Lawmakers gave the Department of Corrections and its executive director Tom Patterson a drubbing Wednesday for what they called a "dramatic, terrible failure" that allowed two convicted murderers to escape from the Daggett County Jail.

The comments came during a meeting of the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee, whose members promised to take action regarding the department in the upcoming legislative session.

"It was a dramatic, terrible failure, in my opinion, because of the way that was handled," said Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George. "What a dramatic failure it was on the part of the Department of Corrections to allow this kind of situation to occur. We're darn lucky that we didn't have some deaths as a result of it."

Convicted murderers Danny Gallegos and Juan Diaz-Arevalo slipped out of an unlocked door Sept. 23 and hopped over a razor-wire fence, while a deputy on duty spent the day sick and throwing up in a bathroom. That deputy has since resigned.

The pair was apprehended six days later.

Now, lawmakers are poised to shake things up at the Department of Corrections.

"I understand there will be a lot of changes made," said the committee's chairman, Rep. Bud Bowman, R-Cedar City, referring to the upcoming legislative session.

Gallegos and Diaz-Arevalo were serving time at the Daggett County Jail as part of the state's inmate placement program. The state has contracts with 21 county jails to house some 1,500 inmates.

The state has a $1.3 million contract with the Daggett County Jail to house inmates. About 76 percent of all jail beds at the Daggett County Jail are set aside for state inmates, according to data from the Department of Corrections.

However, since the jailbreak, the state has pulled all inmates from the Daggett County Jail.

Patterson has laid down timetables and requirements for the jail to improve before the inmate lockdown can be lifted. Because the requirements deal with security, Patterson would not be specific about changes but called them "significant."

"We've pulled every inmate out until we have adequately addressed every single one of those concerns," Patterson told lawmakers Wednesday. "When those concerns are addressed, we will place inmates back into Daggett County, and we will assist Daggett County in making sure that the deficit they have from not having inmates in their facility is augmented."

The escape also prompted a security review of all 21 county jails with state contracts to house inmates. Patterson said Wednesday that four jails have yet to be reviewed. On Oct. 3, the corrections boss said he wanted the reviews to be finished within 30 days.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com