Lloyd Woodson Smith, 47, died after he was found unresponsive inside the Oklahoma County Detention Center late Saturday, Oct. 3. He is the fourth person to die in custody at the facility in 2026.

Detention officers and medical staff responded to Smith shortly after 11:10 p.m. and began lifesaving measures, according to the Oklahoma County Criminal Investigations Division, as first reported by KOKH Fox 25. Oklahoma City Fire Department personnel were called to assist. Smith was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

No official cause of death has been released. The Criminal Investigations Division is investigating.

Oklahoma City police booked Smith into the detention center Sept. 2 on charges related to suspected burglary. He had pleaded not guilty and was awaiting further court proceedings, Oklahoma City Free Press reported. When Smith was expected for a court hearing Sept. 22, he was unable to appear, citing illness. No information has been released about whether jail medical staff had been monitoring or treating him before his death.

It is also unclear how long Smith had been unresponsive before staff found him, or when the last wellness check occurred, according to Free Press.

Deaths, understaffing and missed checks

Smith's death is the latest at the downtown Oklahoma City lockup. More than 60 detainees have died in custody since the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority took over jail operations in 2020, according to an Oklahoma Watch investigation published Sept. 25. That report detailed the April 2025 beating death of Clinton Pike, 40, and found chronic understaffing was the facility's most critical problem.

An independent review by McDaniel Consulting Group presented to jail officials this spring found the facility did not have enough staff to operate safely. The study cited severe understaffing on housing floors where one officer supervised hundreds of inmates. The Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority voted unanimously March 31 to terminate its contract with VieMed Healthcare Staffing to save about $180,000 a month, leaving the jail to cover gaps internally. The facility now has more than 300 employees, up from about 250 when the contract began.

"We're just filling the gaps with our own staff," OCDC spokesman Mark Opgrande said in the Sept. 25 Oklahoma Watch report.

In April, a federal jury awarded $2 million to the family of Gregory Davis, who died of a perforated ulcer in 2021 after detention officers missed sight checks. During an unannounced Oklahoma State Health Department inspection May 5, inspectors found staff missed or did not document thousands of safety checks. Inspectors also noted broken or cracked windows on several floors that obscured visibility.

Limited information under new policy

The detention center adopted a new media policy in February under which only the deceased's name and date of death are released during investigations. Additional details are provided at the jail's discretion, according to Free Press.

Smith's death is the fourth since that policy took effect.

Sales tax vote looms

Oklahoma County voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to approve a 0.4-cent sales tax to fund an $860 million replacement jail, as we reported Oct. 1. The tax would generate about $70 million a year over 25 years. The Board of Commissioners approved placing the measure on the ballot by a 2-1 vote Aug. 12.

In August, OCDC staff conducted a facility-wide search with help from the Department of Corrections, finding shanks, a cellphone, tattoo guns, narcotics and fermented corn, News 9 reported. That search came after three in-custody deaths earlier in 2026.

Anyone with information about Smith's death can contact the Oklahoma County Criminal Investigations Division.