Rep. Humphrey alleges violations, cover-ups in Oklahoma prisons

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — For years Representative Justin Humphrey has been calling out the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for dozens of alleged violations.

On Wednesday, even though he limited his timeline, laid out what he said has happened in the prisons in the last ten days.

“March 17th to March 27th, we’ve had probably five rape calls come in, we’ve had a video of obvious absolute rape, we’ve had reports of approximately four deaths," Rep. Humphrey said.

While those allegations aren't confirmed, he called the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee to order to share information from inmate and staff calls he said he gets every day.

One of his newest claims is that meningitis has made it inside the prisons.

“The inmates say they’re not getting cleaning supplies, they’re not being fed properly, they’re being housed in eight men cells not being allowed showers," Rep. Humphrey said.

The Chief of Public Relations for ODOC, Kay Thompson, confirmed there was one meningitis case. She added that by going into communicable disease protocol and working with the State Health Department, they were able to stop the spread.

“While the men were within their pod, they were allowed to shower. We fed them on their unit, and actually, that was lifted yesterday. There are no other cases of meningitis,” Thompson said.

Rep. Humphrey predicts an escalation in violence, pointing to a guard arrested for allegedly raping an inmate, along with previous assaults FOX25 has reported.

Many of the incidents he attributes to a lack of oversight for those behind bars.

“Three weeks ago, I would say the number one problem in the Department of Corrections is a shortage of staff. Today, I say the number one problem is the Department trying to cover up the shortage of staff," he said.

While Thompson won't give staffing specifics on particular prisons and shifts out of safety concerns, she said the Department has pushed innovative options for staffing.

“It’s not necessarily oh yeah you need to have 30 officers in this unit. Well now we have technology upgrades and we’re able to do it more effectively and more efficiently.”

ODOC said violence has been on the decline, but it's clear there are major discrepancies between what Rep. Humphrey, inmates, and the Department are claiming.