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A Visit to the Prison
Posted by Lance Bandley on November 7, 2005 at 09:56 AM | Permalink
I haven't been in the prison for a long time. I suppose that's a good thing. The first time I went in was years and years ago when I was growing up and I went with a large group to listen to three inmates tell their stories of how they ended up in there. Of course they all said they started out okay and then made some major mistakes. Then a guard showed us all the weapons they find behind bars. Obviously a memorable visit because I can still remember going in and sitting a few feet away from a convicted murderer.
This latest visit was for work reasons thankfully. I had learned that the number of prisoners went over 6,300 for the first time ever and was interested in finding out a little more about those behind bars. I was told that Utah has the highest percentage of sex offenders in prison at 26%. Other prisons have more sex offenders behind bars but Utah has the highest percentage which is interesting.
Another interesting story that just aired was about the prison diet program. I didn't go to the prison for that story in particular but after talking about another story that one came to surface. Some of the best stories come from covering other stories. I always ask after every interview if there is something else going on and usually they say no but then say, "oh well there's this." Then they usually talk about something 100 times more interesting than the original story I'm covering. Well that was the situation with the prison visit. The clinical director noticed that a lot of people behind bars gain quite a bit of weight so they conducted a survey to find out why it was happening and if the inmates wanted to lose weight. The survey found that 20% of prisoners are obese when they enter and after three months it goes up to 43%. The male inmates blame the sedentary prison life as the problem and women inmates say once they stop using meth they gain weight. The survey also found that 48% of the women said they would use meth again once they get out to lose weight.
So the prison started a voluntary diet and exercise program for three months and everyone lost weight. It wasn't easy for some of the female inmates because other women would stand around the walking track outside with treats trying to tempt them or they would give them extra food for their meals. The prison may expand the program and it has the potential to save money because the amount of food would be reduced to inmates.
Here's another interesting fact that was never reported but that I learned out there at the point of the mountain. I took a tour of the old part of the prison and went inside a few of the large areas with holding cells. I guess this part of the prison is really popular for movies and TV shows. Media organizations regularly visit the prison to shoot video because they like the old bars instead of the solid doors now being used in prisons. Well when these groups come out with all their production people they have to get a background check. And every so often someone has a warrant. Well a crew came out three weeks ago to the prison to shoot an episode of E.R. and 14 people on the crew had warrants out for their arrest. That is a record for the prison, makes it easy when the criminals come to them.
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