Prompt Cast
The Decline of Conjugal Visits in the United States
TLDR Conjugal visits, also known as extended family visits, have been on the decline in the United States due to a lack of public support and a shift towards punishment rather than rehabilitation. However, these visits are important for maintaining family bonds, reducing recidivism rates, and have been shown to be cost-effective.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Conjugal visits, often misunderstood and associated with just sex, have been on the decline in the United States over the past 20 years due to a lack of public support and a misunderstanding of the extent of these visits.
04:38
Conjugal visits, also known as extended family visits or family reunion visits, have been misunderstood and associated with just sex, but they actually have racist origins in Mississippi in the early 1900s and have undergone a transition to become a program that is seen as enlightened and beneficial for society in terms of maintaining family ties and reducing recidivism rates.
09:52
In the early 90s, 17 states allowed some sort of extended visitation for prisoners, but the tough on crime mentality led to the abandonment of conjugal visits and a shift towards punishment rather than rehabilitation.
14:50
Conjugal visits are meant to foster family ties and provide a support system for prisoners upon their release, helping to ease their transition back into society and reduce recidivism rates.
19:26
Conjugal visits occur on prison grounds and have strict rules and restrictions in place to ensure security, prevent contraband, and only allow eligible inmates who have proven to be model inmates and have participated in rehabilitation programs.
24:13
Conjugal visits are becoming less common in the United States, but many other countries, including Western democracies, still allow them as part of their prison systems.
29:24
Extended family visits in prison allow for more meaningful and personal interactions between inmates and their families, helping to maintain family bonds and potentially prevent recidivism.
34:02
Extended family visits in prison are important for rehabilitation and maintaining family bonds, and arguments against them lack data and scientific evidence.
38:57
The lack of data and evidence against conjugal visits in prisons is a weak argument, as security can be controlled and there have been no reported cases of harm or abuse, with studies showing a significant decrease in recidivism rates with programs like this.
43:31
Conjugal visits have been shown to be cost-effective and have a positive impact on reducing recidivism rates, while regular visits also contribute to lower rates of returning to prison, and the elimination of family visitation programs is associated with higher rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual assault.
48:17
The hosts read a listener mail about a factoid from the movie Dirty Dancing, where the character Baby is named after Francis Perkins, the first woman in the cabinet, which the hosts find to be a cool and interesting movie trivia.
Categories:
Society & Culture
