When true love knows no boundaries

Lisa Britton of the Baker City Herald reports on weddings in Oregon prisons, in particular Powder River Correctional Facility:

Two couples — Baley and Manning, and Veronica Barnett and Timothy Bender — said their "I dos" Monday. Inmate weddings are held twice a year, on the fourth Mondays in April and October.

"There's usually at least three who request weddings, but they usually don't follow through," said Roger Haefer, chaplain at PRCF.

On Monday, 67 inmate marriages were performed across Oregon, said Aleca Nelson, public information officer at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla.
To be eligible, inmates must submit a "request for marriage" form for approval at least six weeks prior to the marriage date.

The inmate marriage policy for the Department of Corrections reads: "An incarcerated inmate may be permitted to marry someone of the opposite sex, including another inmate, provided that the marriage is legal, would not present a threat to the safe, secure and orderly operation of a Department of Corrections facility, and would not jeopardize public safety."