The state of Oklahoma has taken ownership of a prison in Lawton, completing a $312 million purchase of what had been the state’s last remaining private prison.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections said the state assumed ownership of the Lawton Correctional and Rehabilitation Facility at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 25. With the purchase, the state renamed the prison the Red Rock Correctional Center.
The prison, built in 1998, now is the newest state-owned prison in the agency’s system. The purchase included all assets, excluding vehicles and weapons. The property also includes 400 additional acres of vacant land, allowing for expansion if needed, the state agency said.
The purchase of the prison from The GEO Group was part of a $12.6 billion state budget deal struck by legislative leaders and Gov. Kevin Stitt in May. The purchase had been discussed for months. DOC Executive Director Steven Harpe told the state Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary in January the agency was considering purchasing the prison.
Operations at the prison have come under scrutiny in recent months because of a string of inmate deaths and reports of violence and contract violations. The facility houses about 2,300 inmates, including the state’s only protective custody unit.
“This is the third for-profit prison I’ve closed since becoming governor, and we’ve worked to give tens of thousands of people the opportunity for a second chance,” Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement. “The private prison in Lawton has had a terrible reputation for years, and now we get to bring that second chance mindset to those in custody in Lawton. I look forward to the positive changes that the Department of Corrections will implement there.”
A news release issued by the state agency on Friday said the purchase of the Lawton prison “reflects a long-term investment in better outcomes for both staff and the incarcerated, aligning with ODOC’s ethos to transform lives and be good stewards of taxpayers' dollars.”ODOC plans to implement expanded vocational and educational opportunities at the prison in the coming months.
“Taking over operations in Lawton will provide greater opportunities for those in our care through more access to programs and other needed services,” Harpe said in a statement. “I’m excited to bring ODOC’s mission and vision for rehabilitation and changing lives to the men at the facility.”
David Rogers, who has 36 years of experience in law enforcement and corrections in Texas and Oklahoma, has been named interim warden at the prison. Rogers previously served as warden at Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington. The GEO Group employed more than 400 people at the prison and ODOC said those who passed the state agency's background check were offered employment with the state.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: State takes over operations of now-former private prison in Lawton
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