Three Reasons Why Condoms in Prisons are a Fantastic Idea

Did you know that it's illegal for prisoners to have sex while incarcerated?

It's also illegal in Idaho to give your date a box of chocolates under 50 pounds, but you can bet that Russell Stover and Hershey still make out like gangbusters on Valentine's Day and Easter.

The point? You can create laws that make sex inside America's prisons illegal, much like you can create laws that ban boxes of chocolate that don't weigh more than a small child. But both are really stupid laws that won't be followed.

That's more or less the point made by San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who began a condom distribution program in his prisons in 1989, and today remains one of the few prison administrators who allows for condoms to be distributed to prisoners. Inside one of his prisons, there's even a machine that distributes condoms to prisoners, much like you'd find in a truck stop bathroom next to the $.50 cologne dispenser.

Makes sense, right? After all, sex in prisons happens whether it's illegal or not, and shouldn't administrators do everything possible to make sure prisoners are using protection?

You'd think so, yet Hennessey remains one of the few prison administrators in the country who allows condoms in his prisons. Elsewhere throughout California, and throughout the nation, few if any prisons allow condoms to be distributed to prisoners. And the consequences are enormous. Here are three reasons why Hennessey is doing the right thing by allowing his prisoners to have access to condoms.

1. Condoms are effective at preventing the spread of STDs.

Well, duh. But the common sense of this argument merits repeating. Condoms aren't fool proof, and they aren't the end all-be all of prevention. But they are highly effective at stopping the spread of HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and many other STDs. As the Center for Health Justice writes, prison populations generally tend to be more at risk for these STDs, meaning that giving them condoms should be a no-brainer. "As a group, prisoners are more likely to have HIV and other STDs, including Hepatitis C than the free population. Because condoms are highly effective at preventing the spread of these diseases, this is part of a public health effort to reduce the spread of disease in prison and in the community," the Health Justice Center writes,  noting that keeping prisoners STD-free is important, given that many prisoners will eventually transition back into the "free" population.

2. Condoms don't lead to contraband.

One criticism that prison condom distribution programs get are that they're a vehicle for prisoners to smuggle or hide illegal stuff, like drugs. It's a fair thing to worry about, but it's not altogether based in reality. Cue Sheriff Hennessey again, who said that after evaluating his condom distribution program, he's found that prisoners don't use condoms to hide drugs or other illegal substances. And he's been doing this since 1989, meaning that enough time has passed to evaluate whether condoms = drug transporters. They don't.

3. It's the moral thing to do, too.

Many conservative religious folks balk at the idea of allowing condoms in prisons. As one former Illinois prison administrator said, "Having that sexual involvement, even with a condom, is not righteous. If they’re going to [have sex], they’re going to do it on their own, and not with my permission. … I’m not going to hell for nobody." Now that's funny ... because while this prison administrator took what he considers "the moral highground," he also made sure that people inside his prisons were much more at risk for diseases that could seriously impact their health, if not kill them. Maybe this administrator isn't going to hell for allowing two men to have sex under his watch, but do you think he's going to hell for allowing scores of prisoners to contract STDs? Now there's a question that should spin this dude's head right round.

As Criminal Justice blogger Matt Kelley wrote last year, this issue should be a no-brainer, but it's consistently tough to get politicians and prison administrators to take the plunge, lest they be accused of fostering icky gross gay sex inside their prison cells. But people who argue for no condoms in prisons show a complete lack of understanding about sexuality inside America's penitentiary system, and are resting on moral platitudes that don't make sense inside the criminal justice system, let alone in many other contexts where safe-sex should be discussed (like, say, America's classrooms).

That's why it's all the more important to recognize folks like Sheriff Hennessey, who are willing to create a space for dialogue on this issue, and challenge the status quo.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons