Oxbow Jail?

Salt Lake County is leaning toward opening the long-dormant Oxbow Jail. That really is the best choice, considering it’s already built and the county can’t keep letting violent prisoners go just because it doesn’t have room to keep them.

But Oxbow has a long and troubled history. I was around in the late 1980s when the city of South Salt Lake objected to its construction. The county got permission to build only after the city granted a conditional use permit that stipulated only misdemeanant offenders could be housed there.

County Mayor Peter Corroon came by the office the other day. I asked him about this. Hear my question and his answer here:

Frankly, I think the county has little choice but to put violent offenders in Oxbow, and it’s far cheaper to do so than to pay to build an entirely new jail somewhere.

What do you think? Is Oxbow the answer to jail overcrowding? Should a 20-year-old agreement with the city be honored?