However, non-vaccinated inmates still cannot get a contact visit, even if the unit as a whole has reached the 70% goal. Werner said that on a 70% vaccinated unit inmates will be allowed to go about their unit business without masks.
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The agency will review vaccine status weekly and update the website to show which units have been “fully opened.” He said that other units are close to achieving the goal. He describes these units as “fully open.” According to the Wednesday conference call, this means that ON-UNIT operations, including things such as recreation, chow hall, classes, religious services, dayroom activities, volunteer activities, etc., are running as in pre-Covid times. Lumpkin gave the list of units that have already met or exceeded the goal of 70% vaccinated: They are Duncan, Terrell, Pack, and Jester 3. Once the visitor is admitted, IF the inmate has been vaccinated, AND is eligible for a contact visit with that visitor, the visit can proceed as in pre-Covid times, with contact, with snacks, and for a two-hour period.įor contact visitation, these two requirements must be met, whether the unit has achieved the 70% vaccination goal or not. Mendoza’s opening, background statement, to apply to everything else said, is that going forward, visitors will EITHER show proof of vaccination OR undergo rapid testing for Covid, with a negative result required, for admission to the unit. Mendoza reiterated that the private facilities would be following the same operational procedures regarding visitation. TDCJ Director of Correctional Institutions Division, Bobby Lumpkin, his Deputy Director John Werner, and their counterparts from the facilities, Allison Dunbar and Mr. TDCJ does desire clarity and transparency in this matter. Mendoza began the call by apologizing for the late notice of the call and for unintentional confusion about visitation changes that surfaced after the Wednesday conference call. Oscar Mendoza, TDCJ Deputy Executive Director. Some repetitions of questions/comments/answers have been omitted, combined, or move out of chronological order to be placed nearer to the related subject matter. Some agency staff and departmental directors were on the call to make reports and/or answer questions. Groups represented were Texas Inmate Families Association…TIFA, Epicenter, FAITH, and the Prison Show. with a roll call of participants by TDCJ employee Susie Gunnels. Summary and paraphrase of call by Becky Haigler Call commenced at 1:30 p.m. Nothing like a good old monopoly.Notes of Conference Call June 25, 2021, TDCJ and TIFA I bet the people at Rosie's Graphics and the Texas Prison Bookstore are less than happy with the stationary rule. Now, because of this rule, you can't even add text to a photo like I have in the past. What they should have said was something like "people in photos and other art works must be clothed when the photo was taken or when the artwork was produced". The rule has been that inmates cannot receive images of an explicit sexual nature (as long as the important bits are covered, it's OK), so now we are left with a rule that is more wide-reaching than necessary because someone in TDCJ has a hang-up about the female body.
Which is also why the new rule is poorly written. I think the "altered photos" thing is because some people would take naked pics and then photoshop stars or something on them to cover the "naughty bits. I can't send R too much because he can't keep too much but we're getting him stocked up before March. It also does not specify what constitutes a "package". Nowhere does it give a limit to the number of photos or other items that can be included in mail to inmates or from inmates though (which is good because I have about 120 pics on order for hubby of my recent holiday). And it would include a photo of a group, with perhaps one of the group's faces obscured like they do on telly sometimes. Or maybe they/I watch too much CSI.īut it would also include having a photo taken at visit with the inmate, and then photo-shopping it on to a nicer background like a beach or a garden etc, and then sending the new image in to the inmate. They must have a reason for introducing it, and I would imagine it either relates to images of children or to placing an individual in a location where they could not have been at the time the photo was taken, which could then be suggested as an alibi. Now to me, and it's not the first time, this is poorly written by TDCJ because it is not explicit enough.
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"Altered Photo” is an image with content in violation of this policy that has been edited, including, but not limited to, by removing or changing the contents of the image with a computer software program or other means