Editor’s note: The Frontier is looking back at some of its most memorable stories of the past decade as it counts down to its 10th anniversary celebration 6 p.m. April 29 at the Tulsa Central Library.
Sometimes the truth can emerge years after a story has fallen out of the headlines. That’s what happened when Frontier co-founder and former editor Ziva Branstetter sat down at her computer in 2016 and started looking through court documents from a lawsuit involving a man who died in the Tulsa County jail.
What she found shocked her and drew nationwide attention.
Elliott Williams died alone, starving and unable to move because of his broken neck in 2011 while incarcerated at Tulsa’s David L. Moss Detention Center. Video footage showed Williams screaming for help, but jail staff accused Williams of faking his paralysis.
A former Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office captain testified Williams’ handling was a “complete failure.” An autopsy revealed Williams died from complications of a broken neck. He was also severely dehydrated.
Branstetter said The Frontier had extensively reported on the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and jail conditions. She found new details about Williams’ death by continuing to follow the story.
“Reporting like this has a chance to make a real impact in people’s lives, especially people who have very little power to change things on their own,” Branstetter said.
Williams’ estate won a $10.25-million verdict against Tulsa County and former Sheriff Stanley Glanz. It was believed to be largest wrongful death judgement in Oklahoma at the time.
The jail medical contractor Correctional Healthcare Companies Inc., was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but the company settled out of court before trial. The company has since changed its name to Wellpath.
Wellpath has gone on to face hundreds of lawsuits across the U.S. for medical neglect, wrongful death and negligence. Gwendolyn Young died at the Tulsa County jail in 2013. Her family claimed in a lawsuit that jail staff ignored symptoms that she was having a medical emergency. In 2023 a jury awarded Young’s estate $14 million in compensatory damages and $68 million in punitive damages.
A judge later reduced the punitive damages to $7 million.
But the money is now tied up in bankruptcy court.
Wellpath filed for bankruptcy in November, which Branstetter said is a tactic used by prison healthcare companies to avoid paying out on legal claims.
The Tulsa County jail has changed healthcare providers since then. Tulsa County hired Turn Key Health Clinics in 2016 to provide health care at the jail. The company has also faced lawsuits and scrutiny and recently changed its name to TK Health.
The Frontier worked together with The Marshall Project in 2024 to report on policies and practices at TK Health that endangered people in jail.
Branstetter said The Frontier continues to produce impactful journalism.
“It costs money to do journalism at this level of difficulty. It’s a small staff. They’re doing God’s work,” Branstetter said. “They are protecting the public by writing about pollution in our water and air, about people whose civil rights are violated by law enforcement and jails, and they’re holding public officials accountable.”
