Lawmakers Call For Oklahoma Department Of Corrections Investigation

Republican State Representative JJ Humphrey says his office is overwhelmed with reports of violence behind bars, but prison officials say they have not seen an uptick in problems.

Humphrey says over the last two weeks, he has received dozens of calls alleging four preventable inmate deaths and five inmate rapes. 

News 9 has not been able to confirm those numbers.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections was at the state capitol yesterday to tell lawmakers their numbers show violence is actually down in Oklahoma prisons. 

Humphrey is renewing his call for a DOC investigation, saying his office receives 30 to 50 calls a week regarding poor and dangerous conditions in Oklahoma prisons. 

The lawmaker says he has turned over all reports of violence at state prisons to the DOC and the Attorney General’s office.

“I'm getting reports and that's why we need an investigation because who is telling the truth,” Humphrey said. 

Meanwhile, the DOC says Humphrey “Has not reported any of these incidents to ODOC’s Office of the Inspector General and has continued to make vague statements, which cannot be investigated.”

“Anytime that anything is brought up, we work as quickly as possible to address it; we are constantly trying to make sure people are serving their time in the best way possible,” Kay Thompson with ODOC said. 

Humphrey points to low staffing numbers as a source of these problems, which he is asking the Department of Labor to investigate.

News 9 placed an open records request this morning for more information and has not heard back.