Oklahoma City OK Oklahoma County Courthouse (Photo: Labeled for reuse)
Twenty-three-year-old Brandy Edwardsen was discovered unresponsive in her Muskogee County Jail cell in Oklahoma just after midnight on Saturday, March 24, 2018. She was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, where she died a short time later on the same day. No further details have been released other than the fact that the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is investigating the custodial death. An autopsy has been requested, according to the OSBI. It will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office at the conclusion of the investigation.
Just a few days ago, on March 19, Wesley Wayne Pebworth was booked into Seminole County Jail, located in Wewoka, Oklahoma, and was discovered dead less than 24 hours later. According to Seminole County Sheriff Shannon Smith, it appeared that he committed suicide, but the autopsy is still pending.
Eight days prior to that custodial death in Oklahoma, another occurred on March 11. Jafar Albumohammed, age 19, was booked the day before he was found dead at Woodward County Jail in Woodward. His cause of death is unknown.
Back on January 16, 2018, another prisoner in Oklahoma died shortly after being incarcerated. Marconia Kessee, an African American, was booked into Cleveland County Jail, located in Norman. Hours later, he was found unresponsive in his cell. He was transported to a local hospital, where he later died.
All of these custodial deaths are being investigated by the OSBI.
As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.
On Monday, March 19, 2018, at about 2:20 a.m., 31-year-old Wesley Wayne Pebworth was arrested and booked into Seminole County Jail in Wewoka, Oklahoma. The next morning at 6:30 a.m., guards discovered his body in his cell, where he was housed alone. According to Shannon Smith, Seminole County Sheriff, it looks as though Pebworth committed suicide, but there has not been news of the results of an autopsy. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is handling the investigation into the custodial death in the county jail.
Just a few days earlier in Woodward Oklahoma, a prisoner at Woodward County Jail was also discovered dead in his cell hours after being incarcerated. Jafar Albumohammed, age 19, was booked into jail late Saturday night, March 10, and was found deceased at 4 a.m. Sunday when jail staff were performing cell checks. The cause of death is unknown. OSBI is handling this investigation, as well.
These are just two of several custodial deaths that have occurred in Oklahoma county jails in 2018. For instance, in February, 44-year-old Nicholas Green was booked into an Oklahoma county jail at approximately 8:45 p.m. and placed in a holding cell. A mere 10 minutes later, he was discovered by jail staff to be unconscious in his cell. The medical staff was notified, and life-saving measures began. Green was transported by ambulance to a hospital, and there he was pronounced dead, and the cause was unknown.
As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.
Oklahoma City Police Department (Photo: Labeled for reuse)
At approximately 5 a.m. on December 24, 2017, Thasha Prindle was discovered unresponsive in her cell at the Latimer County Detention Center in Wilburton, Oklahoma. She was declared dead minutes later. At about 5:30 a.m., the Latimer County Sheriff’s Office asked for help from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), to investigate what they referred to as a “suspicious death.” Prindle had been in a traffic accident and in the Latimer County General Hospital just prior to being jailed. The medical examiner’s office will determine the exact cause and manner of death, and the investigation into her death is underway.
In Texas, the Texas Rangers always investigate custodial deaths. There are jail standards in place which are designed to ensure that prisoners are safe during periods of incarceration. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has the responsibility of inspecting jails to determine whether minimum jail standards are being followed. Documentation can provide evidence that failing to uphold requirements is potentially linked to the death of a prisoner.
Investigations into custodial deaths sometimes result in prosecution of jail staff. An example involves the April 19, 2017, death of Charlton Cash Chrisman, who was a prisoner at Oklahoma County Jail for one day. Following his death, two former jailers were charged with felony assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The officers had allegedly used pepper balls in trying to subdue Chrisman just prior to his death. The autopsy had found that a contributing factor in the death was being hit by pepper balls multiple times.
As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.
Oklahoma City OK Oklahoma County Courthouse (Photo: Labeled for reuse)
Forty-year-old Charlton Chrisman died following an altercation with jailers at Oklahoma County Jail on April 19, 2017. Two former detention officers at the jail were charged with felony assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with Chrisman’s death. Initially, it was known that when he went to the hospital after the altercation in the county jail, he went to a hospital and had contusions on his body that were consistent with injuries created by shots from a pepper ball gun. He also allegedly had multiple abrasions and contusions on his nose, cheeks, legs, forehead, and arms. The newest information on the incident is that the medical examiner has declared Chrisman’s cause of death as acute methamphetamine intoxication. The report also says that none of the pepper ball injuries were related to or an underlying cause of his death. New surveillance video was released on December 19, and it shows Chrisman, who was unclothed, running toward the detention officers and being immediately struck with pepper balls, then restrained on the floor. He was taken from the area in a wheelchair approximately 5 minutes later. Chrisman was pronounced dead a short time later at Saint Anthony’s Hospital.
There were two jailers at Oklahoma County Jail associated with the incident that was followed by Chrisman being transported to a hospital. Following the custodial death, both were relieved of any duties involving prisoner contact. On August 8, one of those officers resigned. The other officer was fired on December 14, after criminal charges against him were filed.
As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.
