OREM, Utah – A former federal corrections official believes that the Utah jail where Tyler Robinson, accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, is being held, would be irresponsible not to handle him differently from other inmates. This entails using a strict, high-security regime to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
“Someone in Robinson’s situation, like the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk, is experiencing a unique circumstance unlike any other time in his life,” Judi Garrett explained to Fox News.
“Regardless of whether or not he has previously shown certain behaviors, he might be inclined to act differently now. … Any custodian responsible for someone in his position must handle him distinctively compared to the general inmate population.”
Garrett, a former assistant director of the Bureau of Prisons, explained that inmate isolation isn’t necessarily punishment.
Meals, showers, and legal visits all occur under escort or within the cell itself, Garrett added.
Garrett said solitary-confinement reforms have generated fierce debate over the past decade.
“Just the terminology … is a misnomer. These people are not isolated from other people, nor are they in a solitary environment,” she said.
While reformers advocate for greater human contact, correctional officers maintain that certain practices are essential for maintaining safety. Garrett cited New York’s HALT statute, which restricts solitary confinement, as an example of ongoing clashes between staff and reform measures.
Garrett emphasized that humane treatment is not driven by sympathy, but by the need to ensure the safety of the inmates.
“Crucially, 96 to 99 percent of inmates eventually rejoin society,” she noted. “Mistreating individuals in prison can lead them to harm others upon release, so fostering humane institutions benefits everyone.”
In maximum-security or death-row scenarios, she emphasized, “those individuals … have little to lose,” thereby necessitating extreme precautions for the protection of both staff and inmates.
Robinson is accused of fatally shooting Kirk during one of his campus events at Utah Valley University on September 10. Authorities have described the incident as a targeted assassination.
Later that same day, Robinson was arrested in St. George after allegedly making statements to his parents, romantic partner, and friends that either admitted to or implied his involvement, according to court documents.
He now faces seven charges, including aggravated homicide, which carries the possibility of the death penalty, along with felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. He has not yet entered a plea.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
