Protecting Healthy People From Each Other Severely Limits Prison Visits

 Two years ago, when the Covid pandemic hit in full force, the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) cancelled all visit between loved ones and prisoners. My mother had planned to visit the next day. This month marked twenty-six months since my last in-person visit with family or friends. It's been a long separation. 

About a year into this pandemic, the MDOC implemented video visitation for most, if not all, prisons in Michigan. It's not the same as in-person, for sure, but it's better than nothing. However, technology limitations and poor implementation has made video visitation limited and often fraught with problems. 

Since the pandemic has begun to wane, most Michigan prisons have brought back in-person visits, but with restrictions. At the prison where I am housed (Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan), both prisoners and visitors must have a rapid Covid test before their visit. They must also wear masks, and they must sit on opposite sides of a large plexiglass shield. It's a bit overkill, if you ask me. 

Because the plexiglass shields are so large, and to limit the number of people in the room, only four prisoners may have visits at any one time. In practice, this means that for my own housing unit of 240 prisoners, only 12 two hour visiting spots are available per week for visits. It's simply not enough. Too many prisoners have been unable to have visits because of these draconian limitations. 

I was one of the fortunate few to have an in-person visit, with my mother, recently, and though it was wonderful to see her again, it was nearly impossible to hear each other half the time because of the masks and plexiglass barriers. Put even a few people in a closed room who are speaking loudly to hear each other through barriers and the volume makes hearing anything difficult. I'm grateful we both know sign language because we resorted to communicating in sign half the time so we could understand each other.

Fortunately, the corrections staff working the visiting room work to ensure the visits are as pleasant as possible, but they are restricted in what they can do. It's important that the MDOC protects people, though I believe their motives are more about protecting themselves from lawsuits. However, everyone is restriction weary. 

It's time to return to normal, including normal visits in prison. If people must sign waivers promising not to hold the MDOC liable if they catch Covid on a visit, so be it. Besides, if the Covid tests are reliable, why all the extra measures? It makes no sense. Allowing only 5% of a prison housing unit to have visits in one week is not tenable. 

Maintaining healthy relationships with family is one of the primary keys to keeping re-offense rates low. I get that the pandemic complicated things and made visits unavailable, temporarily. But mask mandates are dropping all over the place, and restrictions have been lifted around the world. It's time that the MDOC takes a different strategy and makes it possible for prisoners to see, hug, and visit with their loved ones again.