A federal jury in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, convicted Paula Kelley, a former detention deputy at Garvin County Jail, on one count of deprivation of rights under color of law in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242 [1]. The conviction arose from Kelley's deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of Kayla Turley, a pretrial detainee in Garvin County's custody, whose condition deteriorated and who ultimately died [1]. The case was prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma [1].
Kelley's conviction was the product of a broader accountability investigation targeting six Garvin County Jail detention officers in connection with Turley's death [1]. The remaining five officers resolved their exposure before trial, each entering guilty pleas for their respective roles in the same course of conduct [1]. Kelley alone proceeded to verdict, and the jury returned its finding on June 12, 2026 [1].
Section 242, the federal criminal civil rights statute under which Kelley was charged, requires proof that a government actor, acting under color of law, willfully deprived a person of a federally protected right [1]. The government's theory at trial was that Kelley's indifference to Turley's serious medical needs crossed from negligence into the willful disregard that the statute targets, a standard courts have applied to conditions-of-confinement claims rooted in the Due Process Clause [1].
Sentencing has not yet been scheduled, and no sentencing date was reported in available sources [1]. Under 18 U.S.C. § 242, the offense carries an enhanced statutory maximum because the victim suffered bodily injury and death, which elevates the potential term above the baseline [1]. No post-trial motions or notice of appeal had been publicly filed as of the Justice Department's June 15, 2026, announcement [1].