Jessica del Mundo
Putting conjugal visits behind bars
onjugal visits: it's
a topic that most people have never even heard of, but that's because most
of us know little to nothing about incarceration. I myself have never known
anyone in prison, I've never been to a prison, and I never plan on going to
prison. All my life "prison," "jail" and "the slammer" were words that only
described a place bad people went to and good people avoided. But lately,
the subject of conjugal visits has become a heated debate all over the
country. Though many people aren't familiar with the incarceration
experience, almost everyone seems to have an opinion on conjugal
visits.
What's a conjugal visit?
The phrase refers to "unsupervised, overnight visits which prisoners
receive from spouses, partners, friends or family." The reason the visits
are gaining public interest is because they may soon be prohibited in many
states.Those opposing the
privilege of visits argue that prisoners, especially sex offenders, don't
deserve to receive visits from spouses or family. Those in favor of the
visits argue that they are good for prisoners and necessary for their
proper rehabilitation. There are many sides to the issue and many details
that still need discussion.The problem with
conjugal visits. If families and spouses are allowed to have overnight,
unsupervised visits with prisoners, they need to have a place at which to
conduct them. This is where the taxpayers' money comes into play--in the
form of private trailers and private furnished rooms for prisoners and
visitor(s). Not only are citizens angry to have to pay taxes for such a
luxury; their anger turns to outrage when hearing that many prisoners
receiving conjugal visits are repeat sex-offenders.In addition, those opposing
conjugal visits argue that if convicted felons can commit a crime and then
receive the privilege of unsupervised visits, just how strict are our
prison systems? If you look at a prison system, convicted felons already
receive warm meals, clothing, education, gymnasiums, work and now
unrestricted, unsupervised visits? So in considering the message we send to
society through funding and allowing conjugal visits, what message are we
also conveying to America's youth? Do conjugal visits establish that
prisoners have the same rights as law-abiding citizens?It is slowly getting to the
point where the only difference between us and prisoners is that one is
separated from society by bars--but we are the ones paying the taxes. Does
this sound unfair to you?Those in favor of
conjugal visits. A husband of a woman in Wichita, Kan., was
incarcerated for drug dealing. The woman spends every fourth Saturday
preparing lunch for her husband, then she and her two children see him on
their monthly conjugal visit.For families such as this,
conjugal visits are the sole highlight of their lives. The only quality
time these children get to spend with their father occurs during these
times. The visits allow the children to see their father without the
obstacle of bars, to hug their father for hours on end, and to all sit
together and cherish a family afternoon.These visits help prisoners
maintain their family lives while being incarcerated. Eventually, the
father in Kansas will be released back to his family, and part of his
rehabilitation is included in the conjugal visit. Without it, the prisoner
may have a difficult time assimilating to his former family routine.
Conjugal visits prepare inmates for their return home. They also allow the
families an opportunity to encourage their incarcerated loved one to adopt
a positive lifestyle.Proponents for conjugal
visits wonder, how inhumane will we as a society continue to be? Should we
not attempt to make efforts to help rehabilitate prisoners and move them
toward a better lifestyle so that when they return to society they may not
repeat their crimes? With all the rights already taken away from prisoners,
can we as a society not allow them the simple privilege of having visitors
from the outside?The negative attention
focused on conjugal visits has completely overlooked the number of children
who depend on conjugal visits as the only real time they get to spend with
their incarcerated parent. Not all conjugal visits are used for sex. In
fact, in some states conjugal visits that utilize private trailers are
funded by the inmates themselves, who earn their money from small jobs
within the prison system. Many inmates consider visits as incentives and
rewards for good behavior. Seeing it from this point of view, conjugal
visits actually do have a very positive aspect.Jessica del Mundo is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and political science.
A second part outlining other perspectives on conjugal visits will appear in Wednesday's
Daily Trojan.