Inmate awake after more than two weeks in coma

OKMULGEE, Okla. (AP) -- A 23-year-old man who had been in a coma since he was allegedly beaten in a cell at the Okmulgee County Jail has regained consciousness, his family says. <br>Shannon Slape's

Tuesday, June 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKMULGEE, Okla. (AP) -- A 23-year-old man who had been in a coma since he was allegedly beaten in a cell at the Okmulgee County Jail has regained consciousness, his family says.
Shannon Slape's condition is listed as fair, a spokeswoman at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa said.
Slape's mother, Joyce, said he can speak but is disoriented and lacks short-term memory.
He was in a coma for more than two weeks. He remembers nothing about the assault, his mother said.
Sheriff's Detective Gary McCollum said inmates in the jail began yelling "man down" about 8 p.m. May 27. A jailer found Slape on the floor. He was coughing up blood.
McCollum said there were about10 people in the cell at the time.
Joyce Slape said the assault began when a so-called friend of Slape's told people he was a snitch.