from: USA Today
by: Jeanie Santucci
The deaths of two women during conjugal visits with their significant others at a California prison last year should prompt a suspension of the visits altogether while authorities conduct a “top-to-bottom” review, the county’s top prosecutor said Thursday.
“That’s the responsible thing to do when you have two tragedies that have occurred in the same institution in the same program within a very short time span, is take a look at whether or not the protocol, policies and procedures are adequate,” Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe told USA TODAY in an interview.
The two women, 47-year-old Tania Thomas and 62-year-old Stephanie Brinson, who also went by Stephanie Dowells, were both allegedly strangled during what the state prison system calls “family visits” − extended visits in apartment-like facilities at Mule Creek State Prison in northern California, Riebe said.
Thomas’ domestic partner Anthony Curry, 48, was charged with murder and accused of strangling her in July 2024. He was already serving a life sentence for attempted second-degree murder. Dowells’ husband, 54-year-old David Brinson, hasn’t yet been charged but is a suspect in her death in November, Riebe said. He was already serving a life sentence for murder, according to media reports.
The prosecutor’s call for action joins those of family members like Thomas’ cousin, Jeanine Rojo.
“Something needs to be done, and it should have been done two homicides ago,” Rojo told NBC News.
Only four U.S. states allow family members of inmates to participate in some form of a conjugal visit, and last year’s tragedies have thrown the controversy surrounding them into the national spotlight.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement to USA TODAY on Thursday that visits have not been suspended.
“Family visits were not modified or paused as a result of this incident and continue to be available to eligible incarcerated individuals,” the agency said.
link to original article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/27/conjugal-visits-prison-women-deaths-suspended/82692064007/
Conjugal visits, or “family visits,” are allowed in only four U.S. states and are intended to promote rehabilitation and family connections.
Rev Red