Home News Oklahoma Oklahoma County jail reports first inmate death of 2023

Oklahoma County jail reports first inmate death of 2023

The Oklahoma County jail is just west of downtown Oklahoma City. Almost 40 criminal defendants have died while in custody there since a trust took over operations on July 1, 2020.

Isiah Mitchell ended up within the Oklahoma County jail Friday afternoon after an Oklahoma City police officer noticed him driving a bicycle the mistaken method on a road.

By Monday, he was useless.

The jail’s interim administrator advised jail trustees Monday that the detainee was pronounced deceased at a hospital at 1:21 a.m.

Mitchell, 26, of Oklahoma City, was discovered hanging in his cell at 12:02 a.m. throughout a sight verify, Maj. Brandi Garner wrote in her e mail notification. He had been within the cell alone.

The inmate death was the first on the Oklahoma County jail in 2023 and the second since Garner was named interim administrator final month.

More:Richard Glossip, six different Oklahoma death row inmates get new execution dates

The jail has had near 40 inmate deaths since a belief took over operations on July 1, 2020. Sixteen of these deaths got here final 12 months.

The final jail administrator, Greg Williams, resigned in December amid criticism over the excessive death toll. His remaining day was Jan. 19.

Garner has pledged to make decreasing jail deaths her fundamental focus.

“Please understand this isn’t just a job for me — it’s a calling,” she wrote in a Jan. 15 visitor column for The Oklahoman. “And once I set a goal, I’m going to make sure it happens, whatever it takes.”  

Mitchell was jailed after his visitors cease Friday as a result of he was needed in Garfield County. A choose there in 2016 issued a warrant for his arrest on a misdemeanor cost of driving whereas impaired.

The jail described his death in a news launch as an obvious suicide.

More:Oklahoma Attorney General Drummond hires unbiased counsel to assessment Richard Glossip case

“I reviewed his booking paperwork including the intake questionnaire required to be completed by the arresting officer,” Garner wrote in her e mail. “The questionnaire did not indicate Mr. Mitchell had expressed suicidal ideations, was not under the influence, and exhibited no signs of mental illness or acute medical conditions.”

Ironically, Mitchell mentioned on the drive to jail that he “was happy that I kept him from making a very bad decision,” the arresting officer wrote in an incident report.

He mentioned he had been on his method to purchase fentanyl, in keeping with the report.

The death sparked new outrage on social media about jail circumstances. The jail disputed a Facebook submit that claimed Mitchell had been complaining about needing a nurse for hours and was ignored.

After deaths, failed well being inspections,Oklahoma County jail altering consumption course of

[my_adsense_shortcode_1]

submit credit score to Source link

[my_taboola_shortcode_1]

Exit mobile version