If you ask Rep. Mike Christian about the Oklahoma County jail, the local politician likely will call it “a tower of terror.”
With a description like that, we at Chicken-Fried News instantly imagined that spooky elevator ride at Disney World rather than downtown Oklahoma City’s 13-story detention center.
You know, the one where riders are seated in an elevator that hurtles them up and down through a haunted Twilight Zone.
Maybe we’ve spent too much time at Disney World.
Regardless, we don’t actually think Christian believes the jail is haunted or resembles an amusement park ride, but he does feel the place is due for a makeover.
Christian made it clear he was the one to deliver a redo on the jail during the Sept. 22 Oklahoma County sheriff debate, according to coverage from NewsOK.com.
Christian is the Republican in the sheriff’s race facing Sheriff John Whetsel, a Democrat from Choctaw.
“The Oklahoma County jail is a mess. It is a nightmare,” NewsOK.com quoted Christian. “And you know who’s responsible? My opponent. He’s 100 percent responsible. … He doesn’t care. … Enough is enough. He needs to retire and go home.”
While Christian, who lives in south Oklahoma City, painted a bleak picture of the current sheriff’s department and jail, Whetsel focused on his experience in the seat and personal mission to make the county safer, NewsOK.com reported.
Print headline: Jail hyperbole
This article appears in Sep 28 – Oct 4, 2016.