What US States Allow Prison Conjugal Visits?

Currently, only six U.S. states allow prison conjugal visits within their prison systems: California, Connecticut, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York and Washington. Originally, prison conjugal visits were used as an incentive to motivate working prisoners to be more productive. They were scheduled visits that allowed the prison inmate to spend one-on-one time with his or her legal spouse. Prisoners were lured by the idea of having the opportunity to have sexual contact with their spouses. Today, the main purpose of these visits is to preserve the family unit. That is why they are now called Extended Family Visits. These visits can include the legal spouse, but are also open to other immediate family members, including the inmate's children.

The states that allow Extended Family Visits believe that preserving the bond of the family unit makes the chances of the inmates rehabilitation greater. It is also believed that it helps to lessen the chances of them reverting back to a life of crime and returning to prison after release. Protecting the family bond does not just benefit the inmate, it is also important to the spouse, children and other immediate family members. It allows them the chance to interact privately with each other, just as any other family does. Together, they can talk, laugh, watch television, read, play games, cook and eat in an atmosphere that resembles that of an actual home or hotel suite.

The visits take place on prison grounds in apartment-style homes, with one or more bedrooms. They are fully furnished and equipped with appliances and cooking and eating utensils. Usually, up to three visitors are allowed at a time. They are allowed to bring approved food items to cook together as a family. Depending on the state's policy, these visits can be anywhere from a few hours to 72 hours, and usually take place over the weekend.

Unified Policy

One unified policy that all six states agree on is that Extended Family Visits are “not a right, but a privilege.” Prisoners must earn the opportunity to participate in this program. They must be low-to-medium security level prisoners, with no history of disciplinary problems within the prison system. They cannot be incarcerated for violent offenses or have a history of child abuse or domestic violence. Prisoners being housed in maximum security level prisons are not eligible, even if they meet all other eligibility requirements. They must undergo testing for and be free of HIV and all STDs.

Visitors must also meet certain criteria. They must be approved by the state prison system for visits with the inmate. This requires passing an extensive criminal background check. For spouses, proof must be provided that a legal marriage exists. All other immediate family members must provide proof of their immediate relationship to the prisoner. While on prison grounds, visitors must follow all state prison visitor rules and regulations, including, but not limited to, dress codes. Prison visitors must undergo a full body search whenever they enter or leave the prison for Extended Family Visits.

Supporters of Extended Family Visits truly believe that they are detrimental to keeping families together and strong. Married couples get personal, quality time together. Parents and siblings get a chance to spend time with their loved ones. Incarcerated parents get full parental contact with their children. These privileged prison families get the opportunity to interact with each other like a “normal” family, if only for one weekend.

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State Prison vs. Federal Prison Systems

As it has been revealed, there exist various differences between the state and federal prisons. This is in the basis of various aspects of operations carried out in the entire criminal and justice system. Under the same level of security, federal prisons are a bit safer than the state prisons since there is less crowding in federal prisons. More specifically, the federal prisons involve few cases in which the individuals imprisoned are offered larger spaces and better facilities as compared to state prisons. This has enhanced decreased vulnerability of prisoners in the federal prisons to social humiliations. Though the cases dealt with in federal prisons may attribute to larger and more severe punishments, the prisoners are not usually exposed to unnecessary tortures as it is in state prisons (Glaser 54-65).

It is important to note that, the federal prisons usually have their staff more trained than as it is with state prisons. This is because, the federal prisons deal with more technical and advanced cases as per the laws set by the congress; thus necessitating contracting of more advanced staff in the processions of the prisons. In this regard, the federal prisons are larger and more complex than state prisons on the basis of the various cases involved. Basically, the state prisons are usually run locally by the governors whereas the federal prisons are dealt with by a set of security team appointed by the congress. Considering the technicalities of cases involved in federal courts, a highly qualified staff would be required in carrying out various activities in it, leading to their better payments. On the other hand, the staffs for state prisons are not much paid since their level of qualification is a bit lower than the ones in the federal prisons; as they deal with local cases (Barbara & Rather 45-79).

More so, suicide cases in state prisons are more than as it is in federal prisons. This is usually as a result of more congestion in state prisons than it is in federal prisons. Being smaller in sizes and dealing with numerous local cases, state prisons have been found to be having a larger number of suicide cases than as it is in federal prisons. In addition, the pathetic conditions found in state prisons leads to many people committing suicide. Further, homicides have been more experienced in state prisons than in federal prisons. This is because; in state prisons, the security is a bit less than as it is in federal prisons. This has attributed to the higher level of homicides in state prisons where prisoners are many and congested. This congestion experienced in state prisons encourages the act of people killing each other in state prisons. Specifically, both suicides and homicides are more experienced in state prisons than in federal prisons (Glaser 34-67).