ODOC locks down minimum security correctional center; visitation canceled

HODGEN, Okla. – The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has canceled visitation and locked down Jim E. Hamilton Correctional Center, a minimum-security prison for men located in LeFlore County.

The agency locked the facility down, restricting all inmate movement out of an abundance of caution due to concerning intelligence it received.

The lockdown will continue until ODOC has determined it is appropriate to resume normal operations.

Visitation is canceled until further notice at the facility.

It is unclear if this lockdown is related to the statewide lockdown due to inmate fights that occurred September 14 and 15.

36 inmates and several correctional officers were injured. One inmate, identified as Chad Burns, died as a result of the fights.

On Thursday, ODOC returned nine minimum-security prisons, four minimum units and the state’s only medium-security women’s prison to normal daytime operations and reinstated weekend visitation.