Wife Of Cimarron Correctional Prisoner Saw Deadly Fight Coming

An Oklahoma prisoner's wife said she saw a deadly prison fight coming. She said gangs are growing in the facility and her husband is concerned about gang retaliation.

Wednesday, September 16th 2015, 11:32 pm

By: News On 6


An Oklahoma prisoner's wife said she saw a deadly prison fight coming.

She said gangs are growing in the Cimarron Correctional Facility and her husband is concerned about gang retaliation.

She said, even though prisoners have committed crimes, it's inhumane to house them in an unsafe environment.

The Cimarron Correctional Facility became a battleground Saturday and ended with the deaths of four inmates and the prisoner’s wife thanks God her husband wasn't a victim.

9/15/2015 Related Story: Family Of An Inmate Killed In Cushing Prison Brawl Speaks Out

"Definitely. Your heart just sinks," she said.

She predicted the deadly fight and had her husband, a prisoner for two decades, placed under protection.

She said Cimarron is more dangerous than other Oklahoma prisons because it's run by a private company.

"They have more people, they have less staff and they have more violent offenders and more gangs," she said.

Cimarron is run by Corrections Corporation of America, which operates more than 60 prisons nationwide.

She said the Oklahoma Department of Corrections is transferring gang members from public prisons to private prisons, like Cimarron.

The woman said inmates who aren't in gangs, like her husband, are targeted.

"It seems to us that the incentive would be to join because of the protection that would get. Because you're so much more protected if you're in a gang than if you're not, especially on that yard," she said.

The fiancé of Anthony Fulwilder, one of the inmates who died in the fight, said he warned her the week of the fight that he was being targeted.

9/14/2015 Related Story: DOC Identifies Inmates Killed, Wounded In Cushing Prison Riot

The Oklahoma D.O.C Inspector General is now working with CCA to investigate the fight and determine whether gangs were involved.

CCA said responsibility lies with the inmates who started the fight, stating, "No corrections system -- public or private -- is immune to disturbances."

CCA operates four prisons in Oklahoma. The Cimarron facility has more than 1,700 beds for medium and maximum security inmates.

We asked the Oklahoma D.O.C. and CCA for further comment but said they cannot speak because of the ongoing investigation.

There was another prison riot at the Cimarron facility in June that injured a dozen inmates.

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