Five Lawton Prison Inmates Indicted in Four Separate Assaults Over the Past Year

Five inmates at the Lawton prison have been indicted in connection with four separate violent assaults behind bars over the past year, and felony arrest warrants were issued Thursday in Comanche County District Court. The charges include a two-on-one stabbing on August 31, 2025 involving Devon Javon Bowman and Ryquan Devonne Hopgood; a scalding and butter-knife stabbing in October attributed to Xavier Hunter; a 13-stab attack on July 13 attributed to Glendell Lee; and a March 3 assault in which Skylor Kirkland is accused of punching a corrections officer in the face twice. Security video reportedly captured portions of several of the incidents.

The investigations into all four cases predate the facility’s July 17 renaming from Red Rock Correctional Center to James Smith Correctional Center, so the cases are being prosecuted under a new name but a familiar roof. For Lawton, an Army town full of Fort Sill families and corrections staff who live right here in the community, prison safety is not an abstract issue. Every one of these incidents involves someone with a name, a record, and a family on the outside.

Prosecutors will now move forward with the cases in Comanche County. What comes next, in terms of sentencing and facility oversight, is something the community will be watching. What questions do you have about safety and staffing at the James Smith Correctional Center? Let us know in the comments.