Oklahoma: Five Correctional Officers And One Nurse Federally Indicted In Pre-Trial Inmate Death

By DOJ News Photos: Video Screenshots A two-count indictment was unsealed Thursday charging five current and former correctional officers and one correctional nurse with federal civil rights violations. The indictment alleges that, on Aug. 6, 2023, former Garvin County Jail (GCJ) Sergeant Jennifer Baxter, former GCJ Deputies Alesha Danielle Ingram and Vincent Matthews and former GCJ Nurse Lynnsee Noel, while acting in their official capacity at the GCJ, in Garvin County, Oklahoma, violated the constitutional rights of a pretrial detainee, identified in the indictment as K.T., by being deliberately indifferent to a substantial risk of serious physical harm to K.T. at the hands of other inmates. This offense resulted in K.T. suffering bodily injury. The indictment further alleges that, on Aug. 6 and 7, 2023, Baxter, Ingram, Matthews, Noel and two additional jailers, current GCJ Sergeant Melissa Melton and current GCJ Deputy Paula Kelley, while acting in their official capacity, were deliberately indifferent to K.T.’s serious medical needs, willfully failing to ensure that K.T. was provided with necessary medical care. This offense resulted in bodily injury to K.T. and, ultimately, her death. If convicted, all defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will...