January 13, 2014
Photo courtesy vocativ.com
WASHINGTON – Starting next month, prisoners in Mississippi will no longer be legally allowed to get busy behind bars.
Citing the cost of cleanup and other expenses, and unexpected pregnancies, the first state in the country to allow its inmates conjugal visits will be ending its program Feb. 1. The decision to wind down the century-old practice came after Republican state Rep. Richard Bennett threatened to reintroduce a bill that would end the visits for good.
“As conservative as Mississippi is, it does surprise me that we were the birth place of conjugal visits,” Bennett told FoxNews.com Monday. “Having these visits is not my idea of family bonding.”
Instead of waiting on Mississippi lawmakers, state Department of Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps decided to shut down the program himself at the end of the month.
Conjugal visits, sometimes called extended family visits, are provided on a state-by-state basis and are not offered on a federal level. Inmates who are eligible usually have immaculate records in prison and are within a year of their release. Health checks are provided before a visit is approved.
Mississippi is among the six remaining states that still allow prisoners private time with their families and significant others.