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USA Today
25-03-2025
- USA Today
Conjugal visit death reports mark a tragic turn for a controversial practice
Two women were were allegedly killed while visiting with their significant others in a California prison last year, putting the controversial practice of conjugal visits for inmates in the national spotlight. Stephanie Brinson, 62, whose family knew her as Stephanie Dowells, was allegedly strangled in November by her husband David Brinson, 54, who is serving a life sentence for murder at Mule Creek State Prison in Northern California, the Los Angeles Times reported. Her death came just months after Tania Thomas, 47, was also strangled while with her domestic partner Anthony Curry, also serving a life sentence in the same prison, according to NBC News. Curry was charged with her murder, Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe told NBC. The Amador County Sheriff's Office and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation didn't respond to inquiries from USA TODAY on Tuesday, and the Amador County District Attorney's Office declined to comment. Dowells' death was shocking to family members, who questioned in interviews with news outlets why she was allowed to be unsupervised with Brinson, given his convictions. Examples of inmates killing their partners during conjugal visits have made headlines in other countries, but few have been publicized in the U.S. Privacy away from watchful prison staff and access to an environment that simulates a home are key components of modern conjugal visits, which only exist in a few states in the U.S. and are the subject of controversy over their purpose and security issues they pose. Here's what to know: What is a conjugal visit? A conjugal visit allows an inmate to meet privately with a visitor for hours or days at a time, usually on prison grounds in a facility set up with a bed and often a kitchen. Though in popular culture they're usually depicted as opportunities for inmates to have sex with their spouse, in some places the visits can also include other family members such as the inmates' children. The practice started in the U.S. in the early 1900s at Parchman, the Mississippi State Penitentiary. At the time, Parchman was segregated by race and the visits were authorized for Black inmates, who authorities thought were more likely to be motivated by sex and would work harder in the fields, reported the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network. The practice was expanded to 17 states by the 1990s. Usually called family visits, they're set up to facilitate family bonding. Advocates for the programs have argued they reduce inmate-on-inmate sexual violence and help preserve family relationships, particularly for inmates to return to their families upon release. Since then, support for conjugal visits plummeted and programs were ended in most areas. In 2014, Mississippi lawmakers cited babies born as a result of conjugal visits and costs to end them altogether. New Mexico followed suit shortly after, saying the state would save $120,000 per year and that its own research found no impact on recidivism. Where are conjugal visits allowed? There are now only four states that allow some kind of conjugal visit: California, Connecticut, New York and Washington. No federal prisons offer the visits. Inmates have to meet certain requirements to be eligible for the visits, and usually only a few fit the bill. Before New Mexico did away with the visits, fewer than 150 of the state's over 7,000 prisoners qualified, Reuters reported in 2014. The visits are called "extended family visits" in Connecticut and Washington, the "family reunion program" in New York and "family visits" in California. In Connecticut, the visits must include an inmate's minor child and another adult in their immediate family. "Only those who demonstrate sustained good behavior and meet specific program requirements are considered. These visits are designed to support positive family connections and successful rehabilitation," California's corrections department said in a statement after Dowells' death. Why conjugal visits are controversial and disappearing As states have axed conjugal visit programs, they've highlighted concerns about security, pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Meanwhile, political conservatives say that the visits undermine the goal of punishment for convicted criminals, Florida criminal justice professor Stewart J. D'Alessio told Reuters in 2014. In Rhode Island, lawmakers are considering a longshot bill to allow conjugal visits for the first time since a related program called "social furloughs" that allowed some inmates to go home for short periods of time stopped being granted years ago. 'Visitation is important to rehabilitation efforts and to maintaining family ties,' J.R. Ventura, spokesperson for Rhode Island's corrections department, told the Providence Journal. 'Unfortunately, it is also a primary method by which contraband, including but not limited to cell phones, drugs, escape paraphernalia, weapons, currency and gang related items, is smuggled into the facilities.' Violence toward visitors by inmates in the U.S. appears to be rarely documented. In 1995, a Washington state inmate who had been convicted of murder, Todd E. Hiivala, violently attacked his wife with a kitchen knife during a conjugal visit, the Spokane-based Spokesman-Review newspaper reported at the time. The trailer at Clallam Bay Prison where conjugal visits were held was equipped with kitchen knives, the prison said. Heather Hiivala was stabbed in the arms, neck and face before her husband was subdued by a gunshot to the shoulder by a prison guard, the outlet reported.
USA Today
24-03-2025
- USA Today
Convicted murderer accused of killing wife in northern California prison during visit
A California inmate convicted of killing four people is now being accused of killing his wife during a conjugal visit at a prison in November, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. David Brinson killed 62-year-old Stephanie Brinson at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, about 40 miles northeast of Stockton in northern California, the Times reported this week, citing a local sheriff's and district attorney's office. David Brinson, 54, is serving four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for killing four men during a robbery at a Los Angeles apartment in 1990, the Times reported. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation did not respond to USA TODAY's request to confirm the killing on Saturday. The department only released a statement saying that on Nov. 13, David Brinson phone corrections officers around 2 a.m. to report "that his wife had passed out during her visitation." Officers attempted to resuscitate her but she was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m., the department said. The investigation into Stephanie Brinson's death by Mule Creek State Prison investigators and the Amador County District Attorney's Office is ongoing. "The Family visits are a privilege, and incarcerated persons must apply and meet strict eligibility criteria to be approved," the department said in its statement. "Only those who demonstrate sustained good behavior and meet specific program requirements are considered. These visits are designed to support positive family connections and successful rehabilitation." Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe confirmed to the Times that Stephanie Brinson was killed during a conjugal visit and had yet to receive reports from Mule Creek to make a charging decision. The Amador County District Attorney's Office and Amador County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment Saturday. The agencies confirmed to multiple other media outlets that a homicide investigation was underway and that Stephanie Brinson had been strangled. 'We're just devastated,' son says Stephanie Brinson, known by those closest to her as Stevi, was a hairstylist and a small business owner in the Los Angeles area, local MSNBC affiliate KCRA3 reported. She was a mother to two sons and a grandmother to six. "She was the most giving, kindhearted person,' her mother, Oveta Wilson, told the outlet. "Stevi was literally the glue that held the family together." Armand Torres, Stephanie Brinson's son, told the outlet that his family was "just devastated." He said that she would visit her husband at the prison and "would read the Bible together." "He was in school in there because she was pushing him to try to be this better person,' daughter-in-law Nataly Jimenez told the outlet. The Amador County Coroner recently told the family that Stephanie was strangled, and her death had been ruled a homicide, MSNBC affiliate KCRA3 reported. Torres told the outlet he believes the prison should be held accountable for his mother's death. 'How could they just let this happen? I just don't get it,' Torres said. "My mom was just left alone, and she called for help, I'm sure, and there's nothing she could do. Given the history that this guy has, we kind of wanted to know how is it even possible for them to be unsupervised?"
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
Convicted killer strangles wife during conjugal visit in Northern California prison, officials say
A convicted killer serving life in prison for four Los Angeles County slayings strangled his wife to death during a conjugal visit, Northern California sheriff's officials announced. Stephanie Brinson, 62, was strangled to death in November by her husband, David Brinson, 54, the Amador County Sheriff's Office announced this week. In 1994, Brinson was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for killing four men during a robbery at a Los Angeles apartment, The Times reported. He is currently incarcerated at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton. Around 2 a.m. on Nov. 13, Brinson contacted officers and told them his wife had passed out, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Officers attempted lifesaving efforts but Stephanie Brinson was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m. Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe confirmed that Stephanie Brinson was killed during a conjugal visit. He said that he hasn't received the reports from the Mule Creek State Prison to make a charging decision. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
