Could something good come from the spotlight put on deaths in Utah jails and the lawsuits that have followed? A Utah lawmaker is hoping so. Speaking with KSL news, Representative Carol Spackman Mass explained that this spotlight is showing how much is asked of workers in the jails who have very limited resources to begin with. A committee that was tracking jail deaths in Utah reported that between 2013 and 2017 more than half of the 71 inmates that died were those that took their own life. Half of those deaths occurred in the first seven days in jail. Representative Moss is hoping to prevent such deaths. Through conversations with rural jails she says that her understanding is that there is not a malice or even neglect but rather a lack of resources, including a greater understanding that officers are not mental health professionals. She told members of a legislative panel at the Utah State Capitol that she plans to co-sponsor a bill that would provide technology in jails for a video feed for inmates to talk to trained mental health professionals when they are first booked.
