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OREM, Utah – A former federal corrections official says the Utah jail holding Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, would be reckless not to treat him differently from other inmates — describing a strict, high-security regime meant to keep him and others safe.
“Somebody like that, like the alleged Charlie Kirk assassin, is in a very different circumstance than he has been in prior times in his life,” Judi Garrett told Fox News.
“So while he may or may not have displayed any tendency towards certain behaviors, he may be interested in engaging those behaviors now. … Any custodian of someone like that would be remiss in not treating him very differently from most everyone else in their population.”
Garrett, a former assistant director of the Bureau of Prisons, explained that inmate isolation isn’t necessarily punishment.
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“The concept of isolating an inmate, removing them from the general population, is either for their own protection or for the protection of others,” she said.
Garrett added that separations can stem from safety concerns, self-harm risk, or threats from others inside the facility.
“There are certainly times during which someone is separated for punishment,” she added, “Although, the day-to-day circumstances don’t vary a whole lot between someone who is isolated for discipline or for ‘protection.’”
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For Robinson and others under tight supervision, nearly everything is brought to them.
“When someone is removed from the general population, everything flips,” Garrett said. “So the services are then brought to them … their meals are brought to their cell. The doctor comes to their cell. The idea is you want to remove someone from their cell as least often as possible, because it takes a lot of staff resources to do that.”
Despite the term “solitary confinement,” Garrett said such inmates “are not isolated from people,” since staff enter frequently to deliver meals, medical care, and other services.
Robinson, who has only been seen once via video by the public in his first initial court appearance, was wearing what officials called “suicide garb,” though authorities haven’t confirmed his current watch status.
Garrett said the precaution fits standard practice.
“If you’re on a suicide watch … you want someone to lay eyes on them every 15 minutes,” Garrett explained.
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She noted that housing such inmates alone, while “a more uncomfortable existence,” can be “necessary and very wise” to prevent harm to themselves or others.
Even under restrictions, Garrett said inmates maintain contact with attorneys and, to a lesser extent, family.
“In terms of communication with the outside, he is certainly allowed to communicate with his lawyer,” she explained, adding that family calls are likely limited because “the phone would need to be brought to him.”
Garrett added that monitoring remains tight.
“Inmate communications outside of communications with counsel are certainly monitored always,” she said.
When asked what Robinson’s routine might look like before trial, Garrett described what a typical day could look like.
“I would imagine he is confined to his cell for essentially 23 or so hours a day. He would be allowed out for recreation, which may or may not be outside. I would not imagine that he is allowed to mix and mingle with other inmates for safety and security reasons.”
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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.
Reformers push for more human contact; correctional officers argue the tool is critical to safety. She pointed to New York’s HALT statute, which limits solitary confinement, as an example fueling tension with staff.
Garrett emphasized that humane treatment is not driven by sympathy, but by the need to ensure the safety of the inmates.
“Most importantly, 96, 7, 8, 9 percent of them return to the community at some point,” she said. “If you mistreat people in prison, they are going to mistreat someone else … So it’s to everyone’s benefit to operate institutions that are humane.”
Even in the highest-security or death-row units, she said, “those folks … don’t have much to lose,” so extreme caution protects both staff and inmates.
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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 [email protected].
