Search | Prison Phone Justice

Prisoners Respond to Call for Prison Phone Justice; SCI-Huntingdon Delivers!

Article • July 15, 2013 • from PLN July, 2013

Filed under: Organizing, Telephone Rates

Legal News. We asked you, our readers, to send letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) describing how you and your families have been impacted by the high cost of prison telephone calls ...

Louisiana Public Service Commission Postpones Prison Phone Reforms

Article • April 15, 2013 • from PLN April, 2013

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, Telephone Rates

Louisiana Public Service Commission Postpones Prison Phone Reforms by Mel Motel After heated hearings and postponement, on December 12, 2012, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) voted to lower the cost of phone calls made from Louisiana prisons and jails by cutting the rates of most calls by 25% and …

Georgia Prison Disturbance Linked to Contraband Cell Phones

Article • April 15, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Cell Phone Access

Georgia Prison Disturbance Linked to Contraband Cell Phones by In the wake of a disturbance which left twelve people injured at Hancock State Prison, Georgia prison officials are suggesting that prisoners used cell phones to plan and coordinate the uprising. On November 25, 2011, while prisoners in one area of …

Deregulation of Telephone Rates in Florida Eliminates Caps on Prisoner Rates

Article • March 15, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Deregulation of Telephone Rates in Florida Eliminates Caps on Prisoner Rates by To comply with Florida law, the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) amended its rules to remove its ...

Maine Supreme Judicial Court: PUC Cannot Regulate Prisoner Phone Rates

Article • March 15, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

of Corrections (DOC) charges state prisoners was not subject to regulation by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC). A complaint was filed with the PUC alleging that the DOC's prisoner telephone rates were ...

Abuse in Los Angeles Jails Leads to Investigations, Lawsuits and Eventual Reforms

Article • March 15, 2013 • from PLN March, 2013

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Retaliation against Staff, Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding, Exercise, Clothing, Jail Specific, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Telephone Access

that ordered the county to improve jail conditions – including overcrowding, inadequate exercise, and lack of clean clothing and telephone access. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had initially ...

Historic $45 Million Settlement in Washington State Prison Phone Class-action Suit

Article • March 15, 2013 • from PLN March, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

prisoners during the same time period; however, those claims were dismissed by the court under the filed tariff doctrine. In 1988, the Washington legislature determined that the provision of telephone ...

Prepaid Telephone Credits Theft Leads to Change of Provider in Wisconsin Jail

Article • March 15, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Prepaid Telephone Credits Theft Leads to Change of Provider in Wisconsin Jail by On September 21, 2011, the Lake County, Wisconsin, Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to change ...

California: Corrections Department Donates Confiscated Cell Phones to Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Organizations

Article • March 15, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Cell Phone Access

California: Corrections Department Donates Confiscated Cell Phones to Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Organizations by In recognition of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced plans to donate thousands of confiscated cell phones to organizations that help victims of domestic violence. In …

From the Editor

Article • February 15, 2013 • from PLN February, 2013

Filed under: Editorials, Telephones, Telephone Rates, Mail Regulations, PLN Litigation

From the Editor by Paul Wright I would like to thank everyone who has donated to the Human Rights Defense Center/Prison Legal News annual fundraiser. As of mid-January 2013 we had raised a little over $29,000 of our $60,000 goal to continue the Campaign for Prison Phone Justice, and still …

In Memory of Jon E. Yount (1938-2012)

Article • February 15, 2013 • from PLN February, 2013

Filed under: Eulogies, Voting, Crime/Demographics, Census, Parole, Telephone Rates, Suicides

.” In Yount v. T-Netix, Jon brought the prison system’s abusive telephone rates and billing practices before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and won refunds in 2008. The Department of Corrections ...

FCC Finally Moves on Wright Petition After Almost a Decade of Inaction

Article • February 15, 2013 • from PLN February, 2013

Filed under: Lobbying, Telephones, Telephone Rates

of prisoners and their families with the prison telephone system, and ideas for changing it. In the past six months more than 700 letters have arrived at the FCC from prisoners, their family members and other ...

Louisiana Public Service Commission Votes to Lower Prison and Jail Phone Rates

Article • January 15, 2013 • from PLN January, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates, State Legislation

Service Commission (LPSC) voted to lower the cost of telephone calls made from state prisons and local jails. With rates of $.30 per minute and surcharges to set up phone accounts, calls made by Louisiana ...

Cook County, Illinois Lowers Jail Phone Rates

Article • January 15, 2013 • from PLN January, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

. 1999, p.10; June 2000, p.19; Feb. 2001, p.19; May 2002, p.12]. For another recent victory for lower prison phone rates, see the article on reduced telephone rates for Louisiana prisoners in this issue ...

Organizations Submit Letters to FCC Urging Action on Prison Phone Rates

Article • December 15, 2012 • from PLN December, 2012

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

industry and highlighted the “commission” kickback system that drives up the cost of prison telephone calls in most states. According to HRDC’s letter, some consumers pay more than $17.00 for a 15-minute ...

GAO Report Examines Contraband Cell Phone Use in BOP Facilities

Article • December 15, 2012 • from PLN December, 2012

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Statistics/Trends, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates, Cell Phone Access

time creates for alternative means of contact with friends and family, such as cell phones. If, in fact, the BOP’s goal in providing telephone services to prisoners is to “facilitate their contact ...

PLN Readers Flood the FCC with Letters; Campaign Fights for Prison Phone Justice

Article • November 15, 2012 • from PLN November, 2012

Filed under: Organizing, Telephone Rates

prison phone calls. “My parents, 84 and 85 years old, barely can pay their bills with their income,” wrote prisoner Robert Taylor in his letter to the FCC. He noted that telephone calls are the only way ...

$2,500 Settlement in Illinois Prisoner’s Telephone Disconnect Suit – After Nine Years

Article • November 15, 2012 • from PLN November, 2012

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

$2,500 Settlement in Illinois Prisoner’s Telephone Disconnect Suit – After Nine Years by An Illinois prisoner has accepted $2,500 to settle a lawsuit against Ameritech, in which he accused ...

From the Editor

Article • October 15, 2012 • from PLN October, 2012

Filed under: Eulogies, Editorials, Telephone Rates, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

From the Editor by Paul Wright Over the past 22 years Prison Legal News has been represented by dozens of lawyers around the country in a variety of cases, mostly dealing with censorship and public records requests. We have met many if not most of our attorneys because they subscribed …

The Price to Call Home: State-Sanctioned Monopolization in the Prison Phone Industry

Article • October 15, 2012 • from PLN October, 2012

Filed under: Government Misconduct, Prisoner Privileges, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Telephone Rates

—have no comparable alternative means of communicating.5 Exorbitant telephone rates are not only bad for incarcerated persons and their families, but also are bad for society at large. High phone rates ...