Record Number of Detainees At Muskogee

From Muskogee Phoenix:

Oklahoma incarcerates almost twice as many women as any other state.

Before those women reach Department of Corrections prisons, they must stay in local jails. A recent rise in female inmate population has created concerns inside the Muskogee County/City Detention Facility.

“We’ve never had this many female inmates in the history of this jail,” said Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson.

The number of women inmates may sound relatively small — a daily average of 45 in a jail set up for a maximum total population of 282 and which can hold up to 330. The daily average from April 2009 to January 2010 was 20.