Font ResizeNearly 200 maximum-security inmates were moved Sunday from the state prison in Draper to new housing in Gunnison, according to the state Department of Corrections.
"We're getting to that point where the population is getting over capacity," said Mike Haddon, deputy director of corrections.
Officers transported 186 inmates to the new facility in Gunnison. For security reasons, no one but law enforcement and government agencies were told the move would occur, Haddon said.
"Over the next several days, the families [of the inmates] will more than likely be able to talk to the offenders themselves," he said.
The inmates were not given a choice in the move, and one scuffled with guards because he did not want to go, Haddon said.
"That was about the only incident we really had," Haddon said.
The Gunnison prison is 109 miles from the Draper prison.
The move will free up some maximum-security housing in Draper for security updates and other renovations for the first time since it was built in the mid-1980s.
Improvements will include glass replacement, maintenance and replacement of locking mechanisms and updates to plumbing and electrical systems, Haddon said.
The Draper maximum-security facility houses as many as 794 inmates, including Utah's death row.
All 10 death row inmates remain in Draper to avoid distancing them from their attorneys and holding up the complex legal proceedings
