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Oklahoma City, Okla.- During the 2022 elections, Oklahoma County voters passed a bond measure to fund the construction of a new jail. With the allocation of $260 million in taxpayer dollars, the county has yet to declare a site for the detainment facility.
County Commissioners have discussed several locations but nothing has stuck as of yet. In the months following the passage of the bond, officials entertained the idea of building it near Will Rogers Airport. Zoning overlaps effectively stalled that proposal.
Recently, there has been talk of placing it in Midwest or Del City, just east of Oklahoma City. Residents and leaders of Mid-Del have adamantly opposed this idea. Another site discussed was NE 10th and I-35, but residents of the east side also oppose the construction of a jail in their community.
Ultimately, the decision will be made by the Board of County Commissioners. Only one District 1 Commissioner was present, Carrie Blumert. Her district covers the predominately Black east side.
Jess Eddy, a local activist who organized the town hall, brought up several important points about the placement of the jail.
Currently the jail is located downtown and is in walking distance from municipal and county court buildings, the bus station, and two organizations that provide resources for justice involved individuals. As it stands now, the county spends $770,000 annually transporting detainees less than a mile to either courthouse. Moving the location out of downtown would increase the transportation budget and the cost would fall on taxpayers.
“I’ve been pushing for some months now that there’s acres that are undeveloped [and] underused that are right around the existing jail that we could look at,” Eddy said.
He continued, “And it wasn’t until I went and spoke to some of these property owners and have the first conversation with them about selling those properties. They haven’t heard from a county commissioner or officer. [The county] never looked at it.”
Closing statement
Marilyn Luper Hildreth, daughter of local legend and civil rights activist Clara Luper, presented closing remarks. She has lived the majority of her life in Oklahoma City’s east side.
“When I was a child I can remember when they came through here with something called ‘urban renewal.’ They took our homes and we had to go out and buy new ones.”
She continued, “No more. We’re not going to take it.” She expressed how the community will not allow the construction of a new jail within their boundaries. “I don’t mind being poor, but I’ll be darned if you treat me poor.”
The consensus from the panel is that the county should do everything it can to keep the jail downtown. Petitions were available for attendees to sign. One is to keep the jail downtown, and the other is to refuse placement in Midwest or Del City.
Persisting issues with the current jail
Originally built in 1991 to hold 1,250 detainees, the Oklahoma County jail is often over capacity.
Those awaiting trial sometimes have to share a two-person cell with up to four people. Standing at 13-stories high, there have been problems with the elevator and plumbing. Detainees often cite standing water on the floors with non-functional toilets and sinks. There have been several outbreaks of bedbugs, roach infestations, and numerous health violations.
People who can’t afford bail remain in the facility until their court date, which can vary from days to weeks.
Created in 2019, the Oklahoma County Jail Trust operates as a governing board to handle affairs and operation of the jail. Since its inception it has been the subject of many controversial actions.
The CARES Act provided federal funding to the county during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. County Commissioners voted to give the Jail Trust a majority of the $47 million allocated to the county. After months of citizen protests, the Trust returned $25 million of the funding.
The lump sum given to the Trust was to fix issues at the jail that existed long before the pandemic began, which violated the conditions of the CARES Act.
In 2021, detainee Curtis Williams took a detention officer’s keys and held him hostage. They took the officer’s phone and went live on Facebook to show the atrocious conditions they were living in. After he was let out of his cell another detainee stabbed the officer. The incident lasted several hours until the sheriff and police departments arrived on scene and shot Williams, resulting in his death.
Over 40 people have died in the jail since the creation of the Jail Trust.
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