The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Social Justice Groups Partner to End Predatory Prison Phone Rates

Lisa Bennett

The Leadership Conference Education Fund and a broad coalition of social justice organizations are working together to end predatory prison phone rates—an issue that disproportionately impacts people of color, women, immigrants and low-income communities.

Many people are unaware that excessive telephone rates are one of the most widespread injustices confronting incarcerated people and their families in the United States. Thanks to a bidding system that rewards prisons with inflated commission payments (otherwise known as “kickbacks”), exorbitant charges are imposed upon prisoners who seek to stay in touch with loved ones, consult with legal representation and access community resources. Only eight states and the District of Columbia do not accept such kickbacks.

The differences between rates inside and outside of prison are often jaw-dropping, with many states charging as much as $15 for a 15-minute call. This means just one hour of calls per week can result in a monthly bill of almost $250. The Center for Constitutional Rights reports that incarcerated individuals often simply give up communicating with loved ones, or their families make sacrifices—from going without groceries to going bankrupt—in order to stay in touch.
The ability to connect with family and assist in their own defense is critical to prisoners’ successful transition from incarceration back into the community. In addition, inflated phone charges undermine the economic security of family members who shoulder the costs of these calls—just at a time when they need to conserve their resources for their loved ones’ legal expenses and costs of reintegration.

For an incarcerated parent and his or her child, regular contact is essential. Over 2.7 million children in the U.S. have at least one parent in prison, and more than half of those prisoners are in facilities 100-plus miles away from home.
Changes enacted in New York state demonstrate that the system can be reformed with concerted advocacy. According to the Media Justice Fund, prior to reform the state was taking more than 57 percent of the profits from prison phone calls, thus pocketing more than $200 million from 1996 to 2007. Today, New York prisons charge five cents a minute for local and long-distance calls, compared with states like Georgia, where the cost exceeds a dollar a minute.

Urging each of the remaining 42 states to ban kickbacks within their borders would take considerable effort. However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the power to cap prison phone rates nationwide. A petition asking the FCC to do just that was submitted nearly a decade ago. A coalition led by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights has played a part in renewing interest in this appeal, known as the Wright Petition for one of its plaintiffs, Martha Wright, whose grandson is incarcerated. This work has resulted in an editorial in The New York Times and a letter from Bobby Rush, D. Ill., and Henry Waxman, D. Cal., calling on the FCC to “move expeditiously to resolve this issue.”

The coalition’s ongoing action plan involves engaging potential supporters through blog posts, social media, action alerts and an educational toolkit; lobbying legislators at both the state and national level; meeting with the FCC; outreach to the media; and participating in a public education and awareness campaign based around a new Sundance award-winning movie, “Middle of Nowhere,” which chronicles a woman’s separation from her incarcerated husband, revealing the challenges faced by families in staying connected to loved ones in prison.

Lisa Bennett is communications director for the National Organization for Women Foundation.

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