State charges dismissed against OSP inmate
Nov. 11—Charges of murder and escape from a penitentiary were dismissed against an inmate after it was determined the state of Oklahoma did not have criminal jurisdiction in the case.
Austin Furr, 21, of Glenpool, is serving a five-year sentence after he was charged as a youthful offender at the age of 16 out of Tulsa County District Court for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Court documents show Furr was charged in January 2022 with murder in the first degree after he was accused of stabbing 62-year-old Dong Son, his cellmate at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, more than 50 times.
Furr was moved to OSP after his March 2020 escape from the Jackie Brannon Correctional Center in McAlester.
The charges of first-degree murder and escaping from Department of Corrections were dismissed this week after a Pittsburg County judge ruled the state of Oklahoma did not have criminal jurisdiction over Furr due to him being an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
Furr brought up the issue in a letter dated Sept. 9 sent to Pittsburg County Special District Judge Brian McLaughlin showing proof of his enrollment in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
Documents show a 30-day hold in the Pittsburg County Jail was placed on Furr to give prosecutors with the Choctaw Nation and the federal government time to decide if charges will be filed against Furr.
An affidavit in the murder case states investigators with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General were called to OSP on Sept. 26, 2021, for a report of an "inmate on inmate homicide."
According to the report, after Son was pronounced dead at the prison's infirmary, multiple lacerations and several areas of blunt force trauma were observed by investigators on Son's body along with paint poured on his face.
A search of the cell found numerous blood-like splatters in the cell along with a "smiley face" drawn in blood on the wall, the report states.
The affidavit states Furr told investigators during an interview that Son attacked him with a wood block object and that he acted in self-defense and Furr used a "homemade sharpened instrument" made of plastic to stab Son multiple times before he stopped moving.
Furr then told investigators he placed Son's body onto the lower bunk and laid a bible next to him and "lit up and smoked a marijuana cigarette" before a correctional officer ordered him to be placed into restraints at the door, the affidavit states.
The report states Furr admitted to pouring paint on Son's face during the fight and drawing the smiley face on the wall in blood after the incident occurred and flushing the homemade weapon down the toilet.
An autopsy of Son showed the man was stabbed more than 50 times and "findings consistent of strangulation" along with two bite marks on the man's arm, the report states.
Records show neither the Choctaw Nation nor the federal government have filed charges against Furr as of Thursday.
Contact Derrick James at djames@mcalesternews.com
