Justin Barrientos
Justin Barrientos, 31, died on January 31, 2023, while held at the Lawton Correctional and Rehabilitation Facility in Lawton, Oklahoma, a private prison run by The GEO Group under contract with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. His mother, Linda Gray, says in a federal civil rights lawsuit that he was placed in a suicide watch cell, swallowed a plastic spork, developed peritonitis, and was not taken to an outside hospital before he died. The lawsuit also says staff falsified records and that the state Inspector General found cause to believe GEO staff violated policy. His family describes him as a beloved son and brother and says they want the system exposed so other families do not lose someone they love.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). His mother Linda Gray's federal lawsuit says GEO Group staff failed to treat him for peritonitis from a swallowed plastic spork, did not send him to an outside hospital, and falsified records.
Reported by: Linda Gray's federal civil rights lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Oklahoma Office of the Inspector General (outside investigators).
Lawsuit: His mother, Linda Gray, filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging GEO Group staff failed to treat him before he died, and the claims have not been tested in court.