Random Things You Need to Know About Conjugal Visits (14 items)

(#13) Conjugal Visits Reduce Prison Rape
While there isn't a great deal of research on this topic, as prison rape is massively under-reported, several studies show a correlation between conjugal visits and lower rates of sexual assault. A 2014 study of the five states where conjugal visits were legal showed that "while sexual violence occurred in state prison systems that prohibit conjugal visits at an average rate of 226 incidents per 100,000 prisoners, it occurred almost four times less frequently in the five states that permitted such visits – 57 per 100,000 prisoners."
(#10) Saudi Arabia Really Goes All Out for Conjugal Visits

In the US, the few states that still allow sexual encounters for prisoners do so in small trailers, with little glamour. But in Saudi Arabia, it's a different story. Male inmates in high-security prisons, usually terror suspects the government is trying to use as informants, get one conjugal visit each month - for each spouse they have. Beyond that, the Saudi government provides inmates' families with money for housing, food, and education, and they pay for the travel expenses incurred by inmates’ family members. But wait, there's more! If a prisoner wants to attend a family occasion, like a wedding or funeral, he's given up to $2,600 to give as a gift.
The Saudi government has spent tens of millions of dollars on these prison perks. Of course, they also publicly execute dozens of prisoners every year, so it's not all free cash and sex.
(#5) Convicts on the Verge of Release Get the Longest Visits
For states that allow them, visits come in a range of lengths. Extended family visits usually are available in lengths of six hours, 12 hours and 24 hours. The one day visit is an option only available to inmates with the best records, and who are within one year of their release. These visits are allowed on average once or twice a year for eligible convicts, and allow soon-to-be released prisoners to begin making the transition to family life.
(#1) The First Prison with Conjugal Visits Was a Mock Plantation

The first conjugal visits in American history were in Mississippi State Prison (aka Parchman Farm) in the early '20s. Like so much of American history, they have a racist connotation. The prison's warden, James Parchman, wanted to encourage his African-American male prisoners to work harder, so he turned the prison into a huge faux-plantation.

Because he also thought Black men were animalistic sex monsters, Parchman paid prostitutes to come and have sex with the inmates each Sunday. In the 1930s, Parchman Farm began letting white male prisoners engage in the program, and it was formalized as a "spousal visit time" in 1960.
(#7) Not Just Anyone Can Go on a Conjugal Visit
While specific requirements for conjugal visits vary in the states that allow them, they have shared minimum requirements. The vast majority of visits are allowed only in minimum to medium security prisons, for inmates with a record of good behavior and a record of clean health. A spouse who visits their husband/wife inmate must also pass a background check, go through a body search, and be registered with the prison’s visitor list.
(#14) Visits Have Been Ended for a Variety of Reasons
Conjugal visits have never been universal in the US, and many states never allowed them. Ones that did ended them for many different reasons - usually cost. While the programs aren't expensive, they can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is money people often don't want going toward "prison luxuries" for convicts. Other reasons cited have been babies born to convicts, sexually transmitted diseases, and security issues. Even at their heights, they weren't often available, usually just granted to a few hundred inmates a year.