Another Inmate Dies At Cleveland County Jail Amid Ongoing Investigation

Another inmate has died at the Cleveland County Detention Center (CCDC), marking the 10th death at the facility in the last three years. Alex J. Wright, 34, was found unresponsive in his cell early Thursday morning, according to officials with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), which has been called in to assist.

Emergency medical responders arrived at the jail just before 5 a.m. following a 911 call reporting a possible cardiac arrest. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, Wright was pronounced dead. He had been in the jail since March 2024 following an arrest for drug trafficking and drug possession.

Wright’s death comes amid growing scrutiny of the jail under Sheriff Chris Amason’s administration. Since 2021, 10 inmates have died at the facility, with eight of those deaths occurring since 2022, according to records maintained by the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH).

This latest death occurred while the jail is already the subject of an independent investigation ordered by Cleveland County Commissioners to address mounting safety concerns.

In August, the county hired SIMCO Correctional Consulting, a Missouri-based firm specializing in jail safety and operations, to conduct a comprehensive review of the detention center’s policies. The consulting firm, led by Joseph E. Gunja, is tasked with identifying the root causes of inmate deaths and recommending safety improvements. The investigation, which began Sept. 9, comes after Cleveland County commissioners were alarmed by the rising death toll.

The sheriff’s office has also faced increased scrutiny over its facility management, particularly amid allegations of financial mismanagement in fiscal year 2024 that launched a state investigative audit, which is still in progress. A budget dispute between Sheriff Amason and the county commissioners is also ongoing as both parties await the audit's findings.

“Commissioners are saddened by the loss of life at the detention center,” Storme Jones, director of communications for Cleveland County, said. He acknowledged that inmate populations tend to be higher risk but added, “they [commissioners] find any preventable loss of life unacceptable.”

Sheriff Amason declined to comment on Wright’s death but later posted a statement on the CCSO Facebook page, which reads in part, “During scheduled in-person sight checks conducted between 10:23 PM and 3:57 AM, no issues were detected within the cell block involving any inmates.”

The statement also revealed that a detention officer found him unresponsive in an upright sleeping position and initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until EMS arrived to take over.

The cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office. An investigation into this incident has been initiated.

The Cleveland County Detention Center has drawn public outrage following other inmate deaths, including the high-profile case of Shannon Hanchett, a local business owner who died in custody in December 2022. Hanchett’s family filed a lawsuit, alleging medical neglect by the jail’s health provider, Turn Key Health, which is also under review as part of SIMCO’s independent investigation. SIMCO is expected to provide recommendations for improving conditions at the jail.

Other inmate deaths have also led to lawsuits against the detention center, the sheriff, county employees, or contractors. As a result, the OSBI has been requested to assist in the death investigations. The OSBI did not provide information regarding the extent of its involvement, only confirming that they have been called in to help with seven suspicious deaths at the Cleveland County Detention Center since 2021. It is not clear if the OSBI has completed any of those investigations.