The Utah prison relocation is a mess, thanks in no small part to the corrupt and inept leadership of the Utah Legislature.
Legislators wanted the Draper prison property for commercial and residential real estate development. They forced the change down our throats, ignoring citizen preferences, quality of life issues and the economic consequences to Utah taxpayers.
Last week, the executive director of the Utah Department of Corrections spoke to a legislative subcommittee telling them that inmate growth over the past 18 months has reached levels that are “simply not sustainable.” Additionally, he said that Utah’s prison population growth rate is among the highest in the nation and that recent criminal justice reform efforts aimed at diverting adult and juvenile offenders to alternative programs have failed.