Suicide is the leading cause of Utah jail deaths. Lawmakers think barriers could help.
Since 2013, more than half of the state’s jail deaths were suicides.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) More people died in Utah jails in 2020 than in any year since 2016, despite lower facility populations attributed to COVID-19 mitigation efforts, recently released state data shows. Utah lawmakers this session have passed a bill to fund suicide barriers to help reduce such deaths.