Additional reading: Cleveland County Sheriff responds to reports of poor conditions at the jail

One attorney waited to see his clients at the Cleveland County Detention Center in Norman for more than three hours before finally giving up. And there were reports of detainees being denied access to health care and clean clothing, according to emails The Frontier obtained through an open records request. 

Two Cleveland County judges have raised concerns about potential civil rights violations at the jail, the emails show.  

Cleveland County District Court Judge Michael Tupper sent an email to jail officials on Jan. 13, complaining jail detainees had experienced “unreasonably long delays” for in-person visits with​​ their attorneys, which could violate their constitutional rights to have access to lawyers.

Tupper admonished the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office for what he said were ongoing deficiencies at the jail.

“These issues represent systemic failures that cannot continue unaddressed,” Tupper wrote. “They implicate serious constitutional concerns and expose the facility to significant legal and reputational consequences.”

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Cleveland County District Court Judge Thad Balkman wrote an email to jail staff later that day. 

“I was in the process of composing a similar email to you expressing the same concerns raised by Judge Tupper,” Balkman said. “Instead, I write to state that I am in full agreement with Judge Tupper’s stated concerns and join him in requesting that immediate actions be taken to address these in order to mitigate harm to the County Detention Center employees, and the inmates, attorneys and greater public that it serves.”

One Cleveland County jail detainee stood in Balkman’s courtroom on a recent March afternoon and said he had to “beg” for toilet paper. The nurse on duty at the jail could only provide basic first aid and he had trouble scheduling a visit with a medical provider, Robert Busick said. 

Busick told the judge that he was placed in a cell with blood on the walls. Some cell doors were broken. The jail provided filthy rags and mopheads for detainees to clean their living areas, he said.

“You smell them and it’s pretty rough,” Busick said. 

He also said he hadn’t had a change of clean underwear in three weeks. 

Busick, who is charged with seven counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child, unsuccessfully asked the judge to allow his release while his case is pending because of dangerous living conditions at the jail. His attorney also filed motions to have three of his other clients released on similar grounds. All were denied. 

Cleveland County Sheriff Chris Amason responded to The Frontier’s questions by email, refuting reports of dirty conditions at the jail, including claims that detainees have been forced to wear the same clothing for weeks at a time and didn’t have toilet paper. 

“Inmates have continuous access to hygiene products, including toilet paper. They can request items from detention staff, through kiosks, or via intercom,” Amason wrote. “Complaints of unavailability are unfounded, though some inmates misuse or hoard supplies.”

Detainees have access to cleaning supplies, but some “refuse to clean or misuse cleaning products, requiring frequent replacements,” Amason wrote. 

The jail charges a $15 fee to visit a health care provider, but waives the charge for those who can’t pay, he said. Amason also said that attorneys can schedule visits with their clients in the jail via email and the lawyer who was left waiting for hours had showed up unannounced on a Sunday.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health found the Cleveland County Detention Center was out of compliance with basic health standards in February. Inspectors noted women lacked access to sanitary products and there was a “build-up of dirt, debris and black residue in inmate living areas.” Some detainees said they wore the same clothing for two or three weeks at a time, the inspection found. State standards require jails to provide a change of clean clothing at least once a week. 

Amason said the jail does weekly clothing exchanges but the facility’s laundry equipment is aging and two of its three dryers are out of service.  

A maintenance team recently repaired one dryer at the facility, but the county has not received a request from the sheriff’s office for new laundry equipment, said Storme Jones, a spokesman for the county. 

The Cleveland County Commissioners have approved more than $1 million dollars in funding for jail repairs in the past year, Jones said. The county is also in the process of repairing broken cell doors at the facility, he said. 

At least six detainees have died since the beginning of 2024 at the Cleveland County Detention Center. The Frontier and The Marshall Project reported on the 2022 death of Shannon Hanchett at the facility last year. 

The Cleveland County Commissioners hired the firm SIMCO Correctional Consulting last year to identify the root causes of deaths at the jail. County officials announced late Friday they won’t publicly release a preliminary report on the jail deaths, claiming it is protected by attorney-client privilege. 

The Cleveland County Commissioners are scheduled to review the report in a closed-door meeting with their attorney on Monday. 

“Counties across Oklahoma have seen multi-million-dollar lawsuits leveled against sheriffs who

abdicate their responsibility to oversee the jail in accordance with state and federal law,” Cleveland County said in a statement released Friday. The taxpayers of Cleveland County beg the sheriff to take his legal responsibility seriously.”