EL: Worse than that. The lead plaintiff was Martha Wright, who wanted to talk to her grandson, Ulandis, who was in prison. Martha passed away earlier this year. I met Ulandis for the first time at her funeral.
JB: That is so sad, Eric. Now what?
EL: We're happy but not yet out of the woods. First, the phone companies have threatened to challenge the new rule in court.
Second, the corruption is spreading into new industries. Jails are starting to offer video visitation as if it's a great new benefit.
Of course, video visitation is terrific. But it's offered under monopoly conditions with outrageous rates, and it doesn't fall under the new FCC rule on phones. Most importantly, the companies that provide video visitation have tried to get the jails to ban in person visits. So families would lose the ability to visit in person and be required to pay exorbitant fees for the new video service. That's not a win.
Stay tuned on all of this. The Prison Policy Initiative is a great source.
JB: Keep families from visiting in person? In the name of progress? How Orwellian.
EL: The data are clear that outcomes are improved and recidivism reduced if people maintain family ties while behind bars. Sadly, however, criminal justice policy is rarely driven by data.
JB: Agreed. Sadly. I shudder to think what they might come up with next? Keep us in the loop, please, Eric. Thanks so much for talking with me again. Readers, stay on the lookout for the upcoming second installment of this interview in which we will talk about private prisons.
EL: Thanks for having me. But please, let's go ahead and celebrate that vote at the FCC. Literally, millions of families will be benefit. Literally, billions of dollars will be better spent.
JB: Well said. It's a good start, indeed.
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