Advocates for Criminal Justice Reform in Utah
The Utah Prisoner Advocate Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and 100% volunteer grassroots community outreach organization that aims to simplify the incarceration process for the inmates’ supporters—while also advocating for better conditions inside Utah jails and prisons. We do this primarily by educating the public through monthly support meetings and newsletters, an open dialogue with the Utah Department of Corrections / county jail administrations, legislative advocacy, guest speakers, coalition forming, and a shared network of useful resources. Instead of membership, our network constituents are formed by volunteers, criminal justice advocates, industry professionals, expert advisors, coalition organizations, formerly incarcerated individuals, and over 1,000 Utah families of the incarcerated and growing.Our Mission Our Organizers Media Inquiries
Join the UPAN Family Support Group on Facebook
We’ve formed a private family support group as a safe place to ask questions, get advice and emotional support from people that know what you’re going through.
- Invaluable resource for those who are new to the criminal justice system in Utah
- Network with UPAN Directors, advocates, and other families of incarcerated loved ones
- Ask questions and get advice
- Moral support from others who’ve experienced the same type of issues and situations
- Formerly incarcerated individuals trying to get back on their feet and looking for resources
- Discussions on criminal justice reform issues
- News, updates, and much more
Join Our Support Group
Join Our UPAN Volunteers / Committees Working Group
Latest News
'Dead Man Walking,' An Emotional Look At Death Row, Opens Met Opera Season
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'Dead Man Walking,' An Emotional Look At Death Row, Opens Met Opera Season
www.barrons.com
It's been three decades since Sister Helen Prejean entered the public eye for her memoir "Dead Man Walking," a recounting of her relationship with a death row inmate whose execution she witnessed.- Likes: 2
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Seventeenth-Century Supermax: The Origins of Solitary Confinement
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Seventeenth-Century Supermax: The Origins of Solitary Confinement
solitarywatch.org
The Malefizhaus prison in what is today Germany was used to hold the victims of a bloody witch-hunt in torturous isolation.
Evangelical Pastor Rich Nathan Discusses How a “Culture of Life” Informs His Opposition to the Death Penalty
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deathpenaltyinfo.org
Evangelical Pastor Rich Nathan Discusses How a “Culture of Life” Informs His Opposition to the Death Penalty
Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $200 Million To Support Youth Mental Health
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Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $200 Million To Support Youth Mental Health
www.hhs.gov
$200 Million for youth mental health
Why Thousands Of Prisoners Could Be Spared Because Of A Supreme Court Case Over The Word ‘And’
www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/09/25/why-thousands-of-prisoners-could-be-spared-because-o...
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Why Thousands Of Prisoners Could Be Spared Because Of A Supreme Court Case Over The Word ‘And’
www.forbes.com
The court will hear the case when its new term begins next week.
'Marking Time' exhibit takes on US mass incarceration
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'Marking Time' exhibit takes on US mass incarceration
www.rawstory.com
The image in the window announcing the Schomburg Center's current art exhibition holds a sad resonance to many who pass it in New York's Harlem neighborhood.The piece by Larry Cook shows a Black man with his back to the camera in a pose and composition evocative of a prison waiting area in the momen...
An incarcerated individual has died after he was found unresponsive in his cell at the Central Utah Correctional Facility on Sunday, according to officials.
More info: corrections.utah.gov/2023/09/24/state-officials-investigating-death-of-an-incarcerated-individual...
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Central Utah prison inmate found dead; Facility placed on lockdown
www.fox13now.com
A convicted sex offender at the Central Utah Correctional Facility died Sunday, according to the Department of Corrections.
To ensure incarcerated individuals receive necessary medical help, including prescriptions, the following steps need to be taken:
1. Inmate Care Request (ICR): The inmate should fill out an ICR, available in every unit. If unavailable, they can request a correctional officer to print one or use plain paper, detailing their information, the reason for the request, and the date. The completed ICR should be placed in the “sick-call box” or handed to medical personnel during pill line, accessible twice a day. Clinical staff should check this box daily.
2. Follow-up on Unanswered ICRs: If no response is received, family can call the medical line at 801-522-7293 for both prisons, leaving relevant details. If there’s no call back within 24 hours, call again.
3. Email Contact: If medical care is still not received post-ICR submission, email Jade Watkin at [email protected] with relevant details and concerns.
If all above steps are followed with no resolution, contact UPAN MedTeam at [email protected], detailing all attempts made and issues still unresolved. Inmates should keep records of their ICR submissions, including dates and times.
Ensure that inmates have completed the "Medical Information Release" form, available during intake or upon request, to authorize information sharing. This form needs to be notarized by the caseworker and submitted to the Division of Correctional Health Services. Authorization can be revoked by the inmate at any time.
Please confirm your inmate's Emergency Contact person. If it’s not you, you will not be notified in case of an emergency. Continue advocating; we are here to support you.
For more information, visit: dhhs.utah.gov/chs/
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Can restorative justice break the cycle of mass incarceration?
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Can restorative justice break the cycle of mass incarceration? - The Boston Globe
www.bostonglobe.com
A growing number of programs are bringing healing and resolution to victims and perpetrators alike.
1 in 4 inmate deaths happens in the same federal prison. Why?
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1 in 4 inmate deaths happens in the same federal prison. Why?
www.npr.org
The Butner federal prison complex in North Carolina is where a quarter of federal inmate deaths occur. It includes a medical facility but inmates aren't getting needed care, there or at other prisons.
For those attempting to schedule visits at USCF Green this weekend, they were in lockdown due to a scabies outbreak. Here is the latest information from an email communication earlier today. More information is available at: corrections.utah.gov/visit-an-inmate/ ... See MoreSee Less
Opinion: Our heroes aren’t in Washington — they’re in our neighborhoods. Do you want to see the character of the American people? Don’t look to Washington, D.C., or Hollywood. Look to our neighbors, church members, co-workers and teammates. ... See MoreSee Less

Opinion: Our heroes aren’t in Washington — they’re in our neighborhoods
www.deseret.com
Do you want to see the character of the American people? Don’t look to Washington, D.C., or Hollywood. Look to our neighbors, church members, co-workers and teammates
50 Years and a Wake Up: Ending The Mass Incarceration Crisis In America. The campaign raises awareness about the dire state of the U.S. criminal legal system, the devastating impact of incarceration on communities and families, and proposes more effective crime prevention strategies for our country. Fifty years ago, the United States embarked on a path of mass incarceration that has led to a staggering increase in the prison population. Today, almost 2 million individuals – disproportionately Black Americans – are incarcerated in our nation’s prisons and jails. The prison population has grown 500% since 1973, the year America began to sharply increase its prison population.
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50 Years and a Wake Up: Ending The Mass Incarceration Crisis In America – The Sentencing Project
www.sentencingproject.org
2023 marks 50 years of mass incarceration in the U.S. This campaign will bring awareness about the dire state of U.S. criminal legal system.
An outbreak of scabies in a section of the Utah State Correctional Facility will close some areas to visitors and quarantine inmates in the infected unit.
Reported cases are currently in Green, a dorm-style housing unit where incarcerated individuals receive sex offense or substance abuse treatment. At least 57 people have been confirmed to have scabies. Visitation to this unit of the prison is temporarily closed.
Nurses with the Division of Correctional Health Services are providing treatment, including the prescription cream permethrin, to everyone suspected or confirmed to have scabies. Clothing and bedding from those confirmed or suspected of being infected will be washed with a disinfectant solution and other areas of the state prison will be cleaned to prevent further spread. Inmates and staff will also receive education about the hygienic steps needed to protect themselves and others from scabies.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, scabies is an infestation of the skin by the human itch mite. The microscopic scabies mite burrows into the upper layer of the skin where it lives and lays its eggs. The most common symptoms of scabies are intense itching and a pimple-like skin rash. The scabies mite usually is spread by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies. More information is available from a CDC fact sheet.
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USCF inmates receiving treatment for scabies - Utah Department of Corrections
corrections.utah.gov
An outbreak of scabies in a section of the Utah State Correctional Facility will close some areas to visitors and quarantine inmates in the infected unit. Reported cases are currently in Green, a dorm-style housing unit where incarcerated individuals receive sex offense or substance abuse treatment....
Scabies outbreak quarantines Utah prison inmates, closes area to visitors
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Scabies outbreak quarantines Utah prison inmates, closes area to visitors | Gephardt Daily
gephardtdaily.com
Some inmates have been quarantined following a scabies outbreak at the Utah State Correctional Facility that has closed a section of the prison to visitors.
A prison medical company faced lawsuits from incarcerated people. Then it went ‘bankrupt.’ The prison giant Corizon spun off a new company, which could allow it to pay pennies on the dollar for medical malpractice and civil rights claims.
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A prison medical company faced lawsuits from incarcerated people. Then it went ‘bankrupt.’
www.usatoday.com
The prison giant Corizon spun off a new company, which could allow it to pay pennies on the dollar for medical malpractice and civil rights claims.
This web-only report provides preliminary statistics on key items from the annual prison data collection. Statistics include all prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities and those sentenced to more than 1 year under the same authorities from 2012 to 2022. Final statistics will be published in the report, Prisoners in 2022 – Statistical Tables.
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Prisons Report Series: Preliminary Data Release
bjs.ojp.gov
This web-only report provides preliminary statistics on key items from the annual prison data collection. Statistics include all prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities and those sentenced to more than 1 year under the same authorities from 2012 to 2022. Final....
Glynn Simmons Exonerated 48 Years After He Was Sentenced to Death in Oklahoma
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Glynn Simmons Exonerated 48 Years After He Was Sentenced to Death in Oklahoma
deathpenaltyinfo.org
Glynn Simmons, who was convicted and sentenced to death in Oklahoma in 1975, has been exonerated after Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna dropped charges against him. Simmons was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers and wounding of another woman at a…