Oklahoma Prison Puts Inmate Into The Same Cell With The Murderer Who He Testified Against a Trial– And Is Promptly Beaten To Death

Now, this should make for an interesting torts case. Oklahoma State Penitentiary moved prisoner, Paul Duran Jr., 23 (left), after he had a fight with another cellmate. They choose Jessie James Dalton (right), who not only has a name for crime but happens to be the very man that Duran testified against in a murder case (resulting in his being given a life sentence without parole). Dalton allegedly beat Duran to death within 15 minutes.

Duran and Dalton were both accused in the January 2002 shooting death of Billy Wayne Ray in Oklahoma City. Duran took a plea on a robbery charge and testified against Dalton on the murder count. Duran received a 28-year sentence.

The prison admits that the inmates were supposed to be kept separate. In such cases, there is always a suspicion that a guard might have used an adverse cellmate as punishment for the inmate. In most such assignments, the issue is treated as a discretionary matter. However, this is one of the rare cases where a lawsuit might have a chance of success. These cases often involve prison rape allegations where prison officials ignore abuse of a prison or even allegedly take sadistic pleasure in such attacks as in this case.

It is an entirely different matter why parents would want to combine the names of Jessie James and the Dalton gang to create the perfect moniker for a criminal.

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