Jails banned in-person visits in order to maximize revenue from voice and video calls as part of a "quid pro quo kickback scheme" with prison phone companies
Jails banned in-person visits in order to maximize revenue from voice and video calls as part of a "quid pro quo kickback scheme" with prison phone companies
Civil rights group sues two counties, says hundreds more have banned visits.
Across the United States, hundreds of jails have eliminated in-person family visits over the last decade. Why has this happened? The answer highlights a profound flaw in how decisions too often get made in our legal system: for-profit jail telecom companies realized that they could earn more profit from phone and video calls if jails eliminated free in-person visits for families. So the companies offered sheriffs and county jails across the country a deal: if you eliminate family visits, we'll give you a cut of the increased profits from the larger number of calls. This led to a wave across the country, as local jails sought to supplement their budgets with hundreds of millions of dollars in cash from some of the poorest families in our society.
Prisoners shouldn't need to pay to talk with their families. We claim that our system is intended for rehabilitation. What could possibly lead to better outcomes than the ability to keep in touch with your family; to be made to feel human while serving your sentence? The US justice system is a fucking joke and for-profit prison shareholders are the only ones laughing.
Incarceration should have no profit motive, regardless of whether that profit motive benefits a for-profit company and its shareholders or the local Sheriff's department.
We claim that our system is intended for rehabilitation.
News to me, I did not know you guys claimed that.
Yeah I forgot about that. Is anyone dumb enough to believe this?
The answer highlights a profound flaw in how decisions too often get made in our legal system
The fact that the author, despite them providing all of this evidence to the contrary, still thinks (or is at least reporting) that this is a bug, not a feature, is absolutely enraging.
Reminder that prisons are slavery with extra steps
This country is just pure evil.
Lol America as usual.
What a joke of a country - so many horrible decisions in one place.
Yeah, just wait until our entire system inevitably folds in on itself and destroys the economies of the world in the process. Hopefully I outlast american entropy.
Wow, so when they enjoyed unlimited power, they.... Abused it!?
People now a days are really off the rails man. Back in the day, absolute power didn't corrupt. It only tickled. Slightly.
/s
John brown might disagree.
Could use more in the abolition movement like him.
back in the day? you mean the stone ages?
there is not a day in written history where we can't read about a person corrupted by power
Very true, shneancy. It was a sarcastic reaction, it seemed so obvious te me but the internet is ofc very versatile and casts a wide net.
I read about this in Cory Doctorow's The Bezzle. I'm surprised it didn't get more traction in the press.
You are? Challenging the status quo isn’t really the press’ thing anymore—or, like, ever.
I'm reading it right now, and I honestly thought it was something he made up as a near-future dystopian plot point. Didn't realize that it was real..
Indescribable pain to those responsible.
Gut them and hang them from a lamppost.
Cunts
I don’t believe in carceral justice but those who abuse prisoners deserve to join their victims.
This came up in a John Oliver episode about prison labour, this episode I think: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AjqaNQ018zU
this dude rock. he talk about social problem in the fun way.
After Trevor Noah left The Daily Show and Colbert started pandering to liberal middle-aged white women after his move to CBS, I feel like Oliver is the only bearable talk show host on network television these days.
Honorable mention to Kimmel, though. He's not a revolutionary, but he's pretty funny.
commodifying things that can't be made in a factory is always a mistake.
Jpay.com is what I used when I went to jail.
A literal captive consumer. Capitalists wet dream come true. Just think of the returns if this model could be expanded! Disrupting the economy by disrupting your freedom.
They're not trying to build a prison for you and me, they already have.
another article on more broken campaign promises by Biden and prosecutor Harris
even though the Democrats and Republicans both are responsible for this mess the Democrats are likely to blame Republicans and try to raise funds off it
works every time
Please cite the campaign promise that applies here?
Looks to me like you're a republican trying to blame democrats.
Another worthless comment by a political troll.
All these profit farming scams for prisons should be criminal conduct. It's sickening how little the public cares about systemic abuse of prisoners.
Sickening but not suprising, considering the vast majority still think Captialism is the best method and profit farming is considered "clever business".
One word: corrupt.
For-profit prisons.....
Evil
Despite calls to the contrary, a for profit prison system is inherently unjust and can not help but abuse it's prisoners
Doesn't this violate the monopoly law? This would be maintaining a monopoly would it not?
Uhm.
Well, private, for-profit prisons are a thing. Which is uncanny, that apparently a private entity can do "prison" for the state for cheaper than the state it can could.
But once in it's a captive audience. They aren't gonna go to the commissary down the street. The whole thing is a monopoly.
The unsettling truth is that nobody cares about prisoners, or even ex-cons, in America. We ignore everything bad that happens to them, big or small, or toss it out as "well, they deserve it". As if the sole purpose of prison is punishment.
And then they get out and in many places they are no longer full citizens with a right to vote. So, say, for example, you are arrested and imprisoned on possession of cannabis. Well, you can pay your "debt to society" by serving your time in prison, and then when you get out you can't even vote for a decriminalization candidate.