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Overcrowded and Understaffed, Oklahoma County Jail Remains “Deplorable”
Loaded on March 1, 2024
by David Reutter
published in Prison Legal News
March, 2024, page 1
Filed under:
Overcrowding,
Staffing,
Sanitation,
Jail Specific,
Vermin,
Suicides.
Location:
Oklahoma.
by David M. Reutter
A headline in the August 1965 edition of The Daily Oklahoman said that then-Sheriff Bob Turner of Oklahoma County “denies his jail’s ‘deplorable.’” A new jail was later built, but almost six decades later, a surprise inspection of the lockup in downtown Oklahoma City …
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More from this issue:
- Overcrowded and Understaffed, Oklahoma County Jail Remains “Deplorable”, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Lawsuit Claims Seattle’s King County Jail Shows Little Improvement in Quarter Century Since “Hammer Agreement”
- No Jail Time for Former Arizona Prisons Director After Armed Standoff With Cops
- Pennsylvania County Found Skimming Prisoner-Designated Funds from ViaPath Kickbacks
- Colorado Sheriff Resigns After Deputies Fatally Shoot Motorist
- With Guard Arrests at Georgia Jail, Sheriff Asks, “What Are We Doing Wrong?”
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Greenlights Retroactive Sentence Reductions
- Redemption Songs: The Forgotten History of American Prison Music, by Maurice Chammah
- Nearly $11 Million Settlement Reached in Suit by BOP Prisoners Held Without Heat, Electricity During New York Winter Storm, by Douglas Ankney
- Massachusetts Becomes the Fifth State to Make Prison Phone Calls Free
- Federal Prisoner in Virginia Convicted on Fresh Kiddie Porn Charges After Drawing His Own
- California Slowed, But Not Barred from “Dumping” Sick, Indigent Parolees on Public Hospitals
- Rikers Island Detainees Given Pricey Weight-Loss Surgery but Little Follow-Up Care
- Illinois Eases Restrictions on Prisoners Released Under Supervision
- Moms Released from Massachusetts Prison Decry Dearth of Help
- Eighth Circuit Issues Primer on Informal Due Process Procedures to Missouri Prisoner, by David Reutter
- DOJ Finds ADA Violations in Arizona Prisons, Demands Improvements
- Sick Georgia Prisoners Forced to Choose Between Treatment and Early Release
- Unsealed Settlement Reveals PrimeCare Medical Paid $337,500 After Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Suicide, by David Reutter
- Eighth Circuit Remands ADA Claims—But Not Constitutional Claims—of Paralyzed Arkansas Jail Detainee, by David Reutter
- “Unethical At Best”: Hawaii Budget Director Charged With Financing New Prison is Former CoreCivic Lobbyist
- Alabama Conducts First Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution
- “More jobs than people”: Prisoners Training to Work on Ohio Infrastructure Projects after Release
- Escape from Oregon State Hospital Results in Changes to Detainee Transports
- HRDC Wins $14 Million Settlement for Exonerated Florida Prisoner
- Four Dead in One Month in San Bernardino County Jails, $3,232,500 in Settlements Paid So Far, by Douglas Ankney, Casey Bastian
- Seventh Circuit Revives Prisoner’s Challenge to Seized $10,000, by David Reutter
- Alabama Prisons Facing Third Class-Action Lawsuit
- Muslim Florida Prisoner Awarded Permanent Injunction to Grow Untrimmed Beard, by David Reutter
- North Carolina Prison Official Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Program Fraud
- South Carolina Sheriff Ordered to Pay $37,500 in Fees and Costs in Jail FOIA Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Guard and Four Summit Food Service Employees Arrested for Smuggling at Troubled Atlanta Jail
- New York Prisoners with Chronic Pain Win Injunction to Receive Denied Medication, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit Shuts Down Settlement Agreement in Long-Running California Prisoners’ Gang Affiliation Suit, by David Reutter
- $470,000 Settlement After Texas Jail Nurses Fabricate Vital Signs for Detainee Who Died, by Douglas Ankney
- New Jersey Supreme Court Revives Parolee’s Challenge to Administratively Imposed Treatment Program, by Matthew Clarke
- BOP Pays $40,000 to Prisoner Sexually Assaulted at Florida Lockup by Guard, Who Must Pay Her $1 Million, by David Reutter
- Serial Killer Murdered by Cellmate at Texas Lockup
- California Felony-Murder Reform Shaves 11,000 Years Off 600 Prisoner Sentences, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Says Lack of Expert Testimony Dooms Illinois Prisoner’s Medical Neglect Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Texas Fights Fetal Rights After Forcing Prison Guard to Stay At Work Until She Delivered Stillborn Baby
- Suit Filed After Mentally Ill Detainee Starves to Death in Miami Jail, by David Reutter
- Senators Grill BOP Chief—Then Say They’ll Toss Her More Money
- Nevada Prisoner Strikes Out in Access-to-Courts Claim, by David Reutter
- New Jersey Private Prison Ban Voided
- Eighth Circuit Affirms $800,000 Award After Arkansas Jail Detainee’s Fatal Appendix Rupture, by Matthew Clarke
- New Minnesota Justice Center Aims to be More ‘Humane’
- Wellpath Held in Contempt in Suit at California Jail
- Minnesota Prison on Lockdown After Protest Over Dirty Water, Lack of Phone Use and Out-of-Cell Time
- California Prison Fined $1.7 Million for Stormwater Discharges, Environmental Violations
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Wisconsin Prisoner’s ADA Claim for Untreated Knee Injury, by Matthew Clarke
- Eleventh Circuit Revives Claim Against Florida Jail That Forced Detainee to Scan Legal Mail Into Computer with Memory Chip, by David Reutter
- Louisiana Fugitive Recaptured After 32 Years
- Illinois Failing to Grant Dying Prisoners Medical Releases
- MTC Returns $5.125 Million to Mississippi for “Ghost Workers” at Private Prisons
- Florida Pastor Accused of Running Shoplifting Ring With DUI Diversion Program Participants
- $900,000 Settlement Reached With Ohio Jail in Detainee’s Fatal Seizure, by David Reutter
- Tribal Courts Expand ‘Healing to Wellness’ Rehabilitation Programs
- Four TDCJ Guards Resign, Seven Suspended for Beating Handcuffed Prisoner Into Coma
- Michigan Reaches $1.03 Million Settlement with Exonerated Prisoner
- Oklahoma Parole Board Resignations Threaten Prisoner Clemencies
- After Eight Deaths in Eight Years, Virginia Jail Introduces—Pickleball?
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, March 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Motion Judge Abused Discretion by Denying Evidentiary Hearing on IAC Claim Where Plea Counsel’s Affidavit Was Not Inherently Inconsistent With Colloquy Statements Regarding Immigration Advice, March 1, 2026
- Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Double Jeopardy Analysis for Multiple Assault Convictions, Holding That Assaultive Acts Occurring Over Short Time Period in Same Location Without Intervening Events Constitute Single Course of Conduct, March 1, 2026
- New Jersey Supreme Court Reverses Drug Convictions Under Cumulative Error Doctrine, Holding Combined Effect of Improper References to Television Series, Gun Violence, and Search Warrants Deprived Defendant of Fair Trial, March 1, 2026
- New York Court of Appeals Announces Coercive Police Tactics Compelling Suspect to Exit Home Constitute “Constructive Entry” Violating Payton, Holds Attenuation Analysis Applies to Third-Party Consent, March 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives Deliberate Indifference Claim for Baltimore Detainee Served Rotten Food, March 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Clarifies Revocation Appeal Provides “Procedurally Appropriate Mechanism” for Raising Rogers Challenge to Unannounced Supervised Release Conditions, Vacates Revocation Judgment Based on Null Standard Conditions, March 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit: District Court Erred in Dismissing BOP Prisoner’s Medical Claim, Finds Prison Officials Made Administrative Remedies Unavailable, March 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Affirmed Denial of Guards Qualified Immunity in Disabled Detainee’s Fourteenth Amendment Claim, March 1, 2026
- The Malleable Mind in the Courtroom: Why Confident Eyewitnesses Often Provide the Least Reliable Evidence, Oct. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- The Cells Inside ‘One of the Most Archaic Prisons in the United States’, April 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Plumbing, Sewage, Shelter, Vermin.
- “Large Fight” Broke Out at Alaska Prison After Downsizing Effort, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding.
- Houston Jail Renews $38 Million Contract to Outsource Detainees to Private Lockups, April 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Failure to Treat, Overcrowding, Staffing, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Naphcare, Qualified Immunity, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Deliberate Indifference.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Death of Washington Jail Standards Bill Risks Repeat of $2.5 Million Settlement That Closed One County’s Jail, April 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, Staff Training, State Legislation.
- Hawai’i Settles Prison Mental Healthcare Class-Action With $100,000 in Attorney’s Fees and Expert Inspection That Produces Damning Report, April 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Watchdog Report Finds More than 1,500 Waiting for Specialty Care at Connecticut Prisons, April 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Staffing, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Mississippi DOC Retains Law Firm to Monitor VitalCore Contract, April 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Dental Care, Private Contractors, Staffing.
- $1 Million Paid by Cuyahoga County for Detainee’s Preventable Suicide in Cleveland Jail, April 1, 2026. Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.

