Bill to Limit Conjugal Visits Is Defeated

Wives of convicts formed long lines in a hearing room Tuesday--many with photos of themselves and their husbands pinned to their blouses--to protest a bill to sharply limit conjugal visits in state prisons.

The bill by Assemblyman Dean Andal (R-Stockton) would have denied overnight family visits to prisoners convicted of murder and sex offenses and levied a $120-per-night charge for permitted visits.

But the measure was defeated in committee where, after more than an hour of emotional testimony, it got only three of the five votes necessary for passage.

In a bitter statement released after the hearing, Andal said: “Clearly the Assembly Public Safety Committee has become a graveyard for substantial law and order legislation.”

Crime victims voiced support for the bill, but they were far outnumbered by the wives of convicts who sometimes broke down in tears as they insisted that their children would suffer if overnight visits with their husbands were curtailed. Advocates for prisoner rights also testified that family visiting reduces tension and violence in prisons.

At one point in the hearing, Committee Chairman Bob Epple (D-Cerritos) threatened to clear the meeting room when loud applause greeted the testimony of an opponent of the bill.

Later, Epple, who voted against the measure, threatened to have an opponent of the bill removed when she tearfully berated committee members for walking in and out of the room during the proceedings.

“I am truly appalled at your behavior,” sobbed Michelle Payne, a probation officer from Solano County whose husband is in prison for rape. “A lot of people here came a long way. And members are walking in and out of the room.”

Andal’s bill was introduced this year in the shadow of the budget crisis and amid widespread public fear of crime. The measure originally called for the abolition of all overnight family visiting in state prisons as a cost-cutting, tough-on-crime, security measure.

But the conservative assemblyman amended the bill to prohibit such visits only for prisoners convicted of first- or second-degree murder, those serving life without the possibility of parole, and those convicted of rape and child molestation. (Death Row convicts are not eligible for family visits.)

The state Department of Corrections reports the price tag for family visiting at $3 million a year, mainly guards’ time. But Andal contends that hidden costs may put the total bill at $5 million to $10 million annually.

Prisoners must earn the privilege of family visits, which take place on prison grounds in trailers or small cottages enclosed by fences topped with razor wire. Wives, children and other family members of prisoners are eligible to take part in such visits.

Andal, whose bill was supported by the powerful California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., contends that family visits in prison are a needless expense that makes smuggling easier and results in assaults on family members. He cited 13 incidents of smuggling, a child molestation and a death by drug overdose during family visits in 1992.

State corrections officials took no position on Andal’s bill, but they pointed out that there were 26,000 family visits during 1992, resulting in 18 reported incidents, most of them smuggling attempts.

“It is not a major security risk,” Deputy Director Tip Kendel said. “It has proven to be a fairly successful program.”