Alabama prisoners to make family video visits due to COVID-19

The Alabama prison system is planning to restore inmate family visits with a video system. The change is being prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. State corrections officials say they'll roll out the new system next month, which uses video kiosks by appointment. Alabama’s response to the coronavirus in its prisons has drawn criticism. The Southern Poverty Law Center complains that the state has over two hundred elderly inmates who are at a greater risk from COVID-19. The SPLC reiterated its response following last month’s death of sixty seven year old Willie Collins. The inmate contracted the coronavirus four months and died of pre-existing health conditions at the Staton Correction Facility’s infirmary