PRESS RELEASE

Department of Corrections News
Weekend Visiting Resumes at Some State Correctional Facilities
Dixon, Allen and Phelps Canceled; Louisiana State Penitentiary Affected
BATON ROUGE, La. (September 11, 2008) - After being postponed for the last two weekends due to Hurricane Gustav, visitation at many state correctional facilities will resume this weekend (September 11 – 14, 2008), with some exceptions.

Visitation is cancelled this weekend at Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson, La. as inmate evacuees from coastal Louisiana (Hurricane Gustav) are being housed in the visiting area of that prison.  

Both C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center in DeQuincy, La. and Allen Correctional Center in Kinder, La. have cancelled weekend visitation due to the impending landfall of Hurricane Ike.

Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola has cancelled Thursday visitation (today) but will allow visitation Friday, Saturday and Sunday (September 12 -14).

All other state correctional facilities will have normal visitation (as of now).  For location and visiting information, please visit www.doc.louisiana.gov.

The Department recognizes the importance of visitation for offenders and their families.  It is always regrettable when the Department has to cancel visitation, but preparations for and response to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike and the influx of thousands of inmate evacuees due to the storm made visitation impossible to conduct over the last two weekends.  The Department appreciates the public’s patience and understanding.

For the latest information on Hurricane Gustav, you can visit emergency.louisiana.gov or call the state's emergency hotline at 1-866-288-2484 to listen to a recorded message with the most up-to-date information.

###