United States of America v. Kalup Allen Born

Muskogee, Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with first-degee murder in Indian Country.



December 2020, the Pontotoc Country Justice Center in Ada, Oklahoma incarcerated Defendant in its segregated disciplinary pod. Other inmates knew B.J., another prisoner in the pod, as mouthy and disrespectful. Inmates in this pod get one recreation hour outside of their cell three times a week. Only one inmate at a time may leave his cell to use his recreation time.



On December 14, 2020, B.J. spent one of his recreation hours meandering in and out of the shower and attempting to flood the pod. B.J. also "bark[ed] something at the [prison] camera,” "flipped somebody off,” and walked around the pod naked.

Towards the end of his hour, an officer ordered B.J. back to his cell several times, and B.J. refused to comply. When the officer believed that B.J. finally returned to his cell, the officer allowed Defendant to start his recreation hour. Unfortunately, B.J. was still in the shower. When Defendant saw B.J. and asked what he was doing, B.J. yelled at him: "Fuck you, this is—I run this pod, I am God in this place, you can't do shit. You are a bitch anyways. I can do whatever . . . .” B.J. repeated that "he was God” and continued "saying . . . [Defendant's] punk ass [couldn]'t do anything anyways.”



Defendant became very angry, felt like B.J.'s words were "a slap in the face,” and believed that he needed to respond. According to Defendant, if "everybody in the jail sees that [interaction] and you don't do nothing,” it would "be bad for you.” So when B.J. left the shower and walked towards the pod's common area, Defendant walked up behind B.J. and sucker punched him. B.J. fell to the ground, and Defendant stomped on the back of B.J.'s head until he lost consciousness. Video

footage shows Defendant stomped on B.J.'s head twenty-seven times, and that at various points Defendant walked away only to return and resume attacking him. As B.J. laid face-down and unconscious on the floor, Defendant returned to his cell.

Five days later, B.J. died of the blunt-force head trauma.

The Defendant was convicted of voluntary manslaughter.



He was sentenced to 121 months in prison.



Affirmed