An Oklahoma prison inmate has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of his cellmate.
The Oklahoman reports that 40-year-old Rodney Harty was charged on Wednesday in Cleveland County District Court in the January death of 44-year-old Erick Shane Kitchell. Online court records don't indicate whether Harty is represented by an attorney.
Prosecutors say Harty is accused of hitting Kitchell on Jan. 2 at the Lexington Correctional Center, knocking him into a cement wall. Kitchell was found unconscious in his cell and was taken to Norman Regional Hospital, where he died on Jan. 5.
Oklahoma Department of Corrections records indicate that Harty was serving time for convictions in Choctaw County that include drug trafficking, distribution of a controlled dangerous substance near a park and possession of a firearm.