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.
You must log in or register to comment.
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.
The 13th amendment claims otherwise, in fact.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
So crazy to think that slavery is still a thing in America but you’re instantly blacklisted for even mentioning it
Does anyone else only see asterisks?
DUE TO INFLAMMATORY AND INACCURATE SPEECH, THIS MESSAGE WAS EDITED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
Is the record correct now?
Not me.
Removed by mod
It’s what our politicians claim the system is for. It’s obviously not, but that’s the claim.
From an outsider view I did not even know that your politicians claimed that, I thought it was just a few more hopeful ones saying it should be that. I always assumed it was common knowledge that the system in the US was for punishment and whatnot first. Might just be me seeing the movie “Tank!” as a child.
Yeah I forgot about that. Is anyone dumb enough to believe this?
They only say so to those of us who are aghast at the cruelty and don’t take “but bad people” for an answer
Yeah, the US has way to many “bad people” per capita for that to have ever made any sense.
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…
Breaking news: Making the correctional system a business venture was a bad idea. More at 8.
its almost as if denationalization/privatization is almost always a bad idea.
Just look at whats happens to the Thames in London.
Removed by mod
What correctional system? What’s being corrected?
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.
commodifying things that can’t be made in a factory is always a mistake.
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.
Trevor Noah? you mean Jon Stewart?
Noah was smart but I never had fun watching him. He was too serious, and his delivery of the punchy low-blow jokes the writers gave him were never satisfying in the way Stewart somehow fills me with rage and makes me chuckle at the absurdity of it.
don’t even get me started on Jimmy Kimmel… the guy is a very talented actor with no brains, no real opinions and thinks absolutely everything is hilarious. I’d rather watch water boil than listen to his childish version of comedy. his writers do all the work, he’s a parrot with just enough brains to land the jokes and not enough to question the interests of his corporate media overlords.
Well, to each their own.
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.
