By C1 Staff
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Two suits filed by inmates in the Oklahoma prison system allege that overcrowding and understaffing are endangering both inmates and staff in correctional facilities.
Tulsa World reports that inmates Stephen Craig Burnett and Wade E. Edwards, both serving time at the James Crabtree Correctional Center in Helena, have both filed similar lawsuits alleging poor conditions due to lack of funding from the Legislature.
Burnett’s suit states that overcrowded conditions have taxed bathrooms, food service, laundry and more. It also states that it creates a tense and unsafe environment for corrections officers and other staff members “because of the increased level of tension and general feeling of anger by the inmates.”
His suit asks for the court to order adequate funding to rent space in private prisons or the release of inmates to come into compliance with teh designed capacity of facilities. It also asks for an order limiting inmate population at each prison and a prescribed ratio of correctional officers to inmates.
Burnett has filed other, unsuccessful lawsuits in the past and is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife.
Edwards’ suit alleged that part of the overcrowding problem was due to a recent DOC decision by Director Robert Patton to move offenders from county jails into state facilities, which he called a “purely economic decision.”
The DOC would not comment on pending lawsuits.