From Deseret News archives:
State prison next stop for FLDS leader
"He'll remain in our custody until the Department of Corrections comes and takes him," Washington County Sheriff's Lt. Jake Adams said Tuesday.
Sheriff's deputies refused to discuss details of the hand-off for security reasons but said the polygamous sect leader would remain in isolation in the Purgatory Jail until he is taken to Draper. Utah Department of Corrections spokesman Jack Ford said Jeffs could arrive at the prison as early as today.
When Jeffs arrives at the Utah State Prison, officials say he will be treated like any other inmate — at least initially.
Jeffs will first undergo a five-week orientation course that determines where he will be placed at the Point of the Mountain facility. Prison officials will examine Jeffs' risk factors, mental illness history and suicide risk. Because of Jeffs' high-profile status, he may be housed away from the general prison population.
"In all likelihood, he will be in our Uinta facility, which is our maximum-security facility," Corrections director Tom Patterson told the Deseret Morning News.
Throughout his stay in the Purgatory Jail, Jeffs has maintained constant contact with his followers, holding "church" from jail. In several conversations, he renounced his title of "prophet" of the FLDS faith, although his defense attorneys have said he later recanted that. Patterson said Jeffs' communications may be monitored even more strictly in prison.
"Just like any inmate, we monitor communication — both in telephone and written communication," he said. "We will follow the appropriate standards."
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will ultimately determine how long Jeffs spends in prison. His first parole hearing will not be until 2010.
"He'll get an automatic hearing in three years. That's our rule," said parole board spokesman Jim Hatch. "Every first-degree felon gets a hearing after three years. It doesn't mean they'd be getting out anytime soon."
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com
