logo
Login Subscribe
Google Play App Store
  • News
    • Obituaries
    • Lifestyle
    • Opinion
  • Sports
  • E-edition
  • Calendar
  • Archives
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Advertisers
    • Form Submission
    • About Us
    • News
      • Obituaries
      • Lifestyle
      • Opinion
    • Sports
    • E-edition
    • Calendar
    • Archives
    • Contact
      • Contact Us
      • Advertisers
      • Form Submission
      • About Us
News
July 20, 2023
Most Oklahoma jails failed health department inspections in 2022

McIntosh County was not one of them

KEATON ROSS AND AINSLEY MARTINEZ

OKLAHOMA WATCH

Eighty of the state’s 131 county and city jails failed state health department inspections in 2022. State law requires jail administrators to correct the deficiencies within 60 days. Use the search function to find the inspection report for your local jail. A state health department inspector found a man lying in soiled clothing during an unannounced examination of the Kiowa County Jail in early September.

Months earlier, in February 2022, an inspector cited the Bryan County Detention Center for failing to have working intercoms in every cell, raising the odds that detainees in distress would not be able to reach staff. A man detained in the facility died from a fatal methamphetamine overdose one month after the visit.

During a series of inspections in 2021 and 2022, inspectors repeatedly cited the Oklahoma County Jail for failing to conduct mental health assessments during its intake process. More than 30 detainees died inside the facility over those two years.

Oklahoma’s jails are bound by a series of minimum health and safety requirements codified in state law. For instance, jail administrators must provide detainees with a minimum amount of living space and provide additional supervision of individuals whose screening indicates substance abuse or mental health issues.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health enforces those standards through annual unannounced inspections. Jails that fail inspections must submit a corrective action proposal to the state health department within 60 days or risk a formal complaint being filed with the local district attorney or attorney general’s office.

But unless their facilities are continually cited for the same repeated deficiencies, jail administrators face no formal repercussions for housing detainees in substandard conditions. The state health department filed a complaint against just one of the 78 city and county detention facilities, the Oklahoma County Jail, that failed their initial annual inspection in 2022. Three dozen facilities statewide have repeatedly failed inspections since 2020.

State jail inspectors found hundreds of violations in 2022, ranging from faulty smoke detection systems to raw sewage leaking into cells and common areas. The Hughes County Jail was cited for 48 health code violations during a March 2022 inspection, by far the most of any facility in the state last year. Erik Johnson, the district attorney for Hughes, Seminole and Pontotoc Counties who took office in January 2023, has sought to close the facility and move detainees to the Seminole County Jail because of the increasingly severe violations.

Counties and cities rely on local bonds and tax revenue to build, operate and maintain their detention facilities. In some cases, raising taxes to construct a new facility or fund repairs has proven to be an unpopular proposition among voters. A supermajority of Hughes County voters soundly rejected a 2020 ballot measure to fund the construction of a new jail.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma continues to rely on jails to house individuals facing medical or mental health crises. A federal class-action lawsuit filed in early March claims upwards of 100 Oklahomans are sitting in jail awaiting court-ordered mental health treatment. The deaths of Ronald Given in the Pottawatomie County Jail and Shannon Hanchett in the Cleveland County Jail highlighted flaws in the state’s ability to promptly and effectively provide mental health care to those in detention facilities. Last year, nearly three dozen facilities were cited for failing to conduct hourly sight checks or 15-minute checks on detainees whose screening indicated a suicide risk.

Timothy Edgemon, an assistant professor of sociology and criminology at Auburn University, said lack of funding, inadequate staff training and overcrowding contribute to unsafe jail conditions and detainee deaths. Records show twelve Oklahoma jails were over their rated capacity during inspections last year, up from seven in 2020.

“Jails were built to house people to await trial,” Edgemon said. “They weren’t housed to treat mental health conditions, and the staff in them are not trained to do that. So I think all of that creates the levels of violence and the levels of suicide ideation and suicide attempts that we see in jails today and also in prisons, but particularly in jails.”

Demand for mental health and substance abuse treatment programs within local justice systems has increased following voters’ passage of State Question 780 in 2016, which reclassified some drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. While felony criminal filings fell by more than 28% in the first year after the ballot initiative took effect, misdemeanor cases increased by 13.6%, according to an analysis from Open Justice Oklahoma.

A related voter-approved ballot initiative, State Question 781, was designed to transfer funds saved from reducing the state’s prison population to local justice systems for treatment programs. But until recently, the Legislature has struggled to settle on a process to calculate the savings and disburse funds to counties, leaving diversion and treatment programs in some parts of the state unfunded.

Lawmakers this year passed Senate Bill 844, which requires the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency to calculate the annual incarceration savings attributable to State Question 780 and directs the Legislature to appropriate that money to the County Community Safety Investment Fund.

The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is charged with overseeing the fund and sending requests for proposals to county governments. Local justice systems may seek funds to develop substance abuse treatment, diversion, employment or housing programs.

Damion Shade, the executive director of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, said he’s hopeful the long-awaited implementation of State Question 781 will help local justice systems divert some individuals away from incarceration.

“With preventative care, there are fewer crimes on the front end and we can help people before they’re in a mental health crisis, before they’re experiencing psychosis or before they commit a crime to feed their addiction,” Shade said.

On Tuesday, Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office announced the formation of the MODERN Justice Task Force. Its 11 members will review data from local jails over the next six months and offer policy recommendations to the Legislature leading up to the 2024 legislative session. Among the designees includes someone with expertise in successful diversion programs in rural areas.

“After years of focusing on statewide efforts, we’ve realized the extent of the strain our jails and sheriffs are facing and understand that reforms are needed,” House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said in a press release issued Tuesday. “By investing time and energy through the Task Force process, we can be smart about local criminal justice in ways that will ensure we are being right on crime, while at the same time providing help to those who need it.”

Treasurer honored at retirement party
A: Main, News...
Treasurer honored at retirement party
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
July 3, 2025
Retiring McIntosh County Treasurer Betty Whisenhunt received high praise from the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd at Whisenhunt’s retirement party Friday. “She could give courses acros...
this is a test
A: Main, News...
Council approves water rate increase for city and rural users
By SHAUNA BELYEU GENERAL MANAGER 
July 3, 2025
A newly adopted ordinance, passed June 9 by the City Council, increases rates for all users, including those living outside city limits. This new ordinance officially raises monthly water rates for re...
this is a test
Lightning strike kills Eufaula woman in cemetery
A: Main, News...
Lightning strike kills Eufaula woman in cemetery
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
July 3, 2025
A 57-year-old Eufaula woman was killed by lightning during a routine stroll through a cemetery Friday evening. Joy Ann Rogers was walking through Greenwood cemetery shortly before 7 p.m. when a thunde...
this is a test
Family, friends and fans bid farewell to Blues legend
A: Main, News...
Family, friends and fans bid farewell to Blues legend
By LENORE BECHTEL 
July 3, 2025
Her casket rested below center stage at the Checotah Performing Arts Center, open for friends, fans, and family to view her precious body before her life’s celebration began. No one lingered long. Tha...
this is a test
Classmates reunite after years apart during Checotah Alumni weekend
A: Main, News...
Classmates reunite after years apart during Checotah Alumni weekend
By LADONNA RHODES STAFF WRITER 
July 3, 2025
Class of 1975 honor Jim Caro as 'Significant Alumni' Classmates from all over the U.S. reunited after years apart during Checotah Alumni weekend. The Class of 1975 celebrated their 50th reunion by hon...
this is a test
Killing them with kindness
commentary
Killing them with kindness
July 3, 2025
What a month it’s been for me personally and in our close-knit communities. Trying to cope with the loss of loved ones has been extremely difficult and downright demanding. Yet having to come to terms...
this is a test
United for Oklahoma
ePaper
coogle_play
app_store
Editor Picks
For the Children ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ overhauled in Senate, would cause even more government borrowing
commentary
For the Children ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ overhauled in Senate, would cause even more government borrowing
By JOE DORMAN, OICA CEO 
July 3, 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY – Over the past month, I have highlighted portions of the federal “Big Beautiful Bill” as passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Currently, the bill is under consideration by the U...
this is a test
Another busy week in the district
commentary
Another busy week in the district
By REP. TIM TURNER 
July 3, 2025
I started last Saturday June 21, bright and early at Stigler Reunion Days. I kicked things off at the Haskell County GOP Tent, answering questions and catching up with friends and supporters. Then I h...
this is a test
Hays Supports MOHA Executive Order
commentary
Hays Supports MOHA Executive Order
July 3, 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Neil Hays, R-Muskogee, today expressed strong support for Gov. Kevin Stitt’s new “Make Oklahoma Healthy Again” (MOHA) executive order, which targets artificial food additives and ...
this is a test
News
Woman captured following foot chase
July 3, 2025
A 39-year-old Eufaula woman who had an outstanding warrant on an arson charge was arrested Wednesday, June 25, following a foot chase in a wooded area around south 7th Street in Eufaula. Tamara Dean K...
this is a test
Katy Depot Meet and Greet
News
Katy Depot Meet and Greet
July 3, 2025
Mike Key talked to his Class of 1975 and other alumni about their Significant Alumni Jim Caro at the Katy Depot Meet & Greet on Saturday.
this is a test
Facebook
Twitter
Tweets
Twitter
Tweets

MCINTOSH COUNTY DEMOCRAT
300-A S. Broadway
Checotah, OK
74426

(918) 473-2313

This site complies with ADA requirements

© 2023 Mcintosh Democrat

  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Policy