FCC votes to cap, slash prison phone rates

[monmouth3]

Because of the four paragraph ruling this is just a snippet of this great article. The impact of these high fees, especially on poor families was devestating. Enjoy..

<snip>

A representative of the National Sheriffs' Association, which was wary of FCC action before Friday's meeting, could not be immediately reached Friday.

Limiting the rates was made easier after Clyburn, a Democrat, moved into the lead spot on the commission. The five-member panel has two vacancies. Clyburn needed only one supporting vote, which came from Rosenworcel, also a Democrat.

The petition asking the FCC to regulate inmate phone call rates was filed in 2003 after a judge dismissed a lawsuit that Martha Wright-Reed brought against a private prison company. She had struggled to keep up with phone bills while her grandson was incarcerated. The judge directed her to the commission.

Wright-Reed's grandson, Ulandis Forte, has since been released from prison and was in the audience for Friday's vote. He wiped away tears when the vote was taken.

<snip

http://news.yahoo.com/fcc-votes-cap-slash-prison-phone-rates-155611435.html

[madrchsod]

1. about time...but to late for my family

two timed out calls were as much as a regular one month phone bill.

[monmouth3]

2. My dad told us if we got in trouble and carted off to jail..don't call..n/t

[sorefeet]

3. Makes ya wonder who

the real CRIMINALS are in this country. Any way to make a quick buck.

[HardTimes99]

4. Back in 2005, I worked a tech support temp job for a company that provides

telephonic services to incarcerated people.

It was a creepy job, made all the creepier by the fact that I was offered a permanent position that was mysteriously and without explanation withdrawn the very day it was to start. I've always suspected that my various left-wing activities had been flagged by the spooks and had come up in a background check they ran on me.

The company was charging upwards of $2.00/minute for collect calls made from inside the jails\prisons, IIRC.

The saddest part about it was that a large portion of their business was coming from undocumented workers who had been caught up in the post-9/11 anti-immigrant hysteria. Yup, somehow this company had landed a contract with ICE.

The only job I've worked where I felt like I needed to shower (figuratively speaking) when I got home from work each day.