Convicted Douglas County felon sentenced for attempting to traffic a makeshift weapon in jail

Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez today announced that Isaiah J. Duckworth, 36, of Lawrence, was sentenced to 19 months for attempting to traffic contraband while incarcerated at the Douglas County Correctional Facility.

“Contraband poses grave dangers to correctional officers, staff and every person in custody,” District Attorney Valdez said. “Those who threaten the safety and security inside our facilities must be held accountable. We owe this to all those who work outside the public’s view every day to make our community safer.”

Judge Sally Pokorny sentenced Duckworth, who pleaded no contest in February, to 19 months that would consecutively to a case Duckworth currently faces in California. The sentencing will run concurrently to the 79 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections that Duckworth was sentenced to on July 21, 2023, for two convictions in the aggravated sexual battery of a Lawrence teen.

Charges in the contraband case stemmed from an incident that occurred on July 18, 2023, when corrections officers found, among Duckworth’s clothing, an eating utensil that had been sharpened into a makeshift weapon. Duckworth had been in custody at the time awaiting sentencing for his aggravated sexual battery convictions. 

Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden represented the State of Kansas. The case was investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.