OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is attempting to crack down on contraband cellphones inside the state's prison system after an outbreak of gang-related attacks that left one inmate dead and more than a dozen hurt.
Stitt issued an executive order late Friday asking his cabinet secretaries to work with the Department of Corrections to find ways to address the threat of cellphones in prison.
Stitt says the fights that erupted earlier this month at six Oklahoma prisons involved as many as 200 inmates and were facilitated by the use of cellphones inside prison.
Since 2011, prison officials in Oklahoma have seized more than 48,500 prohibited cellphones and asked federal lawmakers to authorize the use of cellphone signal jamming technology to help stem the problem.
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