Purgatory Correctional Facility is the county jail ofWashington County,Utah. Also known as theWashington County Jail, it is located nearSt. George, Utah, at Purgatory Flats, hence its unusual name.[1]
Technically lying within the borders ofHurricane,Utah, the facility is about halfway between downtown St. George and downtown Hurricane at Harrisburg Junction (the junction ofI-15 andSR-9). It has a semi-rural setting in the shadow of a steep ridge, part of the Virgin Riversanticline.[2][3] TheVirgin River flows north of the ridge.
Purgatory Correctional Facility has a typical occupancy of 400 to 500 inmates, with 150 employees and a full-time medical clinic.[4][5] The estimated cost of the facility, completed in 1998, was $11,570,000.[6] It was designed by the architectural firm of Gillies, Stransky, Brems & Smith ofSalt Lake City.[7] Situated on South 5200 West Road, the Correctional Facility is located within a growing business park area, including the Fairgrounds Industrial Park and the Quail Creek Industrial Park. Tenants nearby include the Washington County Department of Motor Vehicles; to the north is Washington County Regional Fair Park which includes Dixie Downs, a horse racing track, and the Southern Utah Shooting Sports Park.[8][9] Also nearby,Walmart has a large distribution center.[10]
In order to cut its operating costs, as well as to reducerecidivism, in 2008 the Sheriff's Office began charging inmates to stay, a fee no longer assessed with very few exceptions allowing it, at the jail which houses incarcerated males and females.[11] In 2005 it had a recidivism rate of 75 percent.[12]
The Purgatory jail made headlines in 2006 when it was the scene of incarceration forWarren Jeffs, following his flight from justice.[13] He stayed there for twelve months before trial and conviction for two first degree felony counts of rape,[14] at which time he was transferred to Utah State Prison.
37°09′30″N113°24′44″W / 37.15833°N 113.41222°W /37.15833; -113.41222