Prison Phone Justice

MEDIATE RELEASE
R
FOR IMM
May 18, 2012
6.2061, Simppson@civilrrights.org
Contacts: Scott Westtbrook Simpson, 202.466

In Joint
J
Lettter, Lefft, Rightt, and C
Center U
Urge FCC to En
nd
Pra
actice off Predato
ory Prisson Phone Ratees
WASHIN
NGTON, DC
C – On Fridaay, May 18, an unpreceddented collecction of civill rights groupps
and conservative lead
ders released
d the joint leetter below too the Federaal Communiccations
hone rate refform and an end to predaatory phone rates.
Commisssion calling for prison ph
The letter is signed by
b conservatiive leaders such
s
as Garyy Bauer and D
David Keene, as well ass civil
rights gro
oups such ass The Leaderrship Conferrence on Civvil and Humaan Rights, thhe NAACP, the
National Council of La
L Raza, and
d the Nation
nal Organizattion for Wom
men.



The
T full text of
o the letter and signatorries is below
w.
Click
C
here to download an
n MP3 of th
he press call tthat occurredd at 10:30 a..m. EST today.

On today
y’s press calll, stakeholdeers on this isssue made thee following comments:
Wade Henderson, president
p
and
d CEO of Th
he Leadershiip Conferencce on Civil aand Human
Rights:
“Small gestures that keep love an
nd friendship
ps growing, like a phonee call on Mother’s Day oor
wishing happy
h
birthd
day to your kids,
k
are ofteen the only w
way for manyy inmates too keep those close
relationsh
hips alive. But
B many prisons don’t view
v
these prrecious ties aas rehabilitaative or
lifesaving
g. Instead, th
hey view theem as revenu
ue generatorss – ways to ppad their botttom line. Thhis
issue tran
nscends party
y and ideolo
ogy. We collectively reprresent millioons of American households
who are committed
c
to
o reforming this outrageeous and preddatory practtice.”
David Keene,
K
formeer chairman of
o the Ameriican Conservvative Unionn:

“This makes no sense. This does nothing to further the safety of civil society. It does nothing to
help rehabilitate those people who have been removed from that society as a result of criminal
convictions. And in fact, it makes it less likely that these people will even be able to reintegrate
themselves as useful citizens.”
Pat Nolan, president of Justice Fellowship and former inmate:
“Research shows that intact families are the most important factor in inmates making a
successful transition after prison. The prisons should be doing all they can to strengthen families
during incarceration, so the inmates have a supportive family when they get out. Yet, the huge
“add ons” to the costs of calls home severely limits the number of times inmates can call their
families. The outrageous phone surcharges hurt the people who can afford it least – the families
of inmates.”
amalia deloney, associate director of the Center for Media Justice:
“This is a fight for the right to call home! Phones are a vital part of our communication system
and something most of us take for granted. Yet for incarcerated individuals, phone calls and the
connection they provide are treated as an expensive privilege rather than a basic right.”
Lee G. Petro, Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP, pro bono counsel representing Martha Wright, an
FCC petitioner and mother of a prisoner:
“The plight of the families of inmates paying exorbitant telephone rates to remain in contact with
their loved ones has languished at the FCC for more than 10 years. With the resolution of other
long-pending matters, the recent additions of two new Commissioners, and new technologies
developed by the service providers that has decreased their costs of service, prompt action now
will give relief to struggling families in these tough economic times.”
The full text of the letter and signatories is below.
//
May 18, 2012
CAP INTERSTATE PRISON PHONE RATES

Chairman Julius Genachowski
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

RE:

Docket No. 96-128, Petitioner Martha Wright et al., Alternative Rulemaking Proposal

Dear Chairman Genachowski:
We write to you as organizations and individuals that represent a wide variety of views on many
issues, but that stand united on the need to reduce the exorbitant rates for telephone calls from
prisons. Unreasonably high prison phone rates unjustly punish the families of people who are
incarcerated, and contribute to rising recidivism rates by deterring regular telephone contact with
family members and loved ones. Our diverse groups strongly believe that action on a petition
that has been pending before the Federal Communications Commission since 2003 represents a
critical opportunity for the Commission to exert its leadership in this area. Accordingly, we urge
you to act quickly to address this problem by capping the charges that can be imposed for
interstate prison phone calls.
As you are aware from the record that has been compiled at the FCC, the costs of telephone calls
from incarcerated people are often extraordinarily high—well beyond what most people in our
country pay for telephone service. It is cheaper to call Singapore at 12 cents a minute from a cell
phone than it would be to speak to someone in prison in this country. A typical interstate collect
call from a prison has a $3.95 connection fee (regardless of the length of the call), while rates per
minute can be as high as almost 90 cents per minute. This can result in charges of $10-17 for a
15-minute collect call or $250 per month for a weekly one-hour call. Prisoners do not bear these
costs; rather it is the family members and loved ones outside of prison who pay these extremely
high rates.
The high rates are caused by the system used to procure telephone service at correctional
institutions. Prisons request bids from competing telephone companies, requiring each bid to
include the payment of a fee or commission to the prison in addition to the provision of
telephone service. The costs of the calls are passed on to prisoners’ families in the form of higher
telephone rates, while the prison reaps the benefit of the extra fees and commissions. Thus,
prisons have every incentive to choose bids that maximize fees and maximize telephone rates—a
clear “moral hazard.” While competition would be everyone’s first choice for constraining
telephone prices, in this case consumers—prisoners and their families—have no voice in the
selection of the carrier. The prison system that does select the carrier actually benefits from the
higher rates, leaving the actual consumers as a literally captive market, unable to shop around for
lower prices.
Healthy relationships with their families and other members of the community are the most
important factor in prisoners’ successful return to their neighborhood. Maintaining the bonds of a
family and support network is a very effective way to reduce recidivism among inmates, which is
an important national goal. The rate of recidivism is at crisis levels in the U.S.; within three years
of being released, 67 percent of ex-prisoners re-offend and 52 percent are re-incarcerated.
Americans are paying dearly for this trend. According to the Pew Center on the States, state and
federal spending on corrections has grown 400 percent over the past 20 years, from about $12

billion to about $60 billion. Yet, predatory phone rates discourage regular telephone contact with
stable family members and others in the community.
Prisoners’ friends and families often provide the only opportunity incarcerated individuals will
have to re-connect with a job and a support network that can prevent them from returning to
prison. We need more people connecting to those in prison, not fewer. Sound public policy
dictates that we should not disincentivize the very behavior that will help us keep families
together and in turn reduce future crime.
It does not have to be this way. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons and several states that have rejected
these commission payments charge reasonable rates and maintain superior levels of security. A
recent study by the Government Accountability Office found that the Bureau of Prisons typically
charged less than most state prison systems, yet continued to produce some profit for use by the
prison, and also met its security objectives. To illustrate, the Bureau of Prisons charged 6 cents
per minute for local calls and 23 cents per minute for long-distance calls, and generated $34
million in profits in 2010.[1]
In sum, the exorbitant rates paid by prisoners’ families increase recidivism, and place an undue
and unfair burden upon the innocent. These spiraling costs are not attributable to security needs
and cannot be corrected by a marketplace solution. As the only agency with jurisdiction over
long distance rates, the Federal Communications Commission is the correct venue to resolve this
problem. A firm stance by the Commission, along with recommendations that will help guide the
state regulatory bodies with authority over local telephone rates, will provide a strong impetus to
improve the situation at every level. Prisoners will be able to be in more frequent contact with
their loved ones, and the public will be safer as a result.
For all the above reasons, we urge you to cap interstate prison phone call rates and take up the
long-overdue task of protecting a vulnerable population from abusive practices. Thank you for
your consideration.
Sincerely,
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
ACLU
Rabbi Menachem Katz, The Aleph Institute*
David Keene, American Conservative Union*
Gary Bauer, American Values*
Asian American Justice Center
Chris Cannon, Cannon Industries, Inc.*

Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Media Justice
Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice
The Constitution Project
Consumers Union
Tom McClusky, FRC Action*
Free Press
Human Rights Defense Center
International CURE
NAACP
Galen Carey, National Association of Evangelicals*
National Council of La Raza
National Hispanic Media Coalition
National Urban League
New America Foundation, Open Technology Initiative
NOW
PolicyLink
Prison Fellowship
Public Knowledge
Rev. Lou Sheldon and Andrea Lafferty, Traditional Values Coalition*
United Church of Christ, OC, Inc.
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs

*Institutional affiliation listed for identification purposes only.

[1] Government Accountability Office, Bureau of Prisons, Improved Evaluations and Increased
Coordination Could Improve Cell Phone Detection at 12-13, GAO-11-893 (September 2011).