Any cents a minute is wrong. They were sentenced to be incarcerated, not sentenced to have to pay for telephone calls.
the united states doesnt have a justice system. it has a revenge system. cruelty is part of the process
It’s not just the justice system. We have multiple systems designed to hurt people. Cruelty is a fundamental pillar of half of our two-party system.
The Supreme Court however is working hard to undermine these new policies to keep the money and exploitation flowing as God intended.
This calls out Texas because it is the Texas Tribune, but this is a rule across the nation now thanks to the FTC.
If a prisoner works a day $3.50 and calls cost $0.25/min, then a prisonor can afford a 14 min call for a day's labor. Yes, these numbers are quite realistic.
Supply maintenance is near zero. Demand is elastic but there's no alternatives. Max profit is obviously not at the highest prices.
Helping prisoners was never the goal. It's convenient optics, icing on the cake of profit maximization.
Did you know that the US never abolished effective slavery. It's perfectly legal for prisoners. Always has been. It's even in the federal Constitution.
Incarcerated labor organizers are god damn heroes. Every barrier to educational information in prison means one less informed slave.
When I was incarcerated the Chaplain was the one to understand this and act upon it. I called a friend, who bought books at a specific store, that the Chaplain picked up, smuggled into prison and left in my cell. He did this about once a month for a year, about a half dozen books at a time.
Mad respect for this man. He made so many people better for just being around. I stayed friends with him until his end. I hope he met his God as he wanted.
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