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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Following a series of deaths at Utah jails, authorities are reversing course and releasing secret operating standards to the public.
The Standard-Examiner in Ogden reports the Utah Sheriffs' Association said Friday they'll release the bulk of the current standards and write new ones that will be completely public.
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics data shows Utah leads the country in jail deaths per capita, but the state has previously said they can't release the guidelines because they belong to the private consultant who created them.
Sheriffs' Association Executive Director Aaron Kennard says the consultant, Gary DeLand, will now redact his trade secrets from the 600 jail standards. The documents will then be posted online, a process that could take several months.
Kennard says he wants the standards to be transparent.
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Mom files lawsuit over daughter's death in Davis County Jail
Cythina Stella knows that if officers or nurses at the Davis County Jail had checked on her daughter every 15 minutes, or even every 30 minutes, she would be alive today.Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
