Dallas Backs Off Plan to Ban In-Person Jail Visits

Dallas County is backing off on a plan to ban in-person visits with jail inmates, the Dallas Observer reports: "Dallas County commissioners are asking for new bids on a controversial contract for the management of visitation and phone services to jail inmates, after County Judge Clay Jenkins and inmate advocates objected to a proposal that would have ended face-to-face visits while letting the county profit off families visiting their jailed loved one via video. The original version of the contract with Securus, a local technology company, would have obligated the county to cut off in-person visits to promote remote video visits, from which both Securus and the county would reap payments."