The FAMM (Families Against Mandatory Minimums) Foundation is releasing You Don’t Know If You Don’t Go: Understanding the Value of Prison Visits, a new report as part of the organization’s ongoing #VisitAPrison initiative. The report brings to light the realities faced by millions of incarcerated people, their families, and correctional staff. It also offers policy recommendations and demonstrates how firsthand observation can reveal the gap between legislative intent and the realities of implementation.
For families, conditions inside are the daily reality of the people they love. For correctional staff, they are the reality of the workplace. Yet too often, the people who write our laws have never set foot inside a correctional facility. This report makes the case for why they should, and explains what they stand to learn when they do.
For many people, what happens after someone leaves the courtroom remains out of sight and out of mind unless they or someone they love is directly impacted by incarceration. Since 2022, FAMM has encouraged lawmakers and the public to visit prisons, see firsthand what life is like inside, and better understand the realities that too often go unseen.
Independent prison oversight is FAMM’s focus this month, and this past weekend, the organization hosted a nationwide event streaming The Alabama Solution, followed by a panel on the urgency of prison oversight. Thank you to everyone who joined us and took part in the conversation.
Your voice, and the voices of your loved ones, make the case for improved prison conditions and independent oversight better than any report. What can you do to amplify these efforts?
- Read the full report here —>>> #VisitAPrison Report 2026
- Share it with your family, friends, and community.
- Send it to your state legislators and ask them to visit a prison: https://act.famm.org/a/visit-a-prison-advocacy
Families Against Mandatory Minimums is a non-profit organization that aims to create a more fair and effective justice system that upholds our American values of individual accountability and dignity while keeping our communities safe.
