‘Error’ at prison leads to inmate deaths, injuries
Two inmates were killed and more than 30 others were injured Friday during a group fight at the Lawton Correction and Rehabilitation Center, The Oklahoman has learned. Corrections officials said at least two of the inmates sustained serious injuries and were transported to the hospital − one via medi-flight and one via ground vehicle.
“We had a group disturbance at LCRF which resulted in multiple inmates injured and two deaths,” Corrections Department Spokesperson Kay Thompson said in an email. “It’s unknown at this time how many had minor injuries that were treated at the facility.”
The incident, which is currently being investigated by the corrections department’s inspector general, was described as a “group disturbance” by Thompson. She said visitation at the facility was canceled this weekend.
“This was an operational error by the prison,” Thompson said.
Emily Barnes, founder of criminal justice advocacy group Hooked on Justice, said the incident involved two gangs that were supposed to have been kept separate. One of the gangs, she said, was let into the yard, which started the fight.
Earlier this year, Thompson said the DOC had expanded its Contraband Interdiction Unit to keep items such as cellphones and drugs from entering facilities. She said the department works with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control to help fight drug operations on the streets, which reduces the number of drugs in the facilities.
She said the department’s strategy was working and DOC has seen “a significant decrease in violence” between security threat groups. Earlier this year, she said the department is making data-driven decisions to decrease the violence inside the facilities.
Thompson said the department’s operations team is working closely with The Geo Group to understand how it occurred and what corrective actions need to be taken. “ODOC is always concerned for the health and safety of those in our care and those incarcerated in contracted facilities,” she said. The Oklahoman reached out to the private prison group but has not received a response.
Thompson said the number of violent incidents had decreased in state prisons since October, after the department revised its misconduct policy and took strategic moves to house certain security threat groups together, which reduces the violence between gangs.
Barnes said she was first notified from inmates the facility was on lockdown on Friday evening. She said inmates didn’t eat until about 1 a.m. because of the lockdown. Barnes said people inside the facility told her they think the fight was deliberate because the two gangs are not supposed to share the same space.
“This is considered a mini riot because it was more than 30 people involved and more than 30 people hurt,” Barnes said. “DOC is letting this stuff go on, and something needs to be done.”
The incident drew a harsh rebuke from state Rep. Justin Humphrey, who heads the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee. Humphrey has been critical of the management of the corrections system and previously has called for policy changes to better protect both DOC staff and inmates.
“I am very disappointed that the Department of Corrections has ignored the overwhelming evidence that our prison system is primed for disaster,” Humphrey said. “I have been publicly warning how the violence in Oklahoma prisons has been escalating. Just this week we have a prior report of a stabbing at Lawton, a stabbing at Hinton resulting in death and a stabbing at Holdenville. Now we have a report of a possible riot with reports of multiple injuries and possible three deaths. I hope the governor and our legislators will take notice and take proper actions to prevent more lives from lost.”
Humphrey said it was time for state officials to declare a state of emergency within the corrections system.
The killings are the latest in a number of violent incidents at the Lawton facility, which is owned by The Geo Group. Last October, inmate Raymond Bailey was attacked and killed at the LCRC. Bailey’s body, which wasn’t discovered for hours, was found in a garbage bin covered by a plastic bag with four small milk cartons tossed on top.
Both the Lawton Correctional Facility and the Allen Gamble Correctional Center in Holdenville (formerly Davis Correctional Center) reported eight homicides during the past five years, those numbers are the highest in the state system − which continues to struggle with inmate violence.
Records obtained from the corrections department show at least 29 inmates died by homicide from 2019 to 2023. Corrections Department officials say they are investigating another 28 inmate deaths from 2023, but the cause of those deaths has yet to be determined.
Homicide is the fourth-leading cause of inmate death in Oklahoma prisons, excluding executions.
Corrections Department officials previously said that staffing levels aren’t causing prison violence. They attribute homicides and injuries to gang activity and contraband, something they say they are working hard to reduce. Those efforts include revised policies and procedures, new technology, regular sweeps of inmate cells, and separating rival gang members have eased the risk and located weapons, drugs and cellphones.