Here are a few words I wrote on this subject back in 2006:

Oklahoma City/County Justice System Badly Needs Reform


There are many great and wonderful things to see and do here in the Metro, and I love living here. I am not a negative person, but the current state of law enforcement and prosecution in Oklahoma County is terrible. We have the Oklahoma County jail, overcrowded, drugs readily available and really not much more than a zoo. Inmates are fed very small portions of substandard food in their small 3 person cells right by the cell toilet. If their families don't put money on their "book" so they can buy commissary items, they nearly starve. Also inmates must pay for any doctor visit they receive. Those without family to aid them financially are not treated. Phone calls are outrageous at $3.95 for 15 minutes, with the county getting a hefty percentage. Say criminals deserve poor treatment if you want, but there are innocent people there as well. Small wonder sentenced people are thrilled to be sent on to state prison where conditions are MUCH better. Sheriff John Whetsel should be held accountable, but his own employees state that "He is unbeatable in court" We have a few, not many, overly aggressive police officers. Whatever they do wrong, District Attorney Wes Lane will not prosecute them. They have literally gotten away with murder in numerous documented cases. Lane, sworn to uphold the law, evidently does not care about police brutality, might affect his re-election bid, which leads to the next item. Judges in Oklahoma County (and in all fairness, most places) are usually ex-prosecutors, so we all know they are strongly biased for the prosecution. No wonder we have a Sheriff who is unbeatable in court. You see, judges actually know that cops routinely lie in court, because the same cops lied for them when they were prosecutors! Find me a judge here who will believe the testimony of any witness over a cop. So the accused has his defense attorney in the courtroom, but is facing two prosecutors, one of Mr. Lane's crew and one supposedly a fair and unbiased trial judge, but not. Both of these individuals sole aim is conviction, not in finding the truth. Like the rest of America, our criminal justice system is totally out of control. The shame is, that in Oklahoma County, it's even worse than almost anywhere else, even worse than many third world countries. I'm not advocating coddling criminals, but give them a fair trial, feed them adequately, give them necessary medical treatment and treat them like human beings. Purge the crooked and abusive police officers, prosecute them for wrongdoing like any other citizen. Appoint judges from prosecutors, public defenders and private attorneys. Get real fairness in the trial courts. As the public, we must do a better job, and stop voting for those "public servants" who allow these illegal, outrageous and inhumane abuses to continue unchecked. These words are one man's opinion. Thank you for reading them.

How many more must die before these murders are stopped? I have a neighbor whose son was beaten to death by Oklahoma County jail personnel who is not on the list presented here. The Sheriff mysteriously "lost" the surveillance tapes of that murder. No one is ever charged with wrongdoing, and the D.A. just looks the other way. No wonder this chamber of horrors is under federal investigation. It needs to be under very close federal scrutiny, and ALL of the guilty parties must be brought to justice.

what a croc sheriff!!!!! i witnessed several cases of abuse a few years ago while visiting ocj.. i was in fact told i was a threat to myself and others, my clothes were taken and i was left in a cell w/ what appeared to be fresh urine and feces on the wall and was refused even toilet paper!!!! this was several yaers ago and the charges were misdemeanors and warranted a citation at best. i was never suicidal nor did i ever express that i was. i don't what changes they have made but i doubt that it is any better now!!!!!

B, of Edmond, you are very badly mistaken.
They are convicted criminals, some of them very bad people. NONE of them are "animals." They are all human beings.

And the measure of the decency of our society can be very well seen in how we treat our prisoners. We don't make our streets any safer by having horrific conditions in our jails. But we DO lose the ability to view ourselves as "civilized."

NOBODY is saying any prison on the planet is a 4-star hotel with the foggiest notion what they're talking about. If you think it is, go spend some time there. The punishment is in loss of your freedom, making it torture isn't supposed to be part of the deal, but somehow we got this twisted idea that we make it as horrible as possible. No matter how many decades after it's been proven this DOESN'T deter crime, we keep it up. We make heroes out of animals like Joe Arpaio in Arizona. We refuse to put the slightest funding into keeping them even adequately maintained or staffed, making everyone there less safe, as if people commit crimes thinking "Oh, I'll go rob that house because they have cable TV and two-ply paper in jail, it was awesome there!" That's NOT why people commit crime and we all know it, so taking away TV and making them live like animals does NOTHING to make us safer, if anything it turns the people inside harder and makes them MORE dangerous when they do get out.

And until we start even PRETENDING we're going to have a decent public defender system, don't you dare pretend that these are ALL "criminals." If you don't think there are innocent people in any jail, you're nuts.

Even the best jails have had to dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century when it comes to care for the mentally ill. I've seen very progressive communities and law enforcement officers I thought were pretty together have to be forced legally just to give neccessary meds and therapy to prisoners (only to thank those responsible later, saying "wow, it sure is a lot better for us all around here since we started!" isn't that funny?) Thank God the Constitution protects the most basic rights of the accussed, and of prisoners, I hate to think of how some of these communities would treat prisoners without the threat of a lawsuit when they truly do sink to outright torture.

Remember, no matter what they've done, these ARE human beings.

Charlie, Mustang... didn't mean to upset you.... I take it that your son can't get an OR bond or a bond through a bondsman.... just tell him to mind his own business, DON"T RAT ON ANYONE, Don't appear to be friendly toward the guards- or the other inmates will think he's a snitch, and don't take any crap off of anyone... and he will probably be fine. Over the years, I've seen more than a few men placed in jail because of a evil woman, wanting to cause them grief. Right here in Altus, we have a 23 year old man [who is more like a 16 year old mentally] who fell in love with some old Hide- got married and had a kid. The Ole Hide's mother hates the father and has had him falsely arrested for all kinds of things- approx. six times in the last 2 years. His family has been out thousands of dollars clearing him of the charges. The last time, the gal he married finally admitted what her mother had been doing- making up things in order to get him arrested. And for those who keep saying jail is for punishment... it isn't for those who are awaiting trial.....there is that little thing in the law about "Innocent until proven guilty"-- dang, you guys always forget about that part. The law is suppose to confine you [safely, with proper food, clothing and medical care] until you go to trial-- unless you can make bond--- and being too poor to bond out like a rich person shouldn't sentence you to danger in a jail like Oklahoma County jail. Finally, consider this, there has been dozens of men / women who have been sent to death row and life in prison, only to be found innocent years later -- and they had lawyers and investigators working for them-- because it was a death penalty case or a serious crime-- so don't you think it more than reasonable that many people accused of lower types of crimes get wrongly convicted too-- and more often. It is a little known fact to the general public, but an eye witness to a crime isn't very reliable most times. I've heard more than one detective tell a witness who wasn't sure in making an identification, "We know this is the guy, we just need you to identify him for us-- you don't want him to get away with it, do you?"--- so they do identify the guy-- they pick-out his picture or point him out in a line-up... and they were convicted.

Well, gee Casey, they wouldn't be there if they had not done something disrepectful, dangerous or deadly... Most of them are animals and no they should not be subjected to sub-human conditions but do you think the majority of them gave a rats a$$ when they held a gun to my head and robbed me? or shot and killed just because? They didn't care about me when they held a gun to my head so now I'm supposed to feel sorry for them? Give me a break.

There is a difference between our government and that of third world nations and that is civil liberties are recognized for even the most heinous people among us. Because of that the conditions that exist in the Oklahoma County Jail must be changed and those committing crimes by allowing them to exist should be criminally charged. The Oklahoma County jail still can still be of some good, it can stand as an example of what not to be! Guilty or innocent another human should not be exposed to conditions that unbearable. It may be you facing a trial someday who clings to the phrase “innocent until proven guilty!” For those unable to make bail there is an expectation that they will be able to live in an environment free from harm and sickness. There are clear punishments defined by law for those found to be guilty. Thinking that the jail should be a deterrent to criminals is plausible but it can be so without being disrespectful, dangerous or even deadly.

So it is ok for babies to die Carol? I pray no one in your family is ever in jail for something they did or did not do. My son is not a crimnal ,he just loved the wrong woman .

So it's ok if they die then Carol?

It's supposed to be punishment for your crime to spend time in jail. It's not supposed to be a 4 star hotel with amenities that we, the taxpayers have to pay for. They are not supposed to enjoy the time they are there, that's the point -- punishment.

If you can't do the time, don't commit the crime. If more jails were hell-holes maybe people wouldn't commit the crimes. I'm sorry when someone becomes a criminal they should not have any rights.

Makes me want to walk a straight line....

Makes me want to walk a straight line....

A couple points from a conservative: 1)the vast majority of those who died in custody were not waiting on a trial that would have carried the death penalty or convicted and waiting execution, 2) when the state takes someone in custody they should be responsible for their welfare. Regardless about whether you are for being tough on crime (I am with some caveats) or a liberal softy you should believe that those awaiting trial or transfer to serve their sentence should be safe from the assaults of other inmates and receive decent medical treatment. This is an embarrassment for Whetsel and he should be held accountable for his role as operator of the jail. The DOJ doesn't just look at OKC. It would be interesting to see how many jails (if any) received the same report nationwide. Those that didn't should be examples for Whetsel and crew.

John, it sounds the same with my son, except she called me 3 weeks earlier on the day of their devorice and told me if he did not leave her and the guy she had been having an affair with and two of the 3 kids alone( as she had gave him one child) that she would put him away for life.He wanted to see his two other kids and that made her mad. We laughed and thought what can she do, alot we have since found out. While he has been locked up, she has a new BMW ( from her boyfriend) moved away with her boyfriend, kids in foster homes but she gets back soon as her drug case has been resolved with a deferred sentence)I will fight to the end for my son as he is innocent, and if that bothers JP , I can only hope he is never put in the same spot and his Mom not believe enough in him to fight for him.

Again JP, you have got it all figured out. You never did answer the question about your age. I was like you when I was in my early 20's. I thought I was invincible. All it takes is to be at the wrong place or with the wrong person at a particular time. Why would I waste my time BS'ing people or idiots like you? All I was doing was sharing my unprevoked situation and how I was affected by having to go to Oklahoma County.

The County Sheriff's Office is the most deadly place to be in Oklahoma (excluding hospitals or extended care facilities) especially for those who die a violent death. Every death of a person who dies while in custody rather it be within the confines of the jail or after being transported to outside medical treatments, should be investigated with the same approach you would a homicide. Just because they died while in custody does not make their life of any less value. It is true that humane standards are more strictly followed at a dog pound than that of John Whetsel's Oklahoma County Jail. A good person can have a life crisis that completely expels anything of normalcy from them and the end result is being jailed. That does not make the breath they take any less important in the eyes of the God that so many people use to judge and condemn others. Just think there is no other place where you could stand, and be more at risk of being murdered than at the doors to the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office. Over 5 people a year can be expected to meet their demise on that plot of ground. More die in the Okalahoma County Jail than on death row. If those lives were that of a child in a parent’s custody under the same conditions we see in this jail, the Great State of Oklahoma would take custody and remove them in to a safer environment. So why hasn't the Justice Department responded and requested a judge remove the custody of these prisoners from Whetsel into the custody and operation of DOJ Officials while multiple murder investigations get underway? Why do we not hear from activist about the continued civil rights violations and the incompetence of leadership? Why has there not been a suspension to prevent future incidents from occurring until an investigation is complete. Why has not the Oklahoma County District Attorney, served Whetsel with Cease and Desist Orders, suspending him from office until that thorough investigation can be made? The county commissioners have not even recognized this situation and moved to halt the poor administration of the jail. I don’t do any of the things that I suspect people do to find their way in to jail, but what if I ended up, locked up by a series of unsuspecting events, knowing I was perfectly innocent, and that the Oklahoma County Jail is what awaits? What if it’s my kid that may have made a poor judgment call and got behind a wheel of a vehicle while he was just crossing that fine line between sobriety and intoxication, he passes through a check point and is busted for DUI then months later he is handed a five day mandatory sentence by a judge. What then? He is going to have to spend time where there is no escape from the deadliest place in Oklahoma.

I never drink and drive. As a matter of fact, I rarely drink. I just know when I smell BS and I call it like I see it. And BTW, I read the post from the guy in Stoolwater and I think his name was CJ. I woul dnever claim to be from Aggott town.

Well said April. I have no compasion for criminals either. You get what you deserve. There was no worse feeling than to be catagorized right along with them. I am a law obeying citizen as well that got caught up in a bad situation that was out of my control.

Thank you Charlie. My ex-wife had a personal vendetta against me. She was having an affair and made a false claim against me in retaliation. I spent four weeks in Oklahoma County before seeing the judge and eventually having the case thrown out due to lack of (no) evidence. She ended up spending a month at St. Anthony's mental hospital and was diagnosed bi-polar. I am still haunted by what I saw in the county jail. I have a heart condition and went for days without my medication. My BP was elevated and I tried to contact someone through the intercom system several times with no success. People like JP are the type that are on here talking sh*@ but you know he is some stupid redneck that breaks the law by drinking and driving on a regular basis. It will catch up with him.

I feel bad fou you guys/family member who are innocent...I know there are many of you out there, and I do know there are some cold hearted sick sadistic women out there...We have a similar situation, and fortunitely, we were lucky in our case....HOWEVER...aside from those few cases....if you don't like the conditions of the jail...stay out of the jail. I would rather we have the absolutely worst, most inept, inadequate hell-hole for a jail. Criminals do not DESERVE a nice jail with health care and good food. I am a single mom who obeys the law and I barely obtain those things.

Thank you John,well said.

After his trial I will give the particulars. Hope like hell an ex wife or girl friend never does this to you. Every one in jail is not innocent but every one is not guilty either, all it takes is one person to tell a lie on you to put you there.