
political candidates and $25 million on lobbying efforts since 1989,
according to The Washington Post. Not only are private prisons expensive,
they have proven to be violent. At a private prison in Cushing, a clash of
rival gangs led to the deaths of four inmates Sept. 12 in the
single-deadliest prison incident in state history. Political influence: GEO
and CCA contribute to Oklahoma lawmakers through political action committees,
and have given at least $230,000 in donations since 2008, according an
analysis of Oklahoma Ethics Commission records. Both companies contributed to
the 2015 inauguration of Gov. Mary Fallin; GEO
Group gave $25,000 and CCA gave $10,000. GEO also gave $5,000 for the 2015
Oklahoma Speaker's Ball. Based in Boca Raton, Fla., GEO, which has a prison
in Lawton, has given Oklahoma politicians more than $176,000 since 2008,
outspending Nashville-based CCA by more than $100,000. Contributions of
$1,000 to $5,000 have been made this year by GEO Group's political action
committee to groups representing Sen. Kim David, R-Porter; Rep. Jon Echols,
R-Oklahoma City; Sen. Randy Bass, D-Lawton; Rep. Ann Coody, R-Lawton; Rep.
Jeff Coody, R-Lawton; Rep. John Michael Montgomery, R-Lawton; and Sen. Greg
Treat, R-Oklahoma City, ethics commission records show. Some of those
lawmakers have been involved in legislation beneficial to private prison
companies. Echols championed legislation that changed state law this year to
allow GEO Group to reopen its Hinton prison and house federal prisoners in a
deal with the Bureau of Prisons. The bill removed certain oversight measures
by the corrections department. Without some concessions, the bureau would
have taken its business elsewhere, Echols said. "(The bureau) told me
they are not coming to the state of Oklahoma unless we amend some of the
oversight. We chose to amend and put in federal prisoners. The other
alternative was leave it vacant," Echols said. The deal doesn't cost the state, he said,
and has the economic benefit of bringing 300 jobs to a small community. But
it wasn't a give-away to a powerful private industry, Echols said. "Did we cut regulations to allow a
federal contract? That's fair. But at least we did it in a responsible
manner,” he said. Originally, the
bureau wanted to eliminate all state oversight, Echols said. The negotiated
terms include reporting the number of inmates transferred to the facility and
their security level. Echols and Hinton Town Administrator Matt Mears said
most of the inmates will be illegal immigrants serving time before
deportation. Spokesman for GEO and the bureau declined to discuss the
contract. The private prisons industry
lobbies for harsh sentencing laws. Both CCA and GEO have been influential in
supporting three-strikes measures and mandatory minimum legislation in
Oklahoma as well as other states. For-profit business model: The
annual cost of private prisons in the state has jumped nearly 30 percent in
the past decade, from $71 million in 2005 to $92.2 million last year, records
show. Oklahoma's total prison
population is nearly 28,000. More than 20 percent are in private prisons. The
department increased its capacity by 76 beds this year at the GEO facility in
Lawton. The state pays each corrections company a per diem and the prison
operator is responsible for providing food, security and medical care,
although the Corrections Department reimburses some expenses. Currently, Oklahoma
pays GEO Group $55.50 for each maximum security offender and $40.28 for each
medium security offender at Lawton Correctional Facility, which has 2,526
beds. It pays CCA $57.96 for each maximum
security offender and $44.03 for each medium security offender at its
facilities in Holdenville and Cushing. (It costs more than $100 a day to
house an offender in maximum security at a state facility, according to the
Corrections Department.) Each company receives a guaranteed 98 percent
occupancy — one of the highest rates in the country, according to an analysis
of 62 contracts by the Washington, D.C., based group In The Public Interest.
If the state doesn't fill those beds with prisoners, we pay anyway. In
Colorado, a state that has been reducing its incarcerated population,
occupancy guarantees caused the state to divert inmates in 2012 from
available state beds to CCA facilities to fulfill its requirement, wasting at
least $2 million taxpayer dollars, according to a March 9, 2013 story in The
Colorado Springs Gazette. Most contracts across the U.S. guarantee 90 percent
occupancy, according to In The Public Interest. The only state that topped
Oklahoma was Arizona, where three private prisons operate with a 100 percent
guarantee. Terri Watkins, a Corrections Department spokeswoman, said with the
prisons at 111 percent capacity, keeping the private facilities full isn't a
problem. CCA has been sanctioned numerous times by the Corrections Department
for not complying with contract terms, records show. The department has
levied nearly $320,000 in fines against the company since 2010 for errors
such as falling below required staffing levels and for mistiming prisoners'
release. The largest sanction during that time period — $90,625 — was handed
down in May after two inmates were released late from the Holdenville
facility, records show. Of CCA's four prisons in Oklahoma, two house Oklahoma
prisoners. Its Watonga prison is vacant and one in Sayre, which holds
California inmates, is set to close. Both facilities are being marketed to
potential government partners. "It is our understanding that the
department is developing its bed capacity plan in light of the new budget and
we're talking with them about why CCA can provide solutions for additional
capacity,” Damon Hininger, president and chief
executive officer, said during the conference call. Hininger
earned nearly $3.7 million last year, according to company SEC filings. CCA
spokesman Jonathan Burns said the company hopes to preserve the jobs and
economic benefit to Sayre. When prisons open, officials tout jobs as an
economic benefit but the positions often are fleeting. A contract expires, or
doesn't materialize, and layoffs occur. It happened last year to 100 workers
employed at the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, which has been
vacant since 2010. CCA, which owns the facility, hired the workers in hopes
of getting a new contract with California, but the deal fell through.
Oklahoma's first private prison opened in 1990 Hinton, a town that wanted a
prison so bad, it funded the $24 million construction itself. Between 1996
and 1998, five other private prisons opened across the state, immediately
easing prison overcrowding. According
to The Oklahoman archives, when the Cushing and Holdenville prisons opened,
the contracts included lease-purchase agreements that would give the state
ownership after 20 years, but the current contracts don't reflect that. Deals
with GEO and CCA do allow the state a window each year to purchase one of its
prison facilities but the Corrections Department says it can't afford it. Violence:
Clashing prison gangs — the Irish Mob and United Aryan Brotherhood —
brawled at the Cimarron Correctional Facility on Sept. 12, leading to the
deaths of four inmates. Four others were hospitalized. Killed were Anthony Fulwider, 31; Kyle Tiffee, 23;
Michael Mayden, 26; and Christopher Tignor, 29. It appears to be the deadliest prison fight
in state history. Other violent incidents have injured inmates, including a
widespread, gang-related disturbance involving 200 to 300 inmates in June at
the same Cushing prison. Eleven inmates were hospitalized. In 2013, Puerto
Rican inmates at the Cushing facility smashed windows, breached security
doors and were pepper sprayed after fashioning weapons out of destroyed
property. In 2011, California inmates at the North Fork Correctional Facility
in Sayre, also owned by CCA, rioted, resulting in injuries to nearly 50
inmates. Sixteen were hospitalized. Cathy Fulwider,
whose husband Anthony was killed in the Sept. 12 brawl, said he had been
requesting a transfer to another unit to avoid inmate-on-inmate violence.
"Not that it would have prevented the riot, but it may have prevented
him from getting killed," she said. The Oklahoman interviewed family members of
numerous inmates at Cimarron following the deadly melee. Most were unwilling
to use their names because they fear retribution against their loved one. One
inmate described the violence. “We had a big bad fight on one of the units,”
one inmate wrote Sept. 13. “Four guys got killed. This place had gotten crazy
and I'm ready to get away from this place.” In addition, many family members
worried the offenders were being underfed. “For breakfast we got two flour
tortillas, four slices of imitation cheese and two mayo packets. For lunch we
got two flour tortillas, one slice of imitation cheese and one slice of
turkey ham. For supper we got three slices of bread, three really thin slices
of bologna, and two one-ounce bags of Lays potato chips. There is no way it
came close to a balanced 2,000 calorie diet,” the prisoner wrote. Family
members described how prisoners were locked out of their cells during the
day, restricting access to bathroom facilities. Burns, the CCA spokesman, in
an email to The Oklahoman defended the use of lockdown, which he said is only
used as a safety measure, not for punishment. “It's an important tool in
maintaining safety and security for inmates and staff,” he said. During
periods of lockdown, inmates continue to have access to toilet facilities and
are fed hot meals “as much as possible, although sack lunches are
periodically used as needed,” he said.
He declined to say how many days Cimarron has been on lockdown, citing
security reasons. The Corrections Department is investigating the September
homicides and the June brawl. Reports on the incidents have not been made
public. In a lawsuit against CCA, inmate Marcus Woodson in April alleged in
federal court filings he was placed in danger of serious harm due to
"gladiator style gang violence" at the Cushing prison. "CCA has repeatedly ignored the
unconstitutional conditions of confinement in which gang members were given
carte blanche to prey upon non-affiliated offenders and weaker inmates through
the use of brutal beatings and numerous stabbings, bribery of staff and
extortion of inmates and their families," he wrote. He described seeing gang members fashion
steel knives fashioned from dilapidated parts of the prison and attack other
inmates "while other gang affiliated offenders stood by and watched for
the guard who had left his assigned post for a lengthy period of time to
allow the attack to occur." Staff allegedly supplied gang members with
critical and sensitive inmate information as well as offenders' family
contact information, Woodson wrote. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in June
after Woodson failed to pay a $400 filing fee. Woodson has since been moved
to a state-run prison, corrections department records show. At CCA's prison
in Holdenville, there have been at least four violent deaths in the past
year. On April 11, Bryan Blackburn, 30, was bludgeoned to death with a
plastic food tray. His cellmate, who was reportedly under the influence of
methamphetamine, has been charged with murder. Tory Czernecki,
22, was strangled to death with an electrical cord Oct. 26. His cellmate,
Joshua Wheeler, pleaded guilty to the murder and was given a life sentence.
Inmate Eric Grimm, 28, was found strangled to death Dec. 2. Douglas Monroe
Cecil, 42, has been charged with Grimm's murder, and prosecutors are seeking
the death penalty. Cecil also faces a murder charge in connection with a 2005
stabbing death at the Oklahoma State Reformatory. Lewis Hamilton, 36, was
stabbed to death in August at the Holdenville prison.
Aug
19, 2015 okcfox.com
The
Oklahoma Department of Corrections has launched an investigation after a
video emerged showing what appeared to be an incoherent guard at a
correctional facility. The video was sent anonymously to Fox 25, but the DOC
says it does appear to be from a facility connected to Avalon Correctional
Services, a private company that contracts with the state. In the video,
apparently recorded by an offender, a guard is
shown sitting with his head down. Off camera men can be heard asking
the guard if he had used the “K2.” K2 is often the name associated with
an illegal synthetic marijuana drug. The video shows the inmate picking up a
hat that has the logo of Avalon Correctional Services on it. The
inmates ask the guard who, appears incoherent, to say an obscenity about
“Avalon.” The inmates are laughing as they tell they man wearing a blue
shirt, with a patch or badge on it, they are trying to help him. The
men are heard saying the man needs to get up because he needs to perform the
“count.” The person recording the video asks the man wearing the uniform “Did
they give you that (explicative deleted)? The man appears to nod in
agreement. The man behind the camera asks, “And you hit it?,” and again the man sitting down nods yes silently
while looking at the camera. Last year an Avalon facility in Tulsa came under
investigation last year after a different video emerged showing inmates
fighting. The state launched an investigation at that time and removed
inmates. Avalon removed the administrator of the facility.
Alex
Weintz, the spokesman for Governor Mary Fallin issued a statement saying, “Governor Fallin is aware of the video and finds its contents
disturbing and unacceptable. She has asked the DOC to launch an investigation
and to take appropriate action based on the results of that investigation.”
Avalon Corrections Services SPOKESPERSON Tiffany Smith sent the following
statement to Fox 25: “The former Avalon employee on the video in question
reported that some offenders took his phone. The former employee abandoned
his position at the facility and then called and reported to the Chief of
Security that his phone was taken and that he would not return to work. The
offenders involved were removed from the halfway house immediately and are
now in the county jail. The incident is under investigation and Avalon is
fully cooperating with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Any additional
questions will need to be submitted to the ODOC.” Fox 25 will continue to
follow this story, and bring you the latest on the State’s investigation.
July 24, 2013 sun-sentinel.com
The Boca Raton-based prison company at the center of
an ill-fated attempt to put its name on FAU's football stadium now finds
itself at the center of a scandal involving prisoners, a dating website and
extortion. The GEO Group, which yanked its offer to pay $6 million for
stadium naming rights at FAU in the wake of student protests, is being
accused of lax oversight of inmates who got access to phones and used them to
impersonate people on the dating site, MegaMates.
Now, a gay retired high school teacher says those inmates tricked him and
extorted him out of more than $600,000, his life savings, by threatening to out him to his family. Joseph Pappalardo,
of East Hartford. Conn., accuses GEO Group of
failing to supervise the group of inmates who blackmailed him, according to a
lawsuit filed in the West Palm Beach federal courthouse. According to the
suit, the Connecticut retiree ended up sending 86 payments totaling more than
$670,000 between April 15 and Nov. 1, 2011 after the inmates at the Lawton
Correctional Facility threatened him with death and exposure. "Our
client was victimized by people he was supposed to be protected from,"
said Fort Lauderdale attorney Craig Pugatch, who is
representing Pappalardo along with New Haven lawyer
Jeffrey Hellman. The fallout was financial devastation for Pappalardo, his attorneys said. "For a school
teacher, this obviously represents an enormous amount of money," Hellman
said. A spokesman for The GEO Group, Inc. said the company will
"vigorously defend" itself against the allegations. "As matter
of policy, our company cannot comment on litigation related matters; however
we can confirm that our company strongly [disputes] these allegations and
intends to vigorously defend against this claim," said Pablo Paez, GEO's vice-president of corporate relations. The
allegations date back to February 2011, when Pappalardo
was looking to meet other men for companionship on the dating site MegaMates, which connects users by phone and Internet. Pappalardo thought he was talking to other gay men. Soon
enough, the other users he met through the site started asking for money —
then demanding it through threats and blackmail. Pappalardo
sent money in the form of prepaid Green Dot debit cards. At the time, he had
no idea he was talking to inmates, his attorneys said. Oklahoma Department of
Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie confirmed there is a criminal
investigation into the incident. Massie declined to say what other agencies
were involved in the investigation. Hellman said Pappalardo
learned he had been talking to inmates in Oklahoma when he was told by
federal authorities. Tom Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office,
District of Connecticut would not say whether federal officials also were
investigating. GEO, with its headquarters on Northwest 53rd Street in Boca
Raton, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and owns or operates 95
facilities in the United States, Britain, Australia and South Africa,
according to the company's website. GEO has been no stranger to controversy
in recent months. In February, a storm of protests erupted when it was
announced that the company had obtained the naming rights to Florida Atlantic
University's football stadium. Opponents, many of them FAU students, cited
allegations of GEO mistreating inmates and employees. The company later
abandoned the naming rights plan and withdrew a $6 million donation to the
school.
Jun
25, 2013 sfgate.com
LEXINGTON,
Okla. (AP) — The growing number of Oklahoma prison inmates will continue to
pose problems like increased medical costs, a lack of bed space and a backup
of offenders in the state's county jails, the Oklahoma's outgoing prison
chief warned the Board of Corrections on Friday. Justin Jones, who announced
earlier this week that he plans to resign after 36 years with the agency,
made the comments during the board's regular meeting at the Lexington
Assessment and Reception Center. "We had a tremendous growth year, which
is causing us many issues," Jones told the board. Jones' resignation
comes after highly publicized clashes with the governor's office and
legislative leaders over the agency's finances and the growing use of private
prisons to house state inmates. Figures released by the Department of
Corrections on Friday show the number of inmates has increased by 641 from
the same time last year, and Jones said a majority of those are being sent to
private prison facilities or kept in county jails through contracts with
local sheriffs. The number of inmates in private prisons has increased from
4,775 in May 2012 to 5,453 at the end of last month. The private prison lobby
is an influential one at the state Capitol, and many lawmakers support
shifting more inmates into private facilities, a concept Jones refused to
endorse. "Just because something is legal doesn't make it ethically and
morally right," Jones said after the meeting. "Sometimes it's easy
to privatize people that don't have a voice, and it's easy to privatize the
disenfranchised of the world who don't have a voice. Sometimes there's a
conflict of ideologies there." Jones also warned that giving too much
leverage to the private prison industry could pose problems for the state
down the road. "I think any time you get over-leveraged and you increase
the percentage to the point that the provider can make certain requests or
demands, whether it's a per diem increase or something else, and you have no
other options, what are you going to do?" Jones said. Nearly 22 percent
of Oklahoma's 26,500 inmates are currently being housed in private prisons.
According to the state's contract with Corrections Corporation of America,
the largest private prison company in the U.S., Oklahoma pays about $58 per
day for maximum-security inmates and $44 per day for medium-security inmates.
The rates are slightly lower for another private prison contractor, GEO
Group, said DOC spokesman Jerry Massie. The Board of Corrections voted Friday
to create a three-member panel of board members to launch a national search
for a new director, and new Board Chairman Kevin Gross said he expected other
"interested constituents" to play a role in that process. "I
think someone with the governor's office, potentially a legislator, potentially
a warden or somebody inside the department who can represent the interests of
the management and folks within the department," said Gross, one of Gov.
Mary Fallin's five appointees on the seven-member
board. Gross said he expects the search process to take several months and
that whoever is selected will have to be confirmed by the state Senate once
the legislative session begins in February. "We will likely consider one
of the internal senior management people as interim director once Justin
departs," Gross said. Jones, who earns about $132,500 a year as
director, said his last day on the job will be Aug. 16.
Jun 18, 2013 tulsaworld.com
OKLAHOMA CITY - Department of Corrections Director
Justin Jones is resigning effective Oct. 1. Jones made the announcement at a
staff meeting Monday. His official last day is expected to be Aug. 16,
followed by paid time off until his resignation effective date. Jones has run
afoul of policy-makers who want to put more state inmates in private prisons.
"You know, just because it is legal doesn't make it ethically and
morally right for shareholders to make a profit off of incarceration of our
fellow citizens," Jones said. "I guess with my Christian
upbringing, there has always been a conflict with that." Also, the agency
was given a standstill budget for fiscal year 2014 despite increased numbers
of inmates, a large number of inmates backed up in county jails awaiting
transport to prison, and a new criminal justice law that puts more
requirements on the DOC. Policy-makers questioned the amounts the agency
reported in its revolving funds in its budget request, and the agency denied
wrongdoing. Gov. Mary Fallin recently said she
reserved judgment on her confidence in Jones to run the agency. The
Governor's Office said Monday that Fallin did not
call for Jones to resign. "The governor appreciates Director Jones' many
years of service to the state of Oklahoma," said Aaron Cooper, a
spokesman for Fallin. When asked directly whether
he was forced out of the position, Jones said, "It is just time to turn
the page and move on to another chapter in my life." Jones worked his
way up through the agency, starting as a probation and parole officer in 1977
after earning a bachelor's degree that same year in sociology with a minor in
communications. He has held posts ranging from regional director of
institutions to deputy director of community sentencing. He served under five
DOC directors before being tapped to run the agency in 2005. His job requires
him to be a witness to inmate executions, which he has done about two dozen
times. "It is a very surreal experience," he said. Jones, 57, said
he doesn't plan to retire and will look for another job. In his long tenure
with the Department of Corrections, one of the most frustrating things for
him has been trying to get stakeholders to understand that corrections is not
just holding people until their time has expired and they are discharged or
paroled, Jones said. "We serve the disenfranchised of the world,"
Jones said. "We serve people who if not for their addiction or mental
health would not be in prison. On the other spectrum, we serve some of the
most violent and evil citizens Oklahoma has ever created." Jones has
lobbied for more funds for programs to rehabilitate offenders and to increase
staffing levels at state prisons, which are normally at or near capacity. One
of the most difficult things for him to leave behind will be the agency's
employees, he said. "They do yeoman's work, 24/7," Jones said.
"That is basically true with the staffing ratios that have gone down,
and they do it on a daily basis. Most citizens would be fearful to do it, and
they do it with energy, vigor and dedication. It is like a family." A
lot has changed in his more than three decades in corrections, Jones said.
"We certainly have enhanced our professionalism," he said. "We
are currently data driven, research and evidence based." The working
environment is more secure, he said. Jones said he would like to find another
job in Oklahoma, where he has family, but that he is willing to consider
leaving the state. Jones is the latest in a list of longtime agency heads to
resign or retire, including Marilyn Hughes, former executive director of the
Oklahoma Ethics Commission; Gene Christian, former
Office of Juvenile Affairs executive director; and Terry Jenks, Oklahoma
Pardon and Parole Board executive director.
17 November 2012 Melodika
Avalon Correctional Services, Inc. (CITY.PK) and Donald and Tiffany Smith
announce that they and The Ravenswood Investment Company, L.P. and Ravenswood
Investments III, L.P. have entered into a definitive settlement of the
derivative lawsuit titled Ravenswood Investment Company, L.P. and Ravenswood
Investments III, L.P. v. Avalon Correctional Services, Inc., Tiffany Smith
and Donald E. Smith , 09-CV-00070-R (W.D. Okla.). Under the terms of the
settlement, Avalon will submit an offer to purchase the common shares of
Avalon held by all of Avalon's non-management minority shareholders for $4.05
in cash plus the pro rata portion of the remaining amount of a fee and
expense pool, if any, that is not used to pay any fees and expenses that may
be awarded by the Court (an amount between $0 and $0.30 per share inclusive)
and, subject to certain exceptions, a callable three-year, non-voting new
preferred share of Avalon with a $1.75 face amount and an annual dividend of
7%, paid quarterly. The settlement which will resolve all claims in the
litigation is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability by any of the
defendants. The settlement is subject to the approval of the United
States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma following notice
to all shareholders and a hearing as well as
certain other conditions. A motion for such Court approval was filed on
November 16, 2012 and it is anticipated that any Avalon shareholders who
object to the settlement will have the opportunity to be heard. It is
further anticipated that the approval process will take between 90 to 120
days although it could be longer. If approved, the offer to purchase
will be made and shareholders will have 90 days in which to accept the offer.
Given the potential cost and burden of continued litigation, Avalon believes
that settling this lawsuit is in the best interest of all Avalon
stakeholders. The Company is pleased to resolve this matter and put the
Ravenswood derivative litigation behind it. The purpose of this press
release is to make a general public announcement concerning the settlement
and does not contain all of the terms and conditions of the settlement.
The definitive settlement documents are attached to the motion filed in the
litigation pending in the Western District of Oklahoma on November 16,
2012. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or buy
or the solicitation of an offer to sell or buy any securities.
July 31, 2012 Tulsa World
What's happening in the southwestern Oklahoma town of Sayre is a cautionary
tale about community reliance on private prisons. Sayre began enjoying an
economic boost several years ago when the North Fork Correctional Facility,
owned by Corrections Corporation of America, received more than 2,000 inmates
from California. The city enjoyed increased revenue - about $1.3 million
annually to the town of 4,000. Business activity increased and employment
soared. But now, California is withdrawing its inmates. The inmates were sent
to Sayre in the first place because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that
ordered California to reduce its enormous prison population. There's
confusion about how many of the more than 400 jobs linked to the private
prison in Sayre will be lost. There are also questions about a riot in
October, which injured 46 inmates and resulted in at least 20 charges for
violent offenses. Prosecution of these cases has put a strain on the Beckham
County district attorney's office. Private prisons offer a pressure valve for
state prisons that are at capacity. But in some ways states become the
"prisoners" of private prisons. When those companies raise rates,
states must come up with extra money. If a crime program - the Justice
Reinvestment Initiative - pays off in the next few years, more nonviolent
inmates could be handled in the community, thus negating the need for more
prisons or contracting with private prisons. If it had to do it over, Sayre
probably would not turn down the economic boost of at least $1.3 million
annually, nor those 400 extra jobs. But now that economic windfall is headed
out of town - at least for the time-being. Take note: The state has other
private prisons, which it relies upon heavily. Should it?
July 15, 2012 Tulsa World
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is struggling to come up with a $2
million legislatively mandated increase in payments to private prisons and
halfway houses. Senate Bill 1988 by Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, and Rep.
Earl Sears, R-Bartlesville, was passed in the waning days of the legislative
session. "For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, the Department of
Corrections shall spend an amount equal to what it spent on private prisons
and halfway houses for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, plus an
additional $2 million," the measure says. Department of Corrections
Director Justin Jones said his agency was not appropriated additional dollars
for the increase in payments for private bed space, which were given effective
July 1. Jolley, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, disagrees.
"We gave him what we spent last year plus $2 million more to make those
things happen," he said. Sears, chairman of the House Appropriations and
Budget Committee, said Jones and Jolley are correct. He said the DOC wasn't
appropriated the extra $2 million but that lawmakers let the agency tap the
Oklahoma Correctional Industries Revolving Fund to come up with the money for
contract increases.
August 22, 2010 The Oklahoman
More than 2,000 state inmates could be displaced from private prisons if a
federal contract to house criminal illegal immigrants is awarded here. The
move could cost the state Corrections Department and Oklahoma taxpayers
millions of dollars. Corrections Corporation of America officials told state
corrections authorities in July they intended to offer three Oklahoma-based
prisons to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. They are: Cimarron Correctional
Facility in Cushing, Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville and the empty
Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga. "There shouldn't be any
surprise when something like this happens," said Justin Jones, state
Corrections Department director. "Their product is the incarceration of
criminals and it's a for-profit business." If the contract is awarded,
it could affect the placement of 1,800 medium security prisoners at Cimarron
and Davis, and 360 maximum-security inmates at Davis, corrections officials
said. The department is operating with a more than $40 million budget deficit.
Federal officials would use the private prisons to house low-security male
inmates, primarily criminal illegal immigrants who are Mexican citizens with
one year or less to serve. The business of incarceration -- Federal contracts
typically pay between $60 and $65 daily per prisoner, Jones said. Oklahoma
has one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the country. They range from
about $42 for minimum security inmates to about $57 for maximum security. If
the prisoners are moved, that could mean an increase of as much as $15 per
prisoner, Jones said. Corrections Corporation of America spokesman Steve Owen
wouldn't comment on rates discussed with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for
the contract. Offers are being accepted from companies in New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Arizona and Texas, and would require 3,000 beds, according to a bid request
from the bureau. Bids are competitive, often based on geographic needs, Owen
said. Earnings increase -- Corrections Corporation of America earlier this
month reported their second-quarter earnings had increased nearly two percent
in 2010 to $419.4 million from $412 million in 2009. The increase was fueled
by a jump in inmate populations and a boost from new contracts with the
Federal Bureau of Prisons. It notes the opening of a center in Mississippi to
house about 2,500 illegal immigrants convicted of crimes and awaiting
deportation. "We've openly been marketing our empty prisons," Owen
said. "There is a demand and a need for prison services."
Corrections Corporation of America is the largest for-profit prison company
in the U.S. It currently houses about 75,000 individuals in more than 60
prisons and detention centers in the country, according to information on the
company website. It partners with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S.
Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, states and
municipalities. In 2009 financial statements, competitor GEO Group officials
reported, "We believe that this federal initiative to target, detain,
and deport criminal aliens throughout the country will continue to drive the
need for immigration detention beds over the next several years." GEO
Group recently bought Cornell Cos., operator of Great Plains Correctional
Facility in Hinton. The company has offered use of the prison for federal
inmates as well. This month, officials at the prison announced they would be
laying off nearly 300 employees and sending more than 1,700 inmates back to
Arizona. No Oklahoma prisoners are housed there. Even county jails are
responding to the need for federal bed space. Tulsa County officials entered
into an agreement with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in 2007.
Garvin County also has an agreement with the agency to house and transport
federal detainees. Displaced inmates and jobs -- Jones said if the bid by
Corrections Corporation of America is accepted, the most challenging task
would be finding room for the nearly 360 maximum-security prisoners being
held at Davis. There are not enough open maximum-security beds in the state
to keep them there, he said. This might result in prisoners being shipped out
of state -- the first time it's happened since the mid-1990s. "Obviously
this would be a huge burden to families of those prisoners," he said.
"It would also probably cost us more." At the same time state
officials worry about prison beds, the question looms about how Oklahoma jobs
will be affected. The possibility of jobs returning to the Watonga area is a
bright spot. More than 300 Corrections Corporation of America employees lost
their jobs when the Diamondback prison closed there in May. More than 2,000
inmates were returned to Arizona. It was the largest employer in the area.
Owen said company officials are anxious to get the prison running again. |
