"We immediately went to a two-person transport on every inmate regardless of risk factor," he said. "That would be two officers escorting every inmate."

Other changes being looked at include bringing physicians to the prisons instead of transporting inmates. In the near future, Patterson said Tasers will also be issued to corrections officers who transport inmates.

Greiner said he did not know if his fellow lawmakers would order another audit of the Utah Department of Corrections, which is already recovering from a blistering probe that led to the ouster of top brass and ushered in Patterson to make changes.

The 2006 audit condemned the Department of Corrections for a culture of favoritism and abuse of policy. Patterson has vowed to make changes and said he understands any concern of the Legislature.

"I think they're generally trying to do what I'm trying to do to prevent this from happening again," he said.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com