Search | Prison Phone Justice

Despite Suicides, Jails Replace In-person Visitation with Video Screens

Article • March 6, 2018 • from PLN March, 2018

Filed under: Jail Specific, Telephones, Suicides, Visiting, Video Visitation

center once a week remains their only option. Rates for telephone calls, video visits and other communications services in jails and prisons are extremely high compared to the free world. Couloute said ...

Mississippi Attorney General Settles with Third Company in Epps Bribery Scandal

Article • March 6, 2018 • from PLN March, 2018

Filed under: Private Prisons, Attorneys General, Telephones

Mississippi Attorney General Settles with Third Company in Epps Bribery Scandal by Monte McCoin by Monte McCoin PLN has previously covered the continuing fallout from a massive bribery scandal involving former Mississippi DOC Commissioner Christopher B. Epps, including RICO lawsuits filed by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood against several companies …

Sufficient Facts for Discrimination Hearing

Article • February 8, 2018

Filed under: Deaf Prisoners, Conditions of Confinement, Americans with Disabilities Act, Telephone Access

Sufficient Facts for Discrimination Hearing by David Reutter by David Reutter A Colorado federal district court held that deaf prisoners and prisoners in contact with deaf persons alleged sufficient facts to survive dismissal of the Americans with Disabilities Act claim. The court said the prison’s archaic, faulty communication system for …

French Officials to Install Phones in 50,000 Prison Cells

Article • January 31, 2018 • from PLN February, 2018

Filed under: Prison Reform, Telephone Access

, on January 2, 2018, French officials opened the bidding process for a telecom provider to install landline telephones in each of 50,000 cells in 178 prisons. The justice ministry said the program was being ...

Maine DOC's Dirty Trick in Prisoner Lawsuit Challenging Food and Phone

Article • December 26, 2017

Filed under: Food, Telephones

okie-doked prisoner Kevin J. Collins out of $150 in his lawsuit challenging food services and the prison's telephone system. Collins filed his lawsuit appealing the denial of his grievances in December ...

WA: Jail Phone Conversations Not Private, May Be Used By Prosecutors

Article • December 13, 2017

Filed under: Jail Specific, Privacy Act, Telephone Monitoring

was still in jail. Their conversations were recorded by the jail's telephone system. According to court documents, the recordings "provided evidence of Dare's complicity in the robbery and were used ...

Georgia Prison Contraband Investigation Nets 130 Arrests, Guilty Pleas

Article • November 7, 2017 • from PLN November, 2017

Filed under: Crime, War on Drugs, Telephones

Georgia Prison Contraband Investigation Nets 130 Arrests, Guilty Pleas by David Reutter by David M. Reutter About 130 people have been arrested following a joint two-year investigation by the FBI and the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDOC). Indictments for 75 of the arrestees were announced in September 2015; another 46 …

$250,000 Paid By Virginia Jail to Settle Deaf Prisoner Suit

Article • November 7, 2017 • from PLN November, 2017

Filed under: Deaf Prisoners, Jail Specific, Telephone Access

$250,000 Paid By Virginia Jail to Settle Deaf Prisoner Suit by In December 2016, a $250,000 settlement was reached in a lawsuit brought by a deaf prisoner who was effectively unable to communicate during a six-week stay at a jail in Arlington County, Virginia. The suit pushed the sheriff’s office …

From the Editor

Article • November 6, 2017 • from PLN November, 2017

Filed under: Editorials, Conditions of Confinement, Money/Property, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Telephones, Telephone Rates

From the Editor by Paul Wright by Paul Wright By now all PLN subscribers should have received our fundraiser mailing which includes our 2016 annual report and details our many activities, ranging from publishing and litigation to advocacy and media outreach. This provides a great overview of the depth and …

Global Tel*Link Fails to Derail Prison Phone Suit but Dodges Class Certification

Article • November 6, 2017 • from PLN November, 2017

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

Global Tel*Link Fails to Derail Prison Phone Suit but Dodges Class Certification by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna An order entered by Western District of Arkansas federal judge Timothy L. Brooks on September 28, 2017 gave a mixed result to both sides in a hotly-contested lawsuit over excessive costs for …

Profiting Off Mass Incarceration: Detroit Pistons Owner Buys Private Prison Phone Company

Article • October 10, 2017 • from PLN October, 2017

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, GEO Group/Wackenhut, Statistics/Trends, Telephone Rates

Profiting Off Mass Incarceration: Detroit Pistons Owner Buys Private Prison Phone Company by Brian Dolinar by Brian Dolinar, Truthout The election of Donald Trump has already given an economic boost to those profiting from mass incarceration. The stock prices of the two biggest private prison builders – CoreCivic (formerly Corrections …

Former Mississippi DOC Commissioner, Co-defendants Sentenced in Massive Bribery Scheme

Article • October 9, 2017 • from PLN October, 2017

Filed under: Government Misconduct, Telephone Rates

then-Mississippi DOC Commissioner Christopher B. Epps a portion of the money he earned as a prison telephone contractor. Waggoner told federal agents that before their investigation started, he wrote ...

More Prisons Banning In-Person Visits, Adding To Securus Tech's Pile Of Cash

Article • October 4, 2017

Filed under: Telephone Rates, Video Visitation

More Prisons Banning In-Person Visits, Adding To Securus Tech's Pile Of Cash by Tim Cushing by Tim Cushing From the it's-ok-because-prisoners-aren't-human-beings,-amirite dept Jails and prisons continue to sacrifice what few physical interactions prisoners have with loved ones on the outside to phone service provider Securus. The New Orleans Advocate reports …

Seventh Circuit Passes on Opportunity to Weigh in on Police Use of Cell-Site Simulators

Article • September 6, 2017

Filed under: Police Searches, Telephone Monitoring

telephone." Based at least in part on the DOJ's benign description of the Stingray, the majority punted any further analysis. A strongly worded dissent by Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Wood disagreed ...

FCC Chairman Called Out on Conflict of Interest Concerning Prison Phone Company

Article • August 30, 2017 • from PLN September, 2017

Filed under: Telephone Rates, HRDC Publications

FCC Chairman Called Out on Conflict of Interest Concerning Prison Phone Company by Carrie Wilkinson by Carrie Wilkinson The Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) submitted a formal comment on three Federal Communications Commission dockets on August 9, 2017, accusing FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who formerly represented prison telecom giant Securus …

No Right to Private Attorney Call for Iowa DUI Arrestee Prior to Consent to Breathalyzer Test

Article • August 22, 2017

Filed under: Drug Testing, Attorney Calls

No Right to Private Attorney Call for Iowa DUI Arrestee Prior to Consent to Breathalyzer Test by Lonnie Burton by Lonnie Burton On June 24, 2016, the Supreme Court of Iowa rejected the appeal ...

Nevada Federal Court Dismisses Suit over Attorney-Client Phone Call Monitoring

Article • August 22, 2017

Filed under: Attorney Client, Attorney Calls

makes the practice of periodically 'checking in' on the calls of inmates after initial screening to ensure they are still privileged, i.e., that the attorney had not handed the telephone over to a non ...

Going to Prison in Texas in 2015

Article • August 2, 2017

Filed under: Classification, Prison Labor, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Food, Lockdowns, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, Arrest and Booking, Grooming Rules, Release and Reentry, Parole, Prisoner Property, Commissary, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates, Religious Property

at the commissary. The offender is allowed an unlimited number of minutes per month at 20 minutes per call. These phone calls are monitored, with the exception of legal telephone calls. Telephone access ...

Consensual Use of Another Prisoner’s Telephone PIN is Not Oregon ID Theft

Article • July 28, 2017 • from PLN August, 2017

Filed under: Telephone Access

Consensual Use of Another Prisoner’s Telephone PIN is Not Oregon ID Theft by The Oregon Court of Appeals held on August 17, 2016 that the consensual use of another prisoner’s ...

Alaska Prisoners Riot Over Excessive Phone Rates

Article • July 20, 2017

Filed under: Telephone Rates

prisoners and guards clashed over the prison's excessive telephone rates, a "smartmouth" guard's comments on the subject, and other issues. According to prisoners formerly housed in the dorm, on October 9 ...