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Died in jail or a lockup

Parker Stephens

22 years old · died February 3, 2021 · Oklahoma County Detention Center, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

Parker Stephens was a smart teenager who was named captain of his high school debate team, had a scholarship offer, and played basketball and football, according to his family. He died on February 3, 2021, in his cell at the Oklahoma County Detention Center in Oklahoma City, where he was held. His mother and aunt said they repeatedly asked the jail to move him to a mental health unit and left dozens of messages in the months before his death, while jail administrator Greg Williams said there was no record of such requests. The medical examiner had not ruled on the manner of death in 2021, but a later report from the medical examiner determined that it was a suicide. A federal civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of his estate says staff ignored a prior warning about his risk, that staffing was inadequate, and that his cellmate twice called the jail's operations center to report that he was not OK; a detention officer named in the suit denies wrongdoing.

Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner ruled it a suicide by hanging, while his estate's federal lawsuit says staff ignored a prior warning about his risk, and his mother and aunt say they repeatedly asked the jail to move him to a mental health unit.

Reported by: medical examiner or coroner; the jail, which investigated the death as a possible suicide (the agency that held him); his estate's federal lawsuit and his family (family or their lawyers).

Lawsuit: His estate filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that jail staff ignored a prior warning about his risk and that staffing was inadequate, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.

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