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Oklahoma Prisoner Who Escaped Through Hole Killed by Sheriff
Loaded on Feb. 1, 2026
published in Prison Legal News
February, 2026, page 49
Joshua Butler—a prisoner serving a life sentence who escaped from the Okfuskee County Jail in Okemah, Oklahoma—was shot and killed by state troopers during a traffic stop on December 31, 2025. Butler had escaped on December 20, but none of the guards at the jail realized he was missing …
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More from this issue:
- Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Barbaric and Deadly Conditions Continue to Plague Los Angeles County Jails, by Douglas Ankney
- New Hampshire Prison System Struggles to Hire Guards
- Washington County Pays $300,000 to Jail Detainee Denied Treatment for Kidney Stone, by Chuck Sharman
- Michigan Claws Back $1.2 Million Paid to Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner, by Chuck Sharman
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, by Matthew Clarke
- Report: Incarcerated Population in Rural Jails and Prisons At Risk of Losing Hospital Access, by Michael Thompson
- Three Prisoners Killed in Fight at Georgia Prison
- $450,000 Paid for Michigan Jail Detainee’s Fentanyl Death, Incarcerated Husband Prevails in Claim for Part of Payout, by Chuck Sharman
- North Carolina Parole Commission Agrees to Stop “Moving Goalposts” for Prisoners Who Committed Crime as Juveniles, by Chuck Sharman
- Escape from Georgia Jail Ends in Florida after Lyft Hijacking, by Jo Ellen Nott
- FCC Releases Final Version of Order Gutting 2024 Phone Cap Regulations, by Michael Thompson
- Half of South Dakota’s Prison Population Returns to Prison
- D.C. Federal Court Holds Blocking Prison Reform Advocate’s Access to Federal Prisoners May Violate First Amendment and Due Process, by Matthew Clarke
- $2 Million Settlement Reached for 12-Year-Old’s Gang Rape in Detroit Juvenile Detention Center, by Chuck Sharman
- The St. Louis Jails Are Running Out of Guards, by Ivy Scott
- Virginia Prisoners Stuck Waiting for Education Programs, by Anthony Accurso
- Killings Inside Mississippi’s Prisons Continue Unabated But Report Prompts DOC to Reopen Investigations, by Douglas Ankney
- California Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Ripped Off Prisoner, by Michael Thompson
- Alaska Deaths in Custody Tie Record High
- Los Angeles County Restricts Opioid Treatment, by Michael Thompson
- Federal Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Are Facing Retaliation by Trump, by Michael Thompson
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death, by Matthew Clarke
- Cuyahoga County Receives Over $846,000 Refund from Securus Technologies
- HRDC Sues Minnesota DOC Over Censorship Policy, by Robert Haughn
- Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Failure to Properly Classify Violent Prisoners at Kentucky Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Competency Crisis in Missouri’s Jails, by Douglas Ankney
- Alabama and Wexford Health Pay Undisclosed Settlement for Delays Costing Prisoner Partial Foot Amputation, by Chuck Sharman
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Alabama County May Be Liable for Policy of Providing Inadequate Jail Medical Care, by Matthew Clarke
- Punished for Bleeding: How Periods in Prison Become a Trap, by Candace Norwood
- Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit: Notice of Appeal of Order Denying Qualified Immunity Must Be Filed Within 30 Days of Entry, by Douglas Ankney
- Two Mississippi Prisons Lose Power During Winter Storm
- Delaware Settles Suit Over Depriving Young Prisoners of Special Education, by Chuck Sharman
- Deportation of Kenyan Priest Working as Texas Prison Guard Highlights TDCJ’s Dependence on Immigrant Staff, by Matthew Clarke
- Differing Judicial Outcomes for the New York Guards Who Killed Robert Brooks, by Jo Ellen Nott
- New York State Prisons Turning Away Visitors with Tampons After Scan
- Georgia Grand Jury Dings Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, by Chuck Sharman
- Oklahoma Prisoner Who Escaped Through Hole Killed by Sheriff
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, by Matthew Clarke
- After Exposing Prison Horrors, Incarcerated Whistleblowers Are Moved to Solitary, by Katie Rose Quandt
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- County Jail in Oklahoma Accused of Coercing Detainees to Convert to Christianity
- Federal Court Strikes Much of Virginia’s Felony Voting Restriction, by Chuck Sharman
- Arkansas Bans Outside Reading Material Sent to Prisons, by Jo Ellen Nott
- The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity, by Michael Thompson
- “Critical Labor Shortage” Declared at Two Rural Prisons in Nevada
- Pennsylvania County Renews $8 Million Contract with PrimeCare Despite Settlements
- Report on Baltimore Jail Reveals Human Waste Dripped from Ceilings
- Idaho Prisons Are Full. Costs for Incarcerating Inmates in Jails and Out of State Are Skyrocketing, by Laura Guido
- California Oversight Agency Hasn’t Finished a Single Review of Jail Deaths
- Missouri Prisoners Forced to Shovel Snow in Subzero Temperatures
- New York State Moves to Dismiss Hundreds of Prison Sexual Assault Lawsuits, by Jo Ellen Nott
- United States Postal Service Declares Postmarks Could Be Delayed
- News in Brief
More from these topics:
- Pregnant Women Detained in Jail: The Hideous Story of In-Custody Births, May 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- “Like the Walking Dead”: Smuggled Drugs Fuel Chaos Inside Ohio Prisons, May 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, Drug Overdose, Security Systems, Drugs - Determination of.
- New Hampshire Officials Halt $700 Million Prison Replacement, May 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Plumbing, Sanitation, Vermin.
- Pennsylvania Closes Its Second-Oldest Prison, May 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Boot Camps, Plumbing, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Negligence, Lack of Training at Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Jail Led to String of Deaths, May 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Jail Specific, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $750,000 Paid by NaphCare for New York Jail Suicide, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Arrests of Unhoused People Driving Albuquerque Jail Bookings, May 1, 2026. Government Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Jail Specific, housing, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration.
- The Cells Inside ‘One of the Most Archaic Prisons in the United States’, April 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Plumbing, Sewage, Shelter, Vermin.
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Judge Orders Rikers Manager Must Fix Jail in Seven Years Or Less, April 1, 2026. Prison Reform, Totality of Conditions, Jail Specific, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Consent Decrees.

