Video Surfaces In Deadly 2015 Cushing Prison Riot

<p>On September 12, 2015, the prisoners&nbsp;at Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing&nbsp;began to band together for what would be called one of the&nbsp;deadliest&nbsp;prison fights in state history.</p>

Wednesday, October 11th 2017, 11:09 pm

By: News 9


On September 12, 2015, the prisoners at Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing began to band together for what would be called one of the deadliest prison fights in state history. A camera captured the fight inside the private prison just before 5 p.m.

In a clash between the Irish Mob and Universal Aryan Brotherhood, reports show 24 inmates used homemade weapons to maim and kill one another. Inmates Christopher Tignor, Michael Mayden, Kyle Tiffee, and Anthony Fulwilder were killed.

"I'm literally devastated," said Fulwilder's fiancé, Kathy Barber, after learning of his death in 2015. "I miss him horribly."

Now, two years later, video of the deadly prison riot has been leaked to The Frontier, a non-profit online investigative journalism site. The Frontier published the video along with its investigation into the handling of the incident.

News9 requested the 2015 incident report from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

According to the report, former DOC director Robert Patton requested a joint after-action review be conducted by the DOC and the company that manages the private prison CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America. The review team found the prison to be "appropriately staffed" at the time of the incident. The team also noted that the fight appeared to be "spontaneous." However, the report shows seven homemade prison weapons were collected as evidence and a total of 21 weapons were recovered from the Charlie North Housing Unit. It was determined the inmates were tampering with and using parts from light fixtures to make the weapons.

The review team called for the removal of those light fixtures, as well as, recommended the installation of high resolution cameras.

"CoreCivic was not penalized," reported Frontier senior staff writer Clifton Adcock, "reprimanded, or sanctioned by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, despite investigators finding evidence that the facility had violated at least two policies required by DOC."

However, the current DOC spokesperson Mark Myers said the DOC made recommendations for improvements and they were implemented by the CoreCivic.

Court records show Corecivic is facing civil lawsuits as a result of the riot. Records also indicate the Payne County District Attorney charged seven inmates in connection to the riot.

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