Photo by Robert A. DeFrank The prisoners of Belmont Correctional Institute will be spending the Christmas season behind bars, but they can contact family and enjoy some holiday cheer.

Inmates spending Christmas behind the walls of Belmont Correctional Institution are doing what they can to make merry during the holiday season.

Warden David Gray said the first concern of inmates during the holidays is being away from family on the outside.

“Being in prison is similar to anybody else in America who’s separated from or has distance between them and their families. When I think of those folks, I think of all those folks here in the Ohio Valley who are oil and gas workers away from their family, or folks who are deployed overseas in the military,” he said.

“Unlike those folks, these people were placed inside the prison based on their behavior,” he said. “If there’s a connection between the family and the folks that are convicted felons, and they get released, they seem to do better upon release. Their recidivism rate is significantly lower. So we want to make sure those connections continue while they’re in prison, particularly while they’re in Belmont Correctional Institution.

“Last year, we released 2,300 inmates. Those people are going back to their homes, and we want to make sure they don’t come back to prison again. We want to make sure they don’t commit crimes again.”

The visiting program is well-known and often used by inmates’ families, but Gray noted that the prison has also reduced the cost of phone calls to 5 cents per minute. He added that inmates are able to make calls throughout the day.

“They have the ability to make those contacts, and I think it helps a lot during the holiday seasons to have those connections with the family that they wouldn’t have had 20 years ago,” Gray said.

Gray added that the inmates are able to bring some Christmas cheer to the prison with approved decorations.

“Through the inmate funds, when they buy commissary items, snacks at the commissary shop, a portion goes back to the inmate entertainment fund,” he said. “We took a portion of that and gave it to each unit and allowed them to create some decorations — some paper products.”

In addition, the prison takes steps to meet religious needs during the holidays.

“Across the board we have a diverse group of religious services, but this time of the year it’s real important to folks that they have that religious opportunity,” Gray said.