OSP inmate charged with murder sentenced to federal prison
Apr. 16—An Oklahoma State Penitentiary inmate who admitted to stabbing his cell mate more than 50 times was sentenced to federal prison after accepting a plea agreement.
Austin Furr, 23, of Glenpool, was serving a five-year sentence at the McAlester prison when he was charged in state court for the death of his cellmate, 62-year-old Dong Son, in 2021.
Furr was indicted in the Eastern District of Oklahoma on a charge of second-degree murder in Indian Country after his state charge of first-degree murder was dismissed due to Furr's status as a Native American and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in McGirt.
After notice was filed in October 2023 by Furr's defense stating an intent to plead guilty, federal prosecutors charged Furr by information with voluntary manslaughter in Indian Country.
The information states Furr acting "upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion, did knowingly kill D.S."
Furr formally pleaded guilty in October 2023 to the manslaughter charge during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Muskogee.
U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White sentenced Furr to serve 80 months in a federal prison with three years of supervised release.
Along with the prison sentence, Furr is ordered to participate in drug/alcohol programs along with successfully participating in a mental health treatment program.
The guilty plea came three months after a federal judge ruled Furr was competent to stand trial after attorneys for Furr argued the man was diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses and was prescribed medication that was not being taken properly at the time of the incident.
An affidavit in the murder case states investigators with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General were called to OSP on Sept. 26, 2021, for a report of an "inmate on inmate homicide."
According to the report, investigators saw multiple lacerations and several areas of blunt force trauma on Son's body along with paint poured on his face.
Oklahoma Department of Corrections records show Son was serving a life-sentence without parole for the 1989 shooting death of an Oklahoma City business owner.
A search of the cell revealed numerous blood-like splatters along with a "smiley face" drawn in blood on the wall, the report states.
The affidavit states Furr told investigators during an interview that Son attacked him with a wood block object and that he acted in self-defense and Furr used a "homemade sharpened instrument" made of plastic to stab Son multiple times before he stopped moving.
An autopsy of Son showed the man was stabbed more than 50 times and "findings consistent of strangulation" along with two bite marks on the man's arm, the report states.
Furr's attorney wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Furr's current incarceration is already helping him make better decisions in his life.
"Being locked up has already per the pre-sentence report had an influence on the defendant to make him decide to finish his schooling and in the future work toward helping others that so they may not follow his path," the attorney wrote. "These goals as well as the punishment under the guidelines would protect the public from further crimes."
