26 Mar

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In collaboration with the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, and support from the Utah Governor’s Office, the Utah Department of Corrections is initiating some early releases to create capacity within correctional facilities as confirmed cases of COVID-19 increase throughout the state. At this time there are no confirmed cases within the UDC facilities among either staff or inmates. The Utah Department of Corrections (UDC) is making referrals to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole (BOPP) for release of incarcerated individuals, who are already within 90 days of their scheduled release date and have an approved address. "The Board shares the heightened concerns of advocates, loved ones and corrections professionals for the health and safety of incarcerated and community-based offenders during the current COVID-19 outbreak,” said Dennis Moxon, director of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. “Board staff are working closely with UDC to identify incarcerated persons whose early release would not jeopardize their successful completion of evidence-based programming or compromise public safety.” Regardless of the approach applied, decisions in all Board matters will continue to be made available through the Board’s online hearing decisions search function at https://bop.utah.gov/index.php/hearings-top-public-menu/search-hearings. Notice of the Board’s final decisions in these matters will also be issued as Board Disposition Orders, which will be forwarded to each offender through their UDC Case Manager. At this time, approximately 80 referrals for these cases have been made to the BOPP by the UDC, and it’s anticipated that more will be released over the next month. From there, UDC and BOPP will collaborate to evaluate the situation and whether the process needs to be continued. Any individuals granted release through these reviews have already been granted release dates and would otherwise be released to the community within the next few weeks. “Our staff are dedicated to ensuring public safety, and have been working in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Utah Governor’s recommendations in order to release offenders safely, and provide a secure and healthy environment for those we supervise,” said Mike Haddon, executive director for the Utah Department of Corrections. “We’re working through an evolving situation, and we will continue to reevaluate our processes as the situation develops.” These releases will begin April 2, and in a continued effort to limit the size of gatherings, release days will now be held twice a week with COVID-19 prevention protocols in place. Other efforts by UDC in collaboration with BOPP and the Utah District Courts include revisiting the supervision of low-risk offenders on probation or parole and those who may have earned early termination by statute or guidelines to determine if they qualify for early release. Additionally, we continue to review protocols related to releases of offenders from Community Correctional Centers who meet certain criteria, which include evaluating public safety risk, having an approved address, and completing sufficient programming if a condition of their supervision. The Board of Pardons and Parole is also making efforts to respond to COVID-19. For more details on those efforts, please visit their website. To find out if an offender has a scheduled release date, please utilize the search decisions function on the BOPP website at bop.utah.gov.   March 26, 2020...

30 Jan

Posted at 10:00h in News Archives
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Denise Druce leads inmates in a Yoga class in the Wasatch gym at Utah State Prison.   As the two dozen or so men put their bodies into positions that for some may feel awkward or unnatural, Denise Druse reminds them – constantly – to forget what many learned as young athletes. “Don’t push through the pain!” she calls out, repeating the mantra over and over. (She concedes later that the sentiment is “very prevalent in this gym.”) Her voice easily carries in the vaulted, antiquated building, lit primarily by pale winter light streaming through a bank of windows raised high above the floor. They are surrounded by the usual accessories found in such places: weights, exercise machines – and correctional officers standing watch. This is yoga, prison style. “Power yoga,” says Druce, who began the program just five weeks ago in the Wasatch section of the Utah State Prison. “At first, I started to bust their tails to get their attention. Now, I’m dialing it back. But they bring that same intensity to soft yoga.” Druce operates Yoga Assets, which trains yoga instructors. She is also president of YogaForward.org, a non-profit that is sponsoring 10 inmates at the facility to become class leaders. The program follows a similar one she has been teaching for several years at the Timpanogos Womens Facility located less than a mile down the road. But while the programs are similar, Druse says the students are not. Once the class starts at Wasatch, there is no chatter among the attendees. No easy smiles. While following Druce’s admonition to listen to their bodies, the participants are laser focused on their tasks. The room is nearly silent, a shift from the usual squeak of sneakers during basketball or the clanging of weights on the floor. When Druce rings two tiny chimes at the end of the session, they fill the room with sound. And yet, many say that it is a positive environment and at the end of the class, they feel a change. “Someone invited me (to the class), and afterwards, I felt different the rest of the day,” says Erik Harding. “So, I kept coming back.” For Rodney Liti, it was a chance to expand his workout routine – at first. “I wanted to find an alternative way to exercise and get stretched out,” he says. And now? “I feel more in tune, more balanced spiritually, emotionally and physically. I love this class.”   Public Information Office, Jan. 30, 2020 ...

27 Dec

Posted at 10:00h in News Archives
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There are gingerbread houses. Then there are gingerbread stories. These are the latter. Two massive gingerbread houses were created by inmates in the Timpanogos Womens Facility’s culinary program. Each reflected a story – one of toys and one of the season. The theme for the first house was based on the quartet of “Toy Story” movies. It featured characters from the films, including Woody, Buzz and Jessie. The characters were disbursed around an exquisitely detailed carnival-like setting similar to one featured in “Toy Story 4.” The second was a gingerbread creche. It highlighted a manger surrounded by wise men and animals, detailed down to small pots and jars. The creations were shown to the public at the Festival of Trees.                                   Public Information Office, Dec. 27, 2019...

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