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Utah Department of Corrections gives 74 cases a second look after mishandled evidence prompts a record request review

In a review of almost 3,000 record requests, the Utah Department of Corrections (DOC) identified 74 cases that needed a closer look to ensure they were handled appropriately, a spokeswoman said Sunday.

Attorneys for killer Steven Douglas Crutcher recently found that the department had withheld nearly 1,600 pages of medical records, even after 6th District Judge Wallace Lee had ordered that they be turned over, prompting the review. In Crutcher’s case, the discovery led prosecutors to withdraw their intent to seek the death penalty and he instead was sentenced in March to a prison term of life without parole.