Oklahoma prison officials probe 2 inmate killings

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has completed its investigation into the killing of an inmate last month at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and is looking into a second homicide at a private prison in Holdenville.

Department spokeswoman Terri Watkins says investigators have finished looking into the March 28th strangulation of 36-year-old Shawn Moore inside his cell at the penitentiary and plan to recommend criminal charges against Moore’s cellmate.

The department also is investigating the April 11th death of 30-year-old Bryan Blackburn at the Davis Correctional Facility, a private prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America.

The latest figures from the Bureau of Justice Statistics show Oklahoma had the highest prison-homicide rate in the country from 2001-2012.