Top state court: Jailed mom not entitled to visitation

Published 9:49 pm Monday, March 12, 2018

TYLERTOWN (AP) — A Mississippi woman incarcerated for sexual relationships with teenagers has again been denied a court order requiring her children to visit her in jail.

In an opinion affirmed Feb. 1, the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld Chancellor Wayne Smith’s decision to allow Chad Griffin to determine if and when his four daughters would visit their mother, Nolana Thornton Griffin.

In 2014, Nolana Griffin was sentenced to 15 years in prison for having sex with four of her students. Chad Griffin filed for divorce more than a year later, winning physical and legal custody of the children.

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Smith said incarceration didn’t inherently preclude visitation, but ruled the nine-hour round trip to the prison and environmental exposure was potentially harmful for the girls.