A recent expose in this paper illuminated the extent of the inmate mistreatment in the Daggett County jail. And it’s bad.
We knew in February that problems existed; the state abruptly transferred 80 inmates out of the county jail for “inappropriate behavior.” We even knew by May that employees of the Daggett County Sheriff’s Office had been involved in “unbelievably inhumane conduct,” as Attorney General Sean Reyes said.
But now we know even more. Now we know that inmates were “scared all the time.” Inmate Dustin Porter had nightmares of an attack dog lunging at him. Inmate Josh Olsen had to wear long-sleeve shirts to cover up marks made by a stun gun. Inmate Josh Asay had a gun pointed at his face as the officer laughed. They, along with five more of their fellow inmates, were bullied, threatened and ridiculed regularly, from May 2015 until state officials moved them in February 2016.
Inmates credit volunteer drug and alcohol counselor, and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jerry Steglich, with bringing the issue to Department of Corrections officials’ attention. Steglich forwarded a letter he received from an inmate to his ecclesiastical leader, who forwarded it on to the church’s Salt Lake City headquarters, who then contacted the Department of Corrections.
Steglich said that if the state had been doing its job with regular check-ins and interviews, officials could have stopped the abuse much sooner.
The abuse in question was an established pattern of conduct. Nothing justifies it – not humor or boredom or power. Inmates lived in constant fear of officers who were entrusted with their care and their safety.
Former Daggett County Sheriff Jerry Jorgensen and three ex-deputies have pleaded guilty to various criminal charges. But what about other inmates, in other jails? How can the state be sure this isn’t happening elsewhere?
We recently argued that jail standards should be public to protect inmate safety. The case in Daggett County illustrates why. According to the most recent report available by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, more inmates died in Utah jails in 2014 than in any other state. Inmate safety is a problem in Utah.
Many county jails in Utah use standards created by former corrections director Gary DeLand. DeLand refuses to disclose his standards to the public, or even to legislators studying prison safety. He claims his standards are protected proprietary information.
If county jails are using standards they don’t want disclosed for litigation purposes, then there is a problem with the standards.
It’s time for the Legislature to mandate minimum standards to ensure inmate safety. Because right now, Utah inmates are not safe.