Easing lockdown

Lexington Assessment & Reception Center is among state correctional facilities being removed from lockdown, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections announced Tuesday.

All facilities have been on lockdown since September 15 when fights between rival gangs broke out at six prisons in a 24-hour period.

The controlled movement of inmates at most male minimum security facilities, minimum security units at medium security prisons and all female prisons will be phased in during the next week.

Visitation remains cancelled at all prison facilities.

According to ODOC, correctional officers will move small groups of inmates from their pods or cells to allow them use of prison telephones, provide outdoor recreation time and access to dining halls and canteens.

Those prisoners will also have daily structured access to showers.

In addition, farm and industry workers will be sent back to their assigned jobs and inmates in education programs will return to the classroom.

The outbreak of gang violence left dozens of inmates injured and one man dead.

The lockdown is a safety measure used to secure inmates in their cells or pods while agency investigators determine the root of the violence. Inmates remaining on lockdown are allowed three showers a week and are fed three meals daily from a master menu, the ODOC reported.

Those prisons allowing for the controlled movement of inmates are prepared to return to a full lockdown if any problems arise.