A group that advocates for prisoners and their families has begun a social media campaign to draw attention to the importance of weekly visitation.
That鈥檚 because the Florida Department of Corrections is that would let prisons cut their visits in half, allowing them only every other weekend. The agency says it鈥檚 for safety and security.
The campaign鈥檚 photos on Twitter show wives, children and parents posing and smiling with inmates in blue prison uniforms.
Their message: #visitsmatter.
this is who you will hurt by reducing visits. reducing visits violates FS 944.8031(1) as JAPC members, please stop this rule change that will tear families apart.
— deniserock (@deniserock11)
In her tweet, Dorothy Bing of Winter Haven says she visits her incarcerated husband every weekend if possible. He is serving a life sentence for armed robbery at the DeSoto Annex in Arcadia.
鈥淚 just don鈥檛 want that to be taken away,鈥� she said in an interview, 鈥渂ecause I know how important it is to my husband, especially after losing so many family and friends from covid. We can鈥檛 risk not being able to see each other.鈥�
The advocacy group Florida Cares says visitation reduces recidivism and improves behavior.
And frequent visits are important to families, too, Bing said. 鈥淭his affects a lot of people, children. And being a youth minister myself I know how important it is to these children to have their fathers, their mothers, their grandmothers, you know, sisters, brothers 鈥� those that are incarcerated 鈥� keep in touch with them.鈥�
The FDC tried to cut back on visits in 2018. That effort stalled after a government lawyer pointed out that state law actually calls for more visitation.
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