prison system

The Oklahoma Supreme Court is ordering the Secretary of State’s office to accept and count signatures demanding a felony sentencing reform question be added to the ballot this year.

The Secretary of State’s office said it wouldn’t accept more than 260,000 signatures supporting the ballot initiative because the work would put the office at risk of spreading coronavirus.

State Supreme Court justices decided the office hadn’t proven it couldn’t count the signatures safely.

The Comanche County Detention Center in Lawton now has 102 prisoners who have tested positive for COVID-19. Most of the prisoners who tested positive are reportedly asymptomatic.

The situation has gotten so bad the state health department ordered jail administrator William Hobbs not to take in any more prisoners.

"Saturday I got the order," Hobbs said. "A team shows up to assist us in assessing the situation and start cleanup procedures."

The Comanche County Detention Center in Lawton has 18 prisoners and five staff members infected with COVID-19. Now, the state health department is testing all of its jail staff and 345 prisoners.

William Hobbs, the jail administrator, says more cases could be found as the health department ramps up testing.

"They could be negative today and positive two days from now," Hobbs said. "Just because you’re negative (doesn’t) mean you’re clear."

Hobbs says many of the prisoners carrying the disease didn’t show symptoms.

A prisoner in Chickasha has become the first known Oklahoma inmate to die from COVID-19.

52-year-old William Dean Brame, who was awaiting sentencing at the Grady County jail, died from complications of the disease on April 28.

The jail was holding Brame for the federal government after he pleaded guilty in December to conspiring to traffic drugs and launder the proceeds from the illegal sales.

The Oklahoman reports at least one other federal inmate and some detention officers were also infected, but jailers say they have all since recovered.

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