Prison is not only hard on inmates but their families–the long trip for family members to travel to the prison to visit, the money to make sure an inmate’s commissary is stocked, and even phone calls are expensive. So expensive, in fact, that the FCC is voting today to limit the price of prison phone calls:
For roughly 20 years, Miguel Saucedo and his family have been setting aside money to talk to Luis on the phone — money that could have gone to those necessities. Saucedo doesn’t know exactly how much his family has paid over the years. But he estimates “it would have to be” over $10,000 or $20,000. For most of us, those phone calls would cost just a few cents per minute. But for inmates and their families, phone rates and fees can be many times higher. It’s common for them to pay $13 for a 15-minute call.
The prison phone industry, of course, is poised to fight back.
Team Blackness also discussed Jim Webb dropping out of the presidential race, Joe Biden’s decision to not enter at all, and a RushCard glitch that has left thousands of people unable to get to their own money.
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Prison in the US is cruel, if not unusual, punishment.