There's been a media frenzy over the past few days about a current hunger strike happening at the Utah State Prison. UPAN organizers have been hard at work fielding questions and interviews with reporters on the matter as well as gathering the facts. On Friday, July 31st a group of 42 inmates housed at the maximum-security Uinta 2 facility at the Utah State Prison refused … [Read more...]
A Proposal for Meaningful Reform
During our June 8th UPAN Monthly Meeting held at the Hunter Library in West Valley City, our guest speaker Miriam Greenland and her husband shared their experience with the Utah criminal justice system and the proactive steps they've taken to advocate reform. She also covered methods of evidence-based computerized assessments other state board of pardons are using to form … [Read more...]
Pepper Spray, Beating Led to Prisoner’s Death – KUTV 2 News
Interview with UPAN's Molly Prince about a terrible inmate death at Utah State Prison. According to the medical examiner, a large amount of pepper spray used on two fighting inmates at the Utah State Prison contributed to the death of one of them. Advocates for prison safety say policies need to be changed. Source: Pepper spray, beating led to prisoner's death - KUTV … [Read more...]
UPAN ACTION/CHANGE Priorities for 2015
First introduced at our January 12th monthly meeting, the following is the UPAN Action/Change Priorities for FY2015. Inmate Placement Program (IPP) and County Jails Board of Pardons and Parole Sex Offender Population Ontracting with County Jails – “Inmate Placement Program” Currently, the Department of Corrections sends about a quarter of state prison inmates … [Read more...]
CJ Updates: Prison, Parole Board and Police…Oh My!
Happy Friday, everyone....(and sorry about that smog, ugh!). A few quick updates for you to end this week. These are mainly reminders about on-going issues in Utah's criminal justice system - they just keep cropping up. There's the prison, of course! News about the relocation effort is coming hard and fast now that the legislative session is nearly upon us. Mainly, the news … [Read more...]