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From the Editor

Article • December 15, 2013 • from PLN December, 2013

Filed under: Editorials, Telephones, Telephone Rates

From the Editor by Paul Wright Welcome to the last issue of PLN for 2013. As the year closes we can look back and see we have accomplished a great deal, including expanding the magazine to 64 pages, successfully urging the FCC to cap the cost of interstate prison phone …

Consolidated Footnotes – Charts A to D

Article • December 15, 2013 • from PLN December, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

% of quarterly gross revenue on all Contractor provided inmate telephone equipment and of quarterly profits on all Enhanced Services over $1.5 million.” 20 South Dakota receives a 38% commission on collect ...

Possession of Cell Phone Doesn’t Violate Nevada Escape Device Statute

Article • December 15, 2013 • from PLN December, 2013

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Escapes, Cell Phone Access

Possession of Cell Phone Doesn’t Violate Nevada Escape Device Statute by The Nevada Supreme Court has held that a statute prohibiting prisoners from possessing escape devices does not encompass possession of a contraband cell phone. Pursuant to NRS 212.093(1), prisoners are prohibited from having “any key, picklock, bolt cutters, wire …

Anonymous PREA Hotlines Not So Anonymous

Article • November 15, 2013 • from PLN November, 2013

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Telephones, Telephone Monitoring

prisons and jails to establish internal telephone hotlines for prisoners to report sexual abuse and harassment, many have done so. When the PREA standards were being developed, some prisoners’ rights ...

CDCR to Block Contraband Cell Phone Signals at all Facilities

Article • October 15, 2013 • from PLN October, 2013

Filed under: Telephone Access, Telephone Rates, Cell Phone Access, Guards/Staff, Guard Unions

CDCR to Block Contraband Cell Phone Signals at all Facilities by The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has awarded a six-year system-wide telephone contract ...

After Ten Years, FCC Votes for Prison Phone Reforms!

Article • September 15, 2013 • from PLN September, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

, Color of Change, Sum of Us, the United Church of Christ’s Office of Communication, National CURE and the Equitable Telephone Charges (eTc) Campaign, directed by Kay Perry of Michigan CURE. &ldquo ...

HRDC Invited to Speak at Unprecedented FCC Workshop on Prison Phone Rates

Article • August 15, 2013 • from PLN August, 2013

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

the first panel discussion at the FCC workshop by addressing the importance of prison phone reforms. "The impact of high telephone rates on prisoners and their families cannot be overstated. Our research ...

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 ...