Most people consider prisons public facilities. Even for-profit prisons run by private companies operate under authority granted them by the government. And the government is ultimately responsible for inmates and their well-being.
Which is why a surge of inmate deaths in Utah’s county jails is a cause for concern. 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.
That is alarming.
Data obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune indicate 11 inmates died in 2015 and 23 in 2016.
When Utah legislators and prison-advocate groups like the American Civil Liberties Union started looking into the “why” of inmate deaths in Utah, county jails resisted.
Many of Utah’s county jails use standards created by Gary DeLand, a former director of Utah’s Department of Corrections who now trains jail officials nationwide. DeLand also acts as an expert witness for jails when inmates or their families sue for wrongful treatment.
DeLand claims his standards are protected from public scrutiny because they are prepared in anticipation of litigation and therefore are privileged work product. His claim is overreaching.
If a document is prepared in the ordinary course of business, it cannot be considered prepared in anticipation of litigation. The privilege only protects documents produced when more than a remote possibility of litigation exists.
DeLand, though, wrote his standards in 2015, and is in business to sell them. The fact that DeLand is available to also act as an expert witness when jails that use those standards are sued does not change the nature of the business DeLand is involved in – training corrections officers on operating standards.
In other words, DeLand’s claim that his standards are protected work product is likely inaccurate. Nor can he claim that because the standards are proprietary he can shield them from public view. Disclosure to state legislators and prisoner advocates is necessary for prisoner safety. A copyright doesn't protect documents from disclosure, just from reproduction. Even further, copyright does not protect “procedures, methods [and] systems.”
DeLand is known for heavy-handed jail policies, including using hitching posts when inmates refuse to work. A court has held that a county jail he managed violated due process when it left a mentally ill inmate naked in a cell with no bed or working toilet.
With the increasing number of inmate deaths in Utah, it appears that DeLand’s standards aren’t working to keep inmates safe.
If county jails won’t be transparent with their standards and policies, then it’s time Utah legislators write their own jail standards and mandate minimum compliance.
Lives depend on it.