ODOC Responds To The GEO Group's Discontinuation Letter

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has been engaged in ongoing contract negotiations with The GEO Group, which operates the Lawton Correctional Facility. Last Friday, GEO sent us and Oklahoma Senate leadership a letter of discontinuation for LCF. It is unclear why they felt our internal negotiations needed to be elevated to a state level.

Governor Kevin Stitt recently vetoed legislation that would have required ODOC to pay an additional $3 million per year to GEO. This financial burden is excessive, considering the subpar results. We thank the governor and our legislative partners, particularly Speaker Charles McCall, for standing with the people of Oklahoma.

Over the last four years, GEO has received a $6.8 million increase in funding. Yet, their operations have not improved – being the most violent prison in Oklahoma – and continues to lack the standard of care expected by ODOC. Our dissatisfaction with the current state of LCF and GEO’s facility operations has reached a critical point.

It is our mission to protect the public and the inmate. Therefore, we have cultivated several options to secure a safer location to house our incarcerated population, and we are meeting with the Board of Corrections next week to finalize the plans. We look forward to these new opportunities to care for our inmates and change their lives for the better. Further details will be shared with the public as they become available.