#regulatorycapture

For nearly two decades, criminal justice reform advocates have been fighting to fix a persistent and egregious flaw in the US prison system: the frequently exorbitant cost of inmate phone calls, which can run up to $17 for a 15-minute local phone call. A confluence of market failures, political intransigence, and public indifference has created a broken billing system that veteran Federal Communications Commission official Mignon Clyburn has called “the greatest, most distressing, type of injustice I have ever seen in the communications sector.” 

Last Thursday, a bipartisan group of US senators introduced a bill that aims to restore federal authority to crack down on what prison reform advocates call the “usurious,” “abusive,” and “exploitative” business practices of a small handful of companies that dominate the $1.2 billion US prison phone industry.  . . . . . .

For Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who introduced the Inmate Calling Technical Corrections Act of 2018, addressing the problem of predatory prison phones rates is a practical, as well as moral, imperative. Numerous studies dating back decades have shown that family contact and communication reduces recidivism, making society safer and saving taxpayer money.

“Our bipartisan legislation will help make sure that prison telecommunication rates are fair so family members can more easily afford to stay in touch with incarcerated loved ones, improving the odds that rehabilitated offenders will be able to become productive members of society upon their release,” Duckworth said in a statement announcing the bill.