Sen. Hillyard hopes to see prison reform with prison relocation

This Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 photo shows the Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah. Utah lawmakers are advancing a plan to relocate the state prison in southwest Salt Lake County. The Utah State Prison occupies about 700 acres in Draper where tech companies such as eBay and Microsoft have opened offices. Gov. Gary Herbert has called on lawmakers to fund the relocation so the corridor can develop as a technology hub. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Not only does State Senator Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, see the need for a new prison location, he also sees a need for some prison reforms. He would like to see something statewide like Cache County has with alternate forms of sentencing.

For example, Judge Kevin Allen runs a mental health court and Judge Thomas Willmore a drug court. Both of them are deemed very successful.

<span>”So hopefully we get people who have addictions and problems of that sort,” said Hillyard, “rather than just simply locking them up where it may be even to their detriment and they get released without getting any help. We’re looking for alternatives. That may require some funding that we need to look at carefully.”</span>

Hillyard said many of these are our children with addictions or mental health issues that we end up locking up in prison, yet that doesn’t solve their problems.

Hillyard made the comments on KVNU’s Crosstalk program Monday morning.

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