Prison News | Utah

• Education & Rehabilitation
• Executions, Death Row, & the Death Penalty
• Gangs in Prison
• Health & Medical Treatment
• Prison Classification, Placement, and Release
• Prison Conditions & Corruption
• Prison Life & Prison Culture
• Riots, Lockdowns & Escapes
• Suicides in Prison
• Workplace & Industry News and Science & Tech

Education & Rehabilitation

• For Salt Lake County inmates, fresh produce means a fresh start
  
  When Kevin Long and George Raska talk about their daily routine, they interrupt each other with excitement. They mention the sunshine, the healthy food, the educational opportunities, the trust -- not exactly what you'd expect to hear from ......[more]
  Salt Lake Tribune, Friday, July 5, 2013
  
  

Executions, Death Row & the Death Penalty

Gangs in Prison

• Gang member shot, killed after lunging at court witness
  
  Siale Maveni Angilau — aka "C-Down" — was shot multiple times in the chest. He was reportedly still breathing when he was taken away in an ambulance, but he died in the early afternoon at a local hospital....[more]
  Deseret News, Tuesday, April 22, 2014
  
  
• Millerberg back in prison after being stabbed
  
  DRAPER, Utah (AP) - Eric Millerberg, accused in the death of 16-year-old Alexis Rasmussen, was stabbed multiple times Monday night in the Utah State Prison. Investigators suspect Millerberg's cellmate in the stabbing, as Millerberg was in his cell when he was.....[more]
  Associated Press, Wednesday, July 3, 2013
  
  
• White supremacist who killed his children's babysitter with an overdose of heroin gets stabbed in the back by his cellmate
  
  Eric Millerberg, from Utah, a member of the Silent Arayan Warriors, was stabbed by a fellow gang-member and cellmate on Monday * Millerberg is awaiting trial for the murder of Alexis Rasmussen who died from drug overdose after having sex with...[more]
  Mail Online, Wednesday, July 3, 2013
  
  
• GPS tracking of offenders
  
  Utah firm's TrackerPAL sets 'invisible fence' ...[more]
  Deseret News , Sunday, June 3, 2007
  
  

Health & Medical Treatment

Prison Classification, Placement, & Release

• Davis jail stops charging inmates rent after judge's ruling, but others still do
  
  FARMINGTON — First you're sent to jail. And then you have to pay jail officials for housing you.

  In 2007, Utah lawmakers gave local jails that authority, under certain conditions, in what's now called the Pay for Stay program. Several adult detention facilities in the state charge inmates for their time behind bars....[more]

  Deseret News, Monday, April 21, 2014
  
  
• But will the jury be convinced? Tattooed white supremacist who 'injected his 16-year-old baby sitter with a fatal dose of heroin and meth' has incredible courtroom makeover for first day of trial
  
  A racist heroin addict accused of killing his 16-year-old babysitter with a drug overdose arrived in court today in Utah almost unrecognizable from his first unkempt appearance in 2012....[more]
  Mail Online, Thursday, February 13, 2014
  
  
• Utah sex offender policy in spotlight as numbers soar
  
  A dramatic increase in the number of sex offenders incarcerated in Utah over nearly two decades is raising questions about how the state deals with such crimes and concerns about whether all inmates are able to get needed treatment before ......[more]
  Salt Lake Tribune, Tuesday, September 3, 2013
  
  
• Utah counties offer to take more prison inmates
  
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Officials from Utah counties say they can absorb more state inmates as officials consider relocating the state prison....[more]
  Associated Press, Saturday, August 10, 2013
  
  
• Board studying relocation of Utah prison opts to start collecting bids
  
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A committee studying the relocation of Utah's state prison is getting ready to request bids from developers. The Utah State Prison occupies 700 acres in Draper near companies such as Adobe and Microsoft Corp....[more]
  Associated Press, Monday, August 5, 2013
  
  
• At a glance: A look at how Utah handles electronic monitoring of offenders
  
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The state of Utah only sparingly tracks released prisoners using electronic ankle monitors. Utah Department of Corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke says they are occasionally used for higher-profile offenders. In April, ......[more]
  Associated Press, Sunday, July 28, 2013
  
  
• English-only rule for visits scrapped at prisons in Utah, the only US state with restriction
  
  SALT LAKE CITY _ Prisoners in the state of Utah will be allowed to talk with visitors in Spanish or any other language they want now that a long-standing English-only rule has been scrapped....[more]
  The Canadian Press, Wednesday, July 10, 2013
  
  

Prison Conditions & Corruption

• Woman's death in jail under investigation
  
  A Holladay woman died Sunday morning in jail, less than a week after her arrest. Police are trying to figure out what happened. A Salt Lake County Jail worker discovered Alexa Hamme, 25, unresponsive in her cell about 5:20 a.m., according to......[more]
  Salt Lake Tribune, Thursday, July 4, 2013
  
  
• Millerberg back in prison after being stabbed
  
  DRAPER, Utah (AP) - Eric Millerberg, accused in the death of 16-year-old Alexis Rasmussen, was stabbed multiple times Monday night in the Utah State Prison. Investigators suspect Millerberg's cellmate in the stabbing, as Millerberg was in his cell when he was.....[more]
  Associated Press, Wednesday, July 3, 2013
  
  
• Prisons officials deny Swallow accuser faced retaliation
  
  Two top officials with the Utah Department of Corrections on Wednesday denied an inmate's allegations of retaliation for speaking publicly about his interactions with Utah Attorney General John Swallow and his predecessor, Mark Shurtleff....[more]
  Salt Lake Tribune, Friday, June 21, 2013
  
  

Prison Life & Culture

• New group aims to help Utah prison inmates’ families network - Navigating system often frustrates friends and loved ones.
  
  When a friend or loved one ends up in prison, it's a grueling experience for all involved as the inmate and his or her supporters try to adjust to the rules, regulations and restrictions of a life separated by bars....[more]
  Salt Lake Tribune, Friday, August 23, 2013
  
  
• Utah prison volunteers get a night of food, music and praise
  
  Peter Asiamah said when he learned that 80 percent of inmates who participate in religious programs at the state's prisons manage to not return, it confirmed that his years of volunteer service were worth the effort....[more]
  Salt Lake Tribune, Monday, June 3, 2013
  
  

Riots, Lockdowns & Escapes

Suicides in Prison

• Attorney: Utah prison murder meant to look like suicide
  
  When 62-year-old Rolando Cardona-Gueton was found dead April 20 in his cell at the prison in Gunnison on, it looked like he may have committed suicide....[more]
  Salt Lake Tribune, Friday, September 27, 2013
  
  

Workplace & Industry News, and Science & Tech News

• Jail officials hope new body scanners will cut back on contraband
  
  SOUTH SALT LAKE — The image is quite clear.

  The X-ray quality picture showed that hidden inside the inmate's body was a knife. It's something that likely would have gone undetected if not for a new body imaging machine....[more]

  Deseret News, Thursday, September 25, 2014
  
  
• Legislative audit shows sample of fugitives, inmates wrongly receive welfare
  
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A new report says hundreds of Utah fugitives and inmates are receiving public assistance despite generally being barred from receiving those benefits....[more]
  Associated Press, Monday, July 8, 2013
  
  
• Man at the center of '88 standoff at polygamous compound to be released from prison Tuesday
  
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - After 25 years, the man who triggered a 13-day standoff at a Utah polygamous compound that ended with the death of a corrections officer will be released from prison Tuesday......[more]
  Associated Press, Sunday, July 7, 2013
  
  
• GPS tracking of offenders
  
  Utah firm's TrackerPAL sets 'invisible fence' ...[more]
  Deseret News , Sunday, June 3, 2007