On another occasion, T Netix placed a block on my number for no apparent reason. While the error was theirs, it took almost two weeks to straighten it out.
Then there is the phone bill. Looking at my phone bill for November, I see that I spoke to my friend for a total of two hours and forty-five minutes at a cost of $106.54. It is expensive, but worth the cost to know that my buddy is all right. I can afford it, but what about the families who can’t?
The majority of inmates in federal and state custody come from low-income households. Their family members already struggle to send their loved ones money for clothes, radios, and toiletry items that help them maintain a sense of self-worth in an extremely dehumanizing environment. The inflated rates charged by T Netix and other phone service providers force some families to make some heartbreaking choices.
The case of Janie Canino was used to illustrate this point in ad hoc committee meeting held before the FCC. Canino, a single parent supporting two elderly parents on her small salary, pays between $75.00-$100.00 per month to maintain contact with her son who is incarcerated in a Louisiana prison.
When asked about the high cost of collect calls from prison, Matt Davis, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections responded, “We’re talking about murderers and rapists. They took from society, and now it’s time they gave something back.” When it was pointed out that it is not the inmates who pay but their family and friends, he went on to say that if the inmates don’t want to cost their families money they should just write letters.
The sad fact is that a large portion of the prison population never graduated high school. Writing is difficult for them. It is also true that most inmates don’t want their loved ones to worry about them so the letters they write are typically pretty sterile. One is able to garner much more information from the sound of an inmate’s voice than from a few words scratched on a legal pad.
According to the Department of Corrections, 93 per cent of those currently incarcerated in state and federal prisons will be released at some point. Studies indicate that close familial ties are an indicator of an inmate’s success in transitioning to life on the outside. Why would prison systems make maintaining family ties so burdensome? The answer is easy: money.
Prisons take bids from companies offering to implement phone systems. Unlike most bidding processes, they typically enter into exclusive, long-term contracts with the company that charges the highest rates. The company agrees to pay the prison a commission, usually between 40-60 per cent of revenue. These commissions (read: kickbacks) guarantee the prison an additional revenue stream. In some states it amounts to over $25 million dollars a year.
Article comments
1 - katy
Its interesting to read this article and see that the antitrust law was dissmissed in 2002, because i cant think of a more anti-trust-like situation. They are punishing peoples families for the mistakes of the prisoners in what seems like a unreasonable charge to make money. They say this money is going to the prisoners for books and such, but again like it stated, why wouldnt this be included in the taxes we pay as a society.
Id be interested to see what happens when they let another company come in.
2 - Che
My brother is in prison and my mother is disabled, seriously ill, and on Social Security. The phone bills are exhorbitant, yet my brother needs to call frequently to check on my mother's health.
You're all too correct when you state that the families of inmates are punished. Excellent article.
3 - Jon Sobel
It's hard to think of a more unfair - and petty! - abuse of poor families so corporations can make a buck. Thanks for spreading the word on this.
4 - pixel
I totally agree the system is corrupt and unreasonable. A dear friend was just detained for 2 weeks (kept there longer than necessary because of a clerical error) and in the end his friends, family and myself have paid more in phone bill fees than he will have to pay in fines. It will be a small Christmas for all of us because there isn't much left in the piggy bank for presents. Several times we had problems with a bad phone line--for the price of what it would cost to talk to someone in Iceland, it would've been nice to have a decent connection. I would love to see this reformed.
5 - Douglas Mays
Oh yeah, thats where they getcha....the phone thing. Costly. Kinda like when hotels would charge a line use fee for local calls. I remember being in a hotel on 47th and calling a friend who live on 34th (Manhatten). The conversation cost me $12. That now has been outlawed I think....
Anyway, the phone company and various institutions can create added expenses for the unsuspecting customer...
best,
DM
6 - bob
you all need to get over it. These people were incarcerated for committing a crime. Prison should not be a luxury stay. Punishment should be first and foremost, maybe if this happened there wouldn't be so many repeat offenders and more people unwilling to break the law.
7 - Michael
I cannot deny that this is hard for the families of incarcerated individuals. Those of you that think this is such a tragedy cannot deny that in today's liberal society, prison has become more of a vacation spot. Convicts sit in my office almost daily and tell me that it's all right being locked down because they get to hang out with thier homies all day, play games, are given food three times a day, a roof, clothing, bedding, medical treatment, many get new tattoo's at a fraction of the cost, have no bills or vehicle repair costs etc. and more importantly....make new connections and get more advice on how to be a better criminal! I have a hard time feeling bad for someone who has made the choice to be here! I have the same troubles and worries in society as everyone else, and you know what keeps me from selling dope, raping children, robbing stores or stealing someone elses posessions? IT'S WRONG!!!!!! MY FAMILY IS TO IMPORTANT TO ME TO PUT THEM THROUGH THAT! You can make whatever excuses you want, but the bottom line is this, there is such thing as "healthy fear". What keeps us from speeding? The fine. If you dont want the fine, you dont speed.
8 - Dr Dreadful
Michael, you almost seem to be saying that if you didn't have a family you would have no qualms about selling drugs, raping, robbing or stealing. I realize that isn't really what you meant, but it does go some way towards illustrating the weakness of the 'deterrent' argument.
When I drive to work of a morning, I would say that at least 70% of the vehicles on the road with me are traveling above the speed limit. It's safe to say that none of those drivers want to be fined. It's also safe to say that none of those drivers believe that a cop is about to pull them over.
The institution of the prison is going to be an academy for crime no matter how you run it - whether liberally or dictatorially. Prison as punishment clearly does not work as a way of combating crime. Yet we seem reluctant to accept that - out of sight, out of mind, I guess.
Surely it would be a far better use of tax dollars to work on rehabilitation, rather than have the offender promptly go and commit more crimes the moment you let him out of the gate?
9 - Gerry
Question to the folks who are against the Club Fed type prisons: Does the fact that they've committed a crime make it okay to gouge them on phone calls where the profits aren't even defraying their prison costs? As a fan of the Sheriff Joe Arpaio style of prisons, even I have a hard time justifying enriching private corporations at the expense of the working poor.
10 - Michael
Dread (?) You'll note before mentioning my family, I clearly stated "IT'S WRONG!!!!!!". As far as those speeding motorists go, they are taking an acceptable (to them) risk. They are all aware of the possibility, cop behind them or not. I do not agree completely with your comments regarding rehabilitation. I approach aspects of my life aggresively and believe we should concentrate on "HABILITATION". Change the acceptable standard of conduct in society and the results will be evident. It doesnt matter whats done inside a facility if we send them back to the friends, family, neighborhood etc that allowed them to live as they did to begin with.
11 - Dr Dreadful
You'll note before mentioning my family, I clearly stated "IT'S WRONG!!!!!!"
I did note that. It's the reason why most of us don't commit crimes. It was what you wrote after that that raised my eyebrows.
As far as those speeding motorists go, they are taking an acceptable (to them) risk. They are all aware of the possibility, cop behind them or not.
But they still speed. And the man who robs a bank (for instance) is also taking what to him is an acceptable risk. The possibility that he will get caught and go to prison does not deter him.
I approach aspects of my life aggresively and believe we should concentrate on "HABILITATION".
I agree. By far the best way to combat crime is to address the conditions which give rise to it in the first place. But in the event that doesn't succeed, what does one do with the offender? If you prefer that prison be purely a place of punishment, with no attempt to educate the prisoner to lead life without reoffending, fine. But you shouldn't then be surprised that the correctional system (a laughable misnomer if ever there was one) turns out people who when they leave prison are better equipped and more motivated to commit crimes than when they went in.
I see prison as the perfect opportunity to turn a criminal's life around, and it's shameful that for all the money spent on keeping offenders locked up, rehabilitation is at best given lip service and more commonly isn't even attempted.
12 - Michael
Gerry, I also understand your point of view. Unfortuanately for the families of convicts, that is our world. Is it any more right that if you screw up your credit you pay high interest rates? NO! but that is the consequence of screwing up your credit. Dont want the high interest? Dont screw up your credit! Dont want to make your family pay $200 a month to talk to you on the phone? Dont go to prison! Please dont give us the "Nobody wanted to go to prison" crap. They took an acceptable (to them) risk for thier actions. Believe me, most of them are not that tore up about it either. The same convict who complains about the phone cost is also demanding his wife to send him money so he can buy candy bars and soda pop (and pictures of himself to send to his other girlfriends) while she is trying to pay the electric bill. This is a fact, just one that most people dont want to hear.
13 - High Heels
In fairness, if I screw up my credit I don't expect my parents to pay higher interest rates. It would surely be more equitable to severely limit the number of minutes prisoners are allowed to spend on the phone, and the nature of acceptable recipients of such calls. Oops, silly me - that would also severely limit someone's opportunity to profit from the situation.
14 - Michael
High Heels,
Ahh, but they do in one way or another dont they? Well you must have been given that name in prison! What kind of argument is that? Then the article would have been called "Mean guys are responsible for my loved one being in prison for breaking the law against society and now they only let him talk to the family he disrespects for only 10 minutes at a time".....In all fairness, if the inmate cared enough about and respected their own families to stay out of that situation to begin with, it wouldnt be an issue for us to debate and/or dislike the fact that some company was making money providing the phone service.
15 - Angel
I personally pay the price every time my loved one calls me.
The phone company is taking advantage of me and all of the other families, just to make a buck. That money does NOT go into the prison system it is making the company that charges the families filthy rich.
I am sure the wardens are making a nice buck or two off of our money.
As for Michael's commant,"Those of you that think this is such a tragedy cannot deny that in today's liberal society, prison has become more of a vacation spot. Convicts sit in my office almost daily and tell me that it's all right being locked down because they get to hang out with thier homies all day, play games, are given food three times a day, a roof, clothing, bedding, medical treatment, many get new tattoo's at a fraction of the cost, have no bills or vehicle repair costs etc. and more importantly....make new connections and get more advice on how to be a better criminal!"
I find this to be highly unlikely.
I don't know what state he is in, but I know that here, the inmates do not just hang around with their "homies" all day.
And I seriously doubt that the inmates sit in his office and brag about any of this, because inmates stay as far away as possible from the prison officials. Especially the ones who are "proud" of their criminal activities.
16 - longdistancerider
I agree, that we have to pay the price for crimes committed, but its all to easy to lock someone away when many times there are much deeper issues involved. My wife recently was locked up for dui. I don't condone drinking and driving, but her real problem is clinical depression, nevertheless, it's a lot easier for the gov't (and profitable)just to lock one up, rather than offer treatment. I have to pay the price, with these exhorbant phone charges, court costs($1,500), fines ($3000) +lawyer fees. She doesnt even have a job. Who's getting punished? And as a side note, I can't even provide her with any personal items, everything has to be purchased through the jail at outrageous prices. Country club?- I don't think so.