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Articles about Phone Justice

FCC Takes Further Action on Prison and Jail Phone Rates

by Chuck Sharman

A review of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) report and adopted order on rates for interstate inmate calling services (ICS), released May 24, 2021.

When this rule takes effect—90days after its release—ICS interstate call rates will be capped at 12 cents per minute for prisons and 14 cents per minute for larger jails, defined as those with an average daily population (ADP) of 1,000 or more. For smaller jails, the cap remains where it was set in 2013 at 21 cents per minute. All of which ensures that prison phone providers like Securus and Global Tel*Link (GTL) will continue making obscene profits off the backs of prisoners and their families.

The new caps are determined by a different formula than that used to set previous caps, which the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. vacated in a pair of 2017 rulings against the FCC in favor of two large ICS providers: Global Tel*Link v. FCC, 866 F.3d 397 (D.C. Cir. 2017) and Securus v. FCC, 2017 US App. Lexis 26360 (DC Cir. 2017). The formula that those cases successfully challenged estimated provider costs using an industry-wide average, which the court said was likely to mean that ...

HRDC Sues Illinois DOC Under FOIA, Again, for GTL Contract Details

by Chuck Sharman

On August 18, 2021, a lawsuit was filed in the circuit court for Cook County in Chicago, Illinois by the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), the publisher of Prison Legal News (PLN) and Criminal Legal News (CLN), accusing the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) of failing to timely produce prison phone contract documents that HRDC had sought under the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 5 ILCS 140/1.

HRDC’s initial request, filed on June 10, 2021, asked for records of state contracts for prisoner video visitation services, specifically: contracts between the service provider, Global Tel Link (GTL), and IDOC since January 1, 2019; receipts for commissions paid for the services to IDOC or its assignees during that period; and allocations of those commissions.

Under the law, IDOC had five business days to respond, which expired June 17, 2021. But after it blew by that statutory deadline—IDOC didn’t respond with its request for more time until June 21, on day 11. The agency then refused the request on day 18, saying it was “unduly burdensome” to comply.

FOIA does in fact make provision for the state to refuse a records request on those grounds in certain limited situations. ...

The Fight Over Cellphones in Prisons Rages On

by Derek Gilna

The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant shut-downs have focused attention on the need for connection between all members of society, and for many prisoners, denied in-person visits, a contraband cellphone has helped them keep in touch with family. But that didn’t stop the Mississippi Supreme Court from affirming a 12-year sentence to Willie Nash for having a phone in the county jail. See: Nash v. State, 293 So. 3d 265 (Miss. 2020).

Although correctional officials claim that they can be used for fraud and extortion, just as state provided phones are, the fact remains that most prisoners understand that these phones are too valuable as family communication tools to be put at risk by committing other crimes.

Ten years ago, a New York Times article conceded that harsh penalties and increased vigilance weren’t working to keep phones out of prisons. “The logical solution would be to keep all cellphones out of prison. But that is a war that is being lost, corrections officials say.”

As noted by former death row resident Jarvis Jay Masters: “For people isolated from the world, hearing a loved one’s voice or a grandbaby coo for the first time is healing.”

The Times ...

San Diego Jail Approves Free Phone and Video Calls

The County of San Diego Board of Supervisors (Board) voted unanimously February 27, 2021 to stop charging prisoners and detainees in county jails and juvenile detention centers for phone calls. The initiative called for the Board to develop a plan by May 4 which prohibited the county from generating revenue from phone calls and to find funding to replace that lost revenue. Effective July 1, 2021, all jail prisoners can make unlimited phone and video calls to day with each phone call being limited to 15 minutes and video calls limited to 30 minutes.

San Diego County Jail (SDCJ) contracts with Securus Technologies for phone services. Prior to the change, costs ran from 21 cents per minute for prepaid interstate calls to 33 cents per minute for local and intrastate calls. Detainees were also charged $2.50 for a 20-minute video visit, $2.00 for voice mail messaging, and several different service fees for account maintenance. Under the current contract, the county makes $2.8 million each year which is used to operate juvenile detention centers, pay for educational programs, manage indigent supplies, and more.

Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer introduced the proposal, stating that it was morally wrong to generate revenue in this fashion. ...

Tenth Circuit Rejects Government’s Appeal Over Recorded Attorney Calls and Visits at Private Prison in Leavenworth

by Dale Chappell

Over five years ago, federal prosecutors in Kansas used recordings of attorney visits and phone calls to obtain convictions in numerous criminal cases. The recordings were made by a private prison in Leavenworth owned by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA, which has since changed its name to CoreCivic), and then handed over to prosecutors. Once this scam was exposed, hundreds of prisoners filed motion to toss their criminal cases. Despite that the federal court found the prosecutors were in contempt of court for refusing to turn over the evidence it illegally obtained, the government still tried to white-wash its disgraceful acts through multiple court challenges and complaints.

The government’s latest attempt was an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, where the government complained that the district court’s investigation into the recorded meetings and calls was unlawful and that the judge’s criticism of the government’s acts was harmful to the government’s other cases stemming from those acts. It said that these things could harm the cases still open that are challenging possible constitutional violations by the government and CCA. But the Court of Appeals ruled on May 4, 2021, that the government’s appeal ...

Connecticut Makes All Prison Communications Free, Makes History

Connecticut made history on June 16, 2020, when Governor Lamont signed Senate Bill 972, making the state the first in the country where prison phone calls will be free for all prisoners and their families, including incarcerated youth. The state Senate and House fully funded the bipartisan bill, allocating $11.2 million in the budget. Other jurisdictions like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego have made jail phone calls free, but no state had taken the same step across its prison population until Connecticut passed this bill into law.

The change comes after years of organizing and lobbying by advocates for prisoners and families, including the Connecting Families Connecticut coalition. Worth Rises, a New York nonprofit, helped to lead the fight, and its Executive Director Bianca Tylek said the bill will save prisoners and their families in the state $14 million dollars a year. It will also help connect struggling families trying to stay in touch and assist in reentry by improving access to support networks, she said.

“Today, Connecticut made history by becoming the first state to make prison calls, and all other communications, free. All of the brave advocates and directly impacted families who fought ...

Iowa Jails Lower Phone Rates But Not Far Enough

The Utilities Board has approved rates for five jail phone providers: Prodigy, Network Communications International Corporation, Combined Public Communications, ICSolutions, and Global Tel*Link. It has not yet approved a rate for Securus, but it and the other companies were instructed to keep their rates at 25 cents or less for prepaid calls.

GTL’s proposal for prepaid calls was unanimously approved on February 16, 2021. It sets the rate at 22 cents per minute for prepaid calls from the Black Hawk County Jail, 16 cents per minute from the Scott County Jail, and 11 cents per minute from the Boys State Training School.

This type of price disparity is something the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) requested the Utilities Board to end when it ordered a price reduction. ‘‘The incarceration of of a loved one is stressful. Families should not ...

Michigan Begins Video Visits During Coronavirus Pandemic

‘‘Contact with friends and family is so important to the prison population, that’s why we worked hard to explore new technologies that could allow them to connect with their loved ones during this time,’’ said DOC Director Heidi Washington.

Video visitors must be on a prisoner’s Approved Visitor List, which may include immediate family members and up to 10 non-family members. Each visit lasts 20 minutes and costs $3.20, the same as a regular phone call. The service is provided by prison phone vendor Global Tel*Link (GTL). A $318 million behemoth in the $1 billion prison phone service market, GTL has recently been the subject of two federal class-action lawsuits over its pricing and account practices. (See PLN, Feb. 2020, p.38.)

In Michigan, GTL has reduced the fees prisoners pay to access the Internet or mobile phone networks by $1. In addition, the company offered every prisoner ...

People in jails are using more phone minutes during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite decreased jail populations

Our study of 14 jails finds that there were 8% more overall minutes used during the pandemic, despite the fact that nationwide jail populations have fallen about 15%.

But, like the jail population reductions, the increase in phone minutes is attributable to COVID-19. Across the country, COVID-19 cases have ballooned in prisons and jails. Insufficient medical care, aging populations, poor preparedness, inability to social distance, and lack of sanitation combine in correctional facilities to create deadly conditions amidst a global pandemic. As a result, many jails have suspended in-person visitation, leaving phone and video calls as the main way for people to communicate with loved ones.

It makes sense, then, that more minutes were used in 2020 than 2019. This increase was attributable to both longer and more ...

Federal Judge in Georgia Grants Class Action Status to Prisoners’ Suit Against Global Tel*Link

Monday, November 30, 2020, was a big day for a group of Georgia prisoners suing their phone service provider, Global Tel*Link (GTL), over the company’s allegedly hidden policy of confiscating any unused funds in their accounts after 90 days.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Totenberg granted the suit class action status and smacked GTL with sanctions — including the cost of plaintiffs’ legal fees — after finding the firm had played fast and loose with legal rules. (See related story on this page.)

The case potentially sets the stage for a second large judgment against GTL in just a few months. In October 2020, a federal judge in New Jersey approved a $25 million settlement to satisfy a class-action suit filed in 2011 by prisoners in the state. In that case, the court found GTL guilty of receiving kickbacks from overly inflated prices, charging its prisoner customers as much as 100 times the going rate for a call (See PLN, Dec. 2020, p. 24).

The Georgia prisoners filed their suit in 2015, accusing GTL of violating the Federal Communication Act, as well state laws against breach of contract and unjust enrichment. At issue was the firm’s habit of cleaning out ...