Search | Prison Phone Justice

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 ...

"Strong Families, Safe Communities" Sends Clear Message for Phone Justice

Article • October 15, 2012

Filed under: Organizing, Telephone Rates

-15 The Campaign for Prison Phone Justice is a national effort challenging prison phone kickbacks and the U.S. Prison Telephone Industry. The campaign is jointly led by: Media Action Grassroots Network ...

Texas Court Orders TDCJ to Provide Hearing Impaired Telecommunications

Article • September 15, 2012 • from PLN September, 2012

Filed under: Deaf Prisoners, Telephones, Telephone Access

Texas Court Orders TDCJ to Provide Hearing Impaired Telecommunications by On April 5, 2011, a Texas state court issued a temporary injunction ordering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to provide telecommunications to hearing impaired prisoners using the Texas Relay Service (TRS). Leslie Arrington, Janet Lock, Kathy Williams and …

From the Editor

Article • July 15, 2012 • from PLN July, 2012

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Editorials, Telephone Rates

the Prison Phone Justice Campaign, we are also updating the information for all 50 states and the Bureau of Prisons with respect to their telephone contracts, the actual cost of prison phone calls ...

Texas Prison System Increases Prisoners’ Monthly Phone Minutes

Article • July 15, 2012 • from PLN July, 2012

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

Texas Prison System Increases Prisoners’ Monthly Phone Minutes by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In 2007, when Texas became the last state in the nation to let prisoners make phone calls on a regular basis, the limit on phone usage was 120 minutes a month. [See: PLN, Nov. 2007, p.11]. …

Missouri Court Finds Prisoner Phone Contract Bidding Process Unfair

Article • July 15, 2012 • from PLN July, 2012

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Telephone Rates

Missouri Court Finds Prisoner Phone Contract Bidding Process Unfair by On November 30, 2011, a Missouri circuit court held that adding optional services to the state’s prisoner telephone ...

Iowa Supreme Court Holds Billing for Fraudulent Prisoner Phone Calls Not a State Law Violation

Article • June 15, 2012 • from PLN June, 2012

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Iowa Supreme Court Holds Billing for Fraudulent Prisoner Phone Calls Not a State Law Violation by On October 14, 2011 the Iowa Supreme Court held that a prison telephone company did ...

From the Editor

Article • June 15, 2012 • from PLN June, 2012

Filed under: Editorials, Telephones, Telephone Rates

From the Editor by Paul Wright For the past 22 years, PLN has been at the forefront of reporting on the gouging of prisoners’ families by prisons, jails and the telecommunications industry as prisoncrats and corporations profit by charging families exorbitant phone rates for the ability to communicate with their …

Eighth Circuit Affirms No First Amendment Right to Lower Prison Phone Rates

Article • May 15, 2012 • from PLN May, 2012

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

Breault filed a civil rights action in federal court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that excessive contractual kickbacks resulted in high telephone rates for prisoners in the Arkansas Department ...

Court Finds Pennsylvania Jail’s Phone Bidding Process was Rigged; Contract Awarded to Another Company

Article • April 15, 2012 • from PLN April, 2012

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

Court Finds Pennsylvania Jail’s Phone Bidding Process was Rigged; Contract Awarded to Another Company by The bidding process used to select the telephone contractor for Pennsylvania’s ...

South Carolina Crime Stoppers Snitch Line Scammed

Article • March 15, 2012 • from PLN March, 2012

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Crime, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

South Carolina Crime Stoppers Snitch Line Scammed by Brandon Sample Most people are familiar with Crime Stoppers, the “snitch line” for individuals with information about crimes. Successful tips can result in benefits to the tipster – which can take the form of cash, leniency with a new case or a …

Prison Phone Rates Under Scrutiny by Louisiana Regulatory Agency

Article • February 15, 2012 • from PLN February, 2012

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Prison Phone Rates Under Scrutiny by Louisiana Regulatory Agency by The Louisiana Public Service Commission (PSC) is examining the rates for phone calls made by prisoners. To help it in that determination, the PSC has hired outside counsel to analyze rates, review regulations and compare them with other states to …

Private Equity Firms Profit Handsomely from Prison Phone Services

Article • February 15, 2012 • from PLN February, 2012

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

Private Equity Firms Profit Handsomely from Prison Phone Services by The October 2011 sale of Global Tel*Link Corp. (GTL), the nation’s largest prison and jail phone company, demonstrates what a goldmine prison phone services are for the provider side of the market. The sale, reportedly valued at $1 billion, was …

California Criminalizes Cell Phone Smuggling, Seeks Technology to Block Cell Phone Calls from Prisons

Article • January 15, 2012 • from PLN January, 2012

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates, Cell Phone Access

. The law provides that “a person who possesses with the intent to deliver, or delivers [to prisoners] any cel-lular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof ...” is subject ...