SALT LAKE CITY Shayla Leeks two children won t open gifts until the phone rings on Christmas morning.
She wants their dad to hear the shouts and laughter in their Brigham City living room all the way from the Utah State Prison in Draper.
In any other year, Leeks family and many others would pile in their cars and travel to the prison to visit loved ones over the holidays. But like most other gatherings, the pandemic has called off quality time for inmates and their family members.
Families of inmates in the Utah State Prison have spent most of the year worrying for their loved ones health. Several are mourning after 11 who tested positive for COVID-19 later died, either at the prison or a hospital.
In any other year, families would pile in their cars and travel to the Utah State Prison to visit loved ones incarcerated there over the holidays. But like most other gatherings, the pandemic has called off quality time for inmates and their family members.