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Sunday, May 23, 2010
Ind. Gov't. - "Limit on prison visits angers South Bend family"
Alicia Gallegos reports today in the South Bend Tribune in a story that begins:
SOUTH BEND — When Sam Dickens' son went to prison earlier this year, the father didn't think he'd have any problem visiting him at Westville Correctional facility.After all, Dickens' nephew is also an inmate in an Indiana prison, and Dickens has been visiting the young man for years.
But Dickens said he was shocked to learn he couldn't be on his son's visiting list.
Instead, new visiting restrictions at the Indiana Department of Correction meant Dickens had to choose to visit his son or his nephew, not both.
"I'm so frustrated. It's just not right," Dickens said during a recent interview at his home. "They're separating the families."
IDOC officials explain the new visitation rule was implemented this year because of security concerns.
The restriction specifies extended family members and friends can visit only one IDOC inmate per six months. The rule, said IDOC spokesman Doug Garrison, is to curb rampant contraband trafficking plaguing Indiana prisons.
"We're trying to reduce the chances of people bringing contraband into our facilities," Garrison said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 23, 2010 01:12 PM
Posted to Indiana Government