Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates

11. Visits and Calls

71 There are prisons in some states that allow conjugal visits between inmates and their spouses. There are prisons where visitors are encouraged to have picnics with their loved ones, who are allowed to bring in food, and the prisons provide barbecue facilities. Visits in those states are almost unsupervised, with inmates and their families left alone until they abuse the privilege. Texas is not one of those states. In Texas, it is assumed that all inmates will, if given the opportunity, smuggle in contraband or will otherwise abuse the visiting process. In order to prevent this, Texas limits the contact between visitors and convicts severely. Visits in Texas prisons fall into two categories: general and special. General visits are further divided into two categories: contact and non-contact, or regular visits. Every convict inTexas prison is allowed some type of visit, unless he is in a locked-down status or in punitive segregation. While an inmate is at Diagnostic, he is advised to designate ten people he would like to have on his visiting list. Each is subject to approval by TDCJ. Only ten adults are allowed on each inmate’s list at any one time, and any adult not on that list will not be allowed to visit unless he or she applies with the unit warden and is approved for a special visit. In general, inmates are allowed one two-hour visit, with two adults, visits and calls Chapter eleven 72 Chapter Eleven Saturday or Sunday, every weekend. The exceptions to this are: inmates still going through Diagnostic intake process, inmates in lockdown or some administrative segregation levels, and inmates in close custody, who are allowed either one or two visits per month. Visiting hours are from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. Children under sixteen need not be on the visiting list and are not counted against the two-person limit. This means that a mother and aunt can visit, if both are on the list, and can bring a tenyear -old cousin, a five-year-old son, and a baby. Regular visits are non-contact visits. These take place in one or two ways—either with the inmate and his family separated by and talking through a mesh screen, or separated by a glass partition and talking via telephones. Any adult on an inmate’s approved visiting list will be allowed at least a regular visit, if the inmate meets all criteria. By this, I mean the inmate meets TDCJ-imposed criteria for visits—no disciplinary infractions that will deny visits, or things of that nature. Contact visits are allowed only to immediate family, in most instances, unless special permission is granted by the warden. There are a few exceptions : in-laws, if accompanied by blood relatives; surrogate parents; and special relationships, if so approved by the warden. Only inmates in minimum custody, who are classified at least SAT IV (State Approved Trusty, see chapter twenty-one for a definition of all classifications), are allowed contact visits. Depending on a bewildering set of criteria, inmates who violate a wide range of unit policies may be denied contact visits. Cousins, fiancées, best friends, and others will not be allowed contact visits unless that inmate is assigned to an outside trusty camp, where all visits are contact. During a contact visit, inmates are allowed to hug and kiss their adult visitors once when the visit begins and once when it ends. During the visit they will be allowed to hold hands with mothers and wives, from across the table. Only rarely will inmates be allowed to sit on the same side of a table with anyone other than a small child. If displays of affection become too provocative, and this varies from unit to unit and from officer to officer, the visit may be ended. Visitors must have some sort of photo identification. They will be asked the name and TDCJ number of the inmate they are visiting, their relationship, and the visitor’s current address. If the visitor is visibly drunk or high, he/she will not be allowed to visit. TDCJ has the right to Visits and Phone Calls 73 ask to search visitors or their vehicles, and if refused, to deny the visit. All visitors will be asked to pass through a metal detector. Visitors are not allowed to bring photos, cameras, cigarettes, lighters, matches, books, magazines, or food. The...