People incarcerated in Michigan prisons are now able to view funerals virtually.
Previously, only low-security prisoners could ask for rare approval to attend in-person memorials.
Now, any inmate regardless of security status can ask to watch the video stream of an immediate family member’s funeral.
Chris Gautz is a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections. He says the department wants to help more inmates get closure after the death of a loved one.
“These are human beings who we have supervision over and we want to make sure that they have access, to be able to say their final farewell.”
The new policy took effect Monday.