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Improve Access to Prisoner Phone Calls
  1. Signatures
    75 out of 2,000
    Petitioning
    1. Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03)
  2. Created By
    Matt Kelley
    New Haven, CT
About this Petition Petition Letter
Why This Is Important

A bill allowing states to use cell-phone jamming technology, S.251, passed the U.S. Senate on Oct. 5 and will now be considered in the House, as HR 560.

Another bill, S.1749, adds cell phones to the list of contraband in federal prisons. These bills address a legitimate problem, but they also miss an important opportunity.

Neither bill addresess the reason many prisoners use cell phones - to stay in touch with loved ones.

Forty-four states accept kickbacks from phone companies, which overcharge prisoners for phone calls. Prisoners in more than 10 states pay over $1 a minute for out-of-state calls. This must change.

Rep. Bobby Scott is a staunch advocate for prisoners rights, please send him a letter today urging him to address access to phone privleges before he votes on the cell phone jamming bill.

Forty-four states accept kickbacks from phone companies, which overcharge prisoners for phone calls. Prisoners in more than 10 states pay over $1 a minute for out-of-state calls. This must change.

Recent Signatures

Please Stand Up for Prison Phone Access

Dear Rep. Scott,

I'm writing about HR560, the Safe Prisons Communications Act of 2009, which was referred to the House this week. This bill addresses the legitimate problem of illegal cell phones in prisons, but it misses a great opportunity to tackle a much bigger issue: the barriers to communication between prisoners and the outside world.

I understand the need for jamming technology, but I believe the bill misses the reason many prisoners use illegal cell phones today. They use the phones to stay in touch with loved ones on the outside.

As you know better than most, more than 700,000 people are freed from prison each year in the United States, and we have a serious recidivism problem - two-thirds of these 700,000 will be arrested within three years. One reason for this is that our prisons isolate people inside, rather than encouraging connections to the community and providing an education that will help released prisoners build new lives. The prohibitive cost of phone calls from prison is one barrier to positive relationships between prisoners and their communities.

Forty-four states accept commissions from phone companies, which overcharge prisoners for phone calls. Prisoners in more than 10 states pay over $1 a minute for out-of-state calls. (The list of states and costs is here: http://www.etccampaign.com/rates.php) This must change.

I'm writing to urge you to introduce an amendment to HR560 that requires any state seeking to use the jamming technology to reject any phone company commissions and pass savings on to prisoners. We must address recidivism in this country, and keeping prisoners connected to their loved ones is a effective method of assisting their reentry after release.

Please take action on this important issue today.

[Your name]