Prison deaths in Oklahoma this year on a pace to exceed last year's number, officials say

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is on pace this year to exceed last year's total of 126 inmate deaths, records for the first six months of 2024 show.

Numbers provided to The Oklahoman listed one inmate homicide, four deaths by accident and three suicides. "Natural causes" accounted for another 33 deaths, and 33 others were listed as "results pending," meaning the cause of death had not been determined. Two inmates have been executed this year. So far this year, the department has reported 74 deaths.

Last year, the department recorded 126 inmate deaths. Of that number, 11 were homicides, 28 were listed as accidents and six as suicides. Natural causes were attributed to 73 deaths, while four were executed. The department said three 2023 deaths were still listed as "results pending," and two had "unknown" causes.

Corrections Department spokesperson Kay Thompson said a majority of the deaths were due to an aging prison population. "We have an aging population. Our average age as of Dec. 31, 2023, was 41 years old and 35% of our population is 45 and over," Thompson said. "ODOC has a real need for a nursing home type facility. Many people are in terrible health when they enter our system from years of drug abuse or neglect. Even if someone is clean, their death can be drug related."

More: Oklahoma DOC extends contract with GEO group to keep troubled Lawton prison open

She added: "Unfortunately, people do not suddenly change their ways when they enter into the prison system. They will continue to be aggressive, a drug addict, a sexual predator, a gang member, etc. There are some of our population who made a mistake, who may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time or associated with the wrong people. Then there are also terrible, dangerous people who deserve to be locked away from society. It is our job to ensure everyone serves their time as safely and humanely as possible. It is also our job to try to rehabilitate people, however, they have to want to change — we can’t force them."

One inmate who died this year was Sterling Williams. Williams was found beaten to death in a segregated cell at the Great Plains Correctional Center in Hinton in June. Inmate advocate and paralegal Brooke Bradley-Saylor said the incident happened about six weeks after Williams was transferred from the James Crabtree Correctional Center in Helena.

Williams and Bradley-Saylor met during an event at the James Crabtree center, where she was an advocate. She said Williams was diagnosed with prostate cancer and couldn’t receive outside treatment, even though he would have had the funds to pay for it.

Williams, she said, planned to file a lawsuit. He never got the chance.

Williams' story is similar to many others, Bradley-Saylor said. After advocates spoke at the state Capitol in April, and Williams’ story was told during a hearing held by the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee, Bradley-Saylor said Williams was transferred to the Great Plains center.

Bradley-Saylor said the conditions in Oklahoma’s prisons are deplorable. She said understaffing is a big issue in the system.

“We need a fresh sweep. We need some cleanup in administration and people up there in the top of DOC and not necessarily on the ground that are dealing with the inmates every day because everything trickles down,” she said, noting employees are also not getting their needs met and are overworked. “Then it makes the environment of the prison that much worse because now you have disgruntled employees and disgruntled inmates.”

In each of the past five years, 100 or more deaths have been recorded in Oklahoma prisons, with 2020 topping the list at 139. Of more than 3,600 total employees, less than half ― or about 1,194 — are correctional officers, according to numbers obtained by The Oklahoman. Thompson, the Corrections Department spokesperson, said the agency has 1,275 correctional security staff, which rank from officer to chief of security.

State prisons have an average ratio of 15 inmates to 1 correctional officer the data showed. That ratio was confirmed by the Corrections Department.

Thompson said recruiting new employees is difficult. She said corrections isn’t an easy field to work in, and it’s not for everyone. Long hours, low wages and the nature of the work contribute to low staffing. She said COVID and political rhetoric also has hindered the ability to recruit staff. Efforts include a field officer training program that gives prospective cadets a taste of the work before they attend the academy. A new academy starts every 10 weeks and is expected to graduate 47 cadets — the largest class yet, Thompson said.

Oklahoma Rep. J.J. Humphrey: 'Not sure I trust the numbers being reported'

State Rep. J.J. Humphrey, the chair of the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee, said he wasn't surprised by the data. In fact, Humphrey said, he was surprised the numbers were as low as reported. Humphrey agreed that low staffing at the Corrections Department was a problem.

"I'm not sure I trust the numbers being reported," Humphrey said. "From the information I've been given and that I've gathered, I think the numbers are even higher."

Humphrey said many inmate deaths could be prevented by more correctional officers. He said the low number of officers statewide was one of the primary causes of inmate deaths. "Your No. 1 problem in prisons is staff levels," he said. "Staffing levels are the main cause, because a lot of these deaths are going to be drug-related. If you don't have the staff, the deaths are going to increase."

Emily Barnes, the founder of criminal justice advocacy group Hooked on Justice, said she thinks the numbers will double by the end of the year. The numbers do not seem accurate to her because if inmates die while out of facility, for example at a hospital, they technically died at the hospital, not in prison, she said.

Barnes said she hasn’t heard of any changes taking place inside the prisons. She said people inside still feel their safety is at risk. She talks regularly with those incarcerated as part of her advocacy work. She’d like to see an independent agency investigate Oklahoma’s prisons and see the department take complaints more seriously.

More: A second chance: How Oklahoma prison programs help inmates return to life after their release

Thompson countered that the department has implemented several measures to listen to inmates and their families. Those include inmate surveys and council meetings, frequently conducted facility visits, community outreach division and collaboration with agency leadership.

At the June 26 Board of Corrections meeting, Corrections Department Director Steven Harpe announced 238 inmates would be moved at the privately owned Lawton Correctional and Rehabilitation Facility to get violence under control after three inmates were injured in a May incident. Thompson said those people were moved to other state-run facilities.

Corrections Department officials acknowledge all jails and prisons have some level of violence, but say prison staff goes to great lengths to reduce all threats as quickly and safely as possible.

According to the federal report, Mortality in State and Federal Prisons, Oklahoma's mortality rate was 396 per 100,000 in state and federal prisons, and that excludes executions. It's higher than the national average of 330 per 100,000 in 2019. For comparison, Texas' rate is 307, while Kansas has a rate of 358. Oklahoma also had the second-highest average annual rate of homicide, at 14 per 100,000. South Carolina ranked first with a rate of 15.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Prison deaths in Oklahoma this year on a pace to exceed last year's number, officials say