WICHITA COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) — Time in prison is known in many circles as “hard time.” However, some prisons are known to be harder than others.
To the north of Wichita Falls, the Allred Unit is one of those hard prisons. It’s tallied ten inmate deaths since January 17th, and out of those 10 deaths, six of them are from unknown causes after they were found unresponsive by prison staff. Former guard Deyana Connolly believes a drug problem within the prison might be playing a part in some of the deaths.
“I did speak with nurses in the infirmary, and they advised me that K2 is what is being smuggled in.”
According to the DEA, K2 is a synthetic form of marijuana that is known to cause severe adverse effects, such as seizures or unconsciousness. Though Connolly was only employed at Allred for 5 months, she said she was there long enough to witness an inmate overdose on drugs on multiple occasions.
“When I called in an I.C.S. (Incident Command System), the officers came and brought him in. They left him in the infirmary for about two, three hours, put him back in his cell,” Connolly said. “That same inmate, I believe, passed away shortly after I left the prison.”
When asked about the potential of a drug problem at Allred, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said they have a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and contraband. They also said they are committed to holding those who introduce contraband accountable.
According to Connolly, this was not the case at Allred.
“I did have an inmate tell me that another officer was bringing in drugs,” Connolly said. “And when I reported it to my sergeant, he just told me… I mean, he didn’t really say anything. Nothing was done about it.”
Not all of the recent deaths at Allred were the same. One prisoner out of the 10 died after being assaulted by a fellow inmate. Connolly believes deaths like these can be prevented through simple changes in routine and staffing. Those changes could have helped prevent a situation she witnessed with one prisoner while conducting a security check.
“He had told me that he was being sexually assaulted all night and beaten up by his cellmate,” Connolly said. “Had security checks been done every 30 minutes, the officers would have known. I mean, if it had kept going, that other inmate would have killed him.”
After her experience with that inmate, Connolly is certain of some solutions that could create a safer environment at Allred.
“Security checks, bringing in more officers to make sure those security checks are done, will prevent a lot of deaths,” Connolly said.
A closer look at the death records from the Attorney General’s office shows that all 10 of the recent inmate deaths at Allred are still under official investigation, with the majority of the deaths happening back in January.
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