Theoretical Justification and Local Construction of the View on Inmates' Right to Visitation

AN Wenxia *

Abstract: At present, the visitation with the nature of a “privilege” in practice has exposed many problems, such as prison dominance, goal alienation, right restriction, and inadequate protection. These issues have turned visitation — originally intended to be an effective means of correcting inmates — into a more stringent control measure, which is not conducive to the realization of penal purposes or the maintenance of penal functions. In essence, the nature of visitation should return to that of a “right,” endowing all parties involved in visitation with equal right to visitation. To reconstruct prison visitation as a fundamental right, we should be guided by the goals of helping inmates improve their re-socialization capabilities and promoting their reintegration into society. Specifically, we must effectively safeguard inmates’ rights to know about visitation, to initiate visitation, and to engage in substantive communication during visitation. Furthermore, the right to visitation should be systematically regulated by revising relevant laws such as the Prison Law, the Criminal Procedure Law, and the Law on Community Corrections, thereby giving play to its positive effects in reforming inmates, preventing recidivism, and curbing intergenerational crime.

Keywords: inmate visitation · privilege · right to visitation