By Andy Marso
CJ Online
NORTON, Kan. — A Kansas inmate says the Kansas Department of Corrections is discriminating against him by not allowing visits by the man he married in Iowa, but the inmate’s husband says he isn’t interested in visiting. Christopher Yates, 34, is serving seven years at Norton Correctional Facility for crimes related to embezzlement.
He sent a letter to The Topeka Capital-Journal in October saying the corrections department’s refusal to allow visits from his husband, Steve, was a departure from what it allows for heterosexual couples. A corrections official said the decision was made by the Norton warden and was based on the fact that Christopher Yates’ husband was a co-defendant in some of his crimes.
Steve Yates, reached by phone last week, said he hasn’t had contact with his husband since August and has no desire to do so. He said cutting ties is the best way to separate himself from his husband’s criminal past and he has a promising new job that he doesn’t want to jeopardize.
“It’s just better that I not have contact with Christopher,” Steve Yates said. “Things are moving ahead smoothly for me.” Steve Yates said he plans to sever his marriage to Christopher Yates, perhaps through an annulment, in 2014.
Full story: Gay inmate’s husband not interested in visitation