SALT LAKE CITY — Just weeks into his life at the new prison, Nacole Messick is watching her husband become a different person.
“He's angry," she said. "He's depressed. He has no hope. I'm starting already not to recognize him, and that's the sad part.”
The new Utah Department of Corrections facility was one of the most expensive construction projects in state history. Taxpayers were promised a facility that would help rehabilitate Utah inmates before they re-enter society.
Just six weeks after nearly 2,500 prisoners were moved from the old prison in Draper to the new prison in Salt Lake City, inmates' health and safety are at risk, family members and friends told FOX 13 News. They don’t believe their loved ones are being granted even the minimum standard of living conditions guaranteed to them under the law.
Messick's husband is going on nine years in the Utah Department of Corrections. After spending time in Gunnison and Draper, Messick watched her husband improve himself and depart from gang life through Con-Quest programming, programming which she was promised would be available to him in the new facility.
“He really worked the program," said Messick. "He wanted to become a better husband, a better father, a better son. And he did it. He changed for the better. And I don't even recognize that person anymore.”
Messick's husband was being treated for his mental health issues in Draper and was showing improvement until he came to the new facility in Salt Lake City, she said.
"They got him on a prescription that was helping them tremendously," she said. "Well, he would go days without it. Weeks without it. They would say, they ran out of it, that it's not in stock. He threatened his life on the phone, and I had to call the family medical line over 100 times and nobody answered.”
“They say that this prison is the best prison in the United States," said Messick. "It's one of the worst.”
Emily Robison's best friend Chelsea is among dozens of women who aren’t receiving their medications regularly, she said.
“She's on the highest dose of Zoloft and went 10 days without it, cold turkey, which is not what you're supposed to be doing at all," she said. "It's a huge cause of distress, and it causes Chelsea, and has caused a lot of other inmates, to be suicidal.”
At the state prison in Draper, Chelsea never complained, Robison said.
"There used to be four phones for 32 women, and now there's three phones for 64 women," she said. "So she just said it seems like they're entirely going backwards.”
Privileges like visits, phone calls and time outdoors encourage inmates to behave, but families say good inmates aren’t receiving much of those.
“At the old facility, he could go outside and for all day if he wanted, and it would be a big area for him to walk out," Messick said. "He hasn't had an hour outside since he's been there, besides just walking to get food.”
When he does get to go outside, the bugs become unbearable, she said.
“There's just like mud puddles, and there's just big ol' mosquitoes," said Messick. "And so by the time they go to get their food, they're just all over their legs and arms. And they're not giving them repellent."
The Utah Prisoner Advocate Network believes the state needs to be giving mosquito repellent to inmates, knowing they built the facility on wetlands.
“When you build a prison in the most mosquito-infested place in the country west of the Mississippi, according to the Mosquito Abatement physician that we spoke with, you need to plan for that and have mosquito repellent for the folks who are housed there," said Wendy Parmley, Director of Medical and Mental Health Issues for UPAN.
Parmley has received more than 70 emails with medical and mental health concerns in just the last six weeks, which is the same number she had received in all of last year.
“With the move, I would say it's at least twice, if not five times, ten times worse, than the height of COVID," she said.
In a legislative hearing Tuesday, Brian Nielson, Executive Director of UDC, blamed problems on staffing; the prison is currently operating with 60 percent of the staff that’s needed, and officers who are on the job are clocking in anywhere from 60 to 80 hour-weeks.
“It’s a tough job to do on a full-time basis, but you add another full-time to that and it exacerbates that," said Nielson. "We are driving our corrections staff into the ground.”
Steve Turley, Director of Special Projects, addressed the concerns about medications with the move; there were a few medications left behind at the old prison and it was completely inadvertent, he said.
"As soon as we found out about it, officers went in and found them and transported them back and the inmates receive the medication they need.”
The concept of this new prison was wonderful, but the execution has been very poor, said Parmley.
“If you've got staffing problems at the old prison and you need more staff and the new prison because of the way it's configured, why do you move until you beefed up that staffing? I don't understand that," she said. "I don't understand the timing of the move, why we weren't better prepared.
Messick sent about 30 messages to UDC, until she and her mother-in-law received an email from an Assistant Utah General Attorney. The email stated that 'UDC has rereceived multiple emails from you and other family members,’ ‘It is not appropriate for family members to attempt to dictate the care’ and ‘UDC will not be able to continue to respond to your emails.’
Six years and $1 billion later, the investment is being questioned.
FOX 13 reached out to the UDC for comment, and received the following statement in response to the specific concerns:
Medication being withheld or not given
We migrated to a new records system and are experiencing some glitches with that transition. Our medical team is working around the clock to address these concerns. Generally speaking, if an incarcerated individual has an urgent medical concern they can notify the officer in their housing section. If an incarcerated individual needs to be seen by medical or have a prescription filled, then they can submit a care request form (available on their housing unit) to be seen.
Mosquitto issues and repellant not available
The Utah Department of Corrections is working with the SLC Mosquito Abatement Program and has already begun to implement safe and effective abatement measures. We are exploring options for repellant for incarcerated individuals; however, safety and security takes precedence and many of the repellants are extremely flammable.
A woman reached out to the prison with concerns and was told to not contact the Department anymore
Anyone who has a specific concern or question regarding their incarcerated loved one can reach out to our communications team. They can either email corrections@utah.gov or call 801-545-5512.
Meals too small
Meals are identically proportioned from what they were at Draper; however, the trays that we utilize now may appear to be smaller but are actually deeper, and food is now separated to provide appropriate cold/hot meals.
Not enough outdoor time compared to Draper
It's dependent on the unit and the privilege level. Also, depending on where the incarcerated individual is housed in Draper versus USCF, it may or may not be comparable. In most cases the yard time will be comparable or more.
Not enough phones in the sections
There are two to three phones in each section that are readily available for use. We are exploring options for what it would cost and take to add additional phones.
Gang violence, gang members not being separated, etc.
We primarily house based on an individual's behavior with consideration for programming, medical, bed space, safety needs, etc. Should an individual have a safety concern, they can notify the officer on their housing unit at any time.
These aren’t the first complaints of poor healthcare in Utah prisons; in December, FOX 13 News reported how a recent state audit found "systematic deficiencies" in how healthcare was delivered at the Draper prison. On its website, the UDC touts improved medical care as one benefit of the new prison.
The auditors specifically said prison staff had to do a better job delivering medications to inmates and criticized infection control in the old prison. In all, Utah has had 22 prison inmates die of COVID-19 and almost one positive case for all 6,500 prison inmates.
One former inmate, convicted kidnapper Damon Crist, is suing the state, alleging the prison mismanaged the pandemic while he was behind bars. A state medical panel has sided with Crist, saying the prison did not meet standards of care. FOX 13 News spoke with Daniel Baczynski, Crist's attorney.
“These people would be put into isolation," he said. "They wouldn’t see a doctor. They wouldn’t see a nurse. All that would happen is an EMT, so somebody with just very basic medical training, first aid and such, would come through twice a day in kind of full quarantine gear and hand out medication.”
Bacynski also had a client with bad circulation in his legs that ended up causing ulcers, he said. When he finally got to the hospital, it was too late, and he had to have his foot amputated.