March 16, 2005 – Everything had "reverted back to normal" by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Golden Grove Correction facility after a peaceful demonstration by inmates, according to Sgt. Thomas Hannah, a police spokesman.
He said a demonstration started about 9 a.m. that morning when inmates became upset because they were not allowed contact with visitors.
The prison has been in a lockdown state recently because of security concerns. Officials were phasing out of lockdown and non-contact visits were scheduled to start Tuesday.
Inmates reportedly wanted to be able to touch and hug family members who were visiting.
The prison has over 500 inmates. Hannah said he heard between 60 to 90 inmates participated in the protest.
He said all inmates were returned to their cells without any force or violence. He said prison officials will be discussing the possibility of allowing contact visits in the future.
About 100 federal and local peace officers were called in to give support, if it had been needed, to the correctional officers during the afternoon.
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