
Between 2009 and 2018, 215 people died in Oklahoma jails, according to data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
In 2019, The Frontier is launching a project to track every jail death in the state. We’re calling this project Cell by Cell.
We hope to uncover more about how and why people die in Oklahoma jails. Each of the state’s 77 counties has at least one jail, and several cities have police lockups. In rural parts of the state, deaths often go unnoticed, and occasionally, unreported.
Know of an incident we missed? Email us at brianna@readfrontier.com and kassie@readfrontier.com.
More from this series:
Cell by Cell: With low starting pay and high turnover, Oklahoma County struggles to fully staff jail

Trucker who died of pneumonia in Atoka Co. Jail told police he was sick, video shows

Cell by Cell: Suspected of driving drunk, a long-haul trucker died in jail—but he actually had pneumonia

Cell by Cell: State leaders look to remove juveniles from Oklahoma adult jails

Cell by Cell: The complete list of people who have died in Oklahoma jails in 2019

Cell by Cell: A teenage suicide sheds light on a lack of oversight for juveniles in county jails

Cell by Cell: Oklahoma County jail’s poor design contributes to safety, security issues

Cell by Cell: Oklahoma has 1.5 state inspectors for its 131 jails
