Overview
- The multi-county grand jury, in Friday’s report, said Gov. Kevin Stitt called the prisons agency about donor Sara Polston as she moved to home release under a GPS ankle monitor after 73 days, and investigators said they lacked evidence to file charges.
- Jurors condemned the Department of Corrections’ vetting as “shockingly mechanical and unilateral” and said the GPS program lets administrators override judges and mute victims’ voices.
- Jail calls released Friday by the attorney general captured Sara and Rod Polston referring to “the guy” and “our friend,” and records show the couple donated nearly $30,000 to Stitt’s campaigns.
- Lawmakers on May 5 enacted SB 137 without Stitt’s signature to bar DUI cases causing great bodily injury from GPS release, narrowing who can leave custody on electronic monitoring.
- The panel urged minimum time-served rules, advance notice to victims before transfers, a review board for GPS moves, new DOC training, and tighter limits on administrators’ discretion, changes that could reshape early-release decisions.