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Prisoners Pay Millions to Call Loved Ones Every Year. Now this Company Wants Even More
Prisoners Pay Millions to Call Loved Ones Every Year. Now this Company Wants Even More
by Ben Walsh, Huffington Post
A captive market, no competition and government contracts that make monopoly-enabled price gouging the industry standard – it’s never been in doubt that the prison phone business …
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More from this issue:
- Life Without Parole, by Beth Schwartzapfel
- News in Brief
- Legislation Removes Secrecy from Georgia Parole Board’s Proceedings, Decisions, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Delaware: Drop in Prison Phone Rates Called a “Drop in the Bucket”, by Derek Gilna
- Is Texas Poisoning Prisoners with Contaminated Water?, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- Texas County Pays Prisoner’s Family $214,500 for Wrongful Death
- Mandamus Improper Remedy to Challenge Illinois DOC’s “Violating at the Door” Policy, by David Reutter
- Prisoners Pay Millions to Call Loved Ones Every Year. Now this Company Wants Even More, by Ben Walsh
- Jails in Trouble as IRS Investigates Tax-Exempt Bonds, by Matthew Clarke
- Nevada: Federal Suit over Shackling of Pregnant Prisoner Settles for $130,000 and Policy Changes, by Matthew Clarke
- BOP Ordered to Pay Prisoner’s Attorneys $41,703 for Discovery Abuses, by Derek Gilna
- British Banking Giant Fined for Laundering Mexican Drug Money Through U.S. Banks, by Matthew Clarke
- Two Reports Find at Least 54 Countries Complicit in Secret CIA Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- Alabama: Settlement to Integrate HIV-Positive Prisoners Finalized, by David Reutter
- Former New York Prisoner Receives $3,375,000 Settlement for Wrongful Conviction, by Derek Gilna
- $290,000 Judgment for Failure to Treat Ruptured Appendix Affirmed, by David Reutter
- Mental Health Care in South Carolina Prisons Found Unconstitutional, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit Orders New Trial in “Pink Underwear” Lawsuit; Case Settles for $240,000, by Mark Wilson
- Social Impact Bonds in Criminal Justice: A Deal We Can’t Refuse?, by Jennifer R. Zelnick
- Oregon Workgroup Recommends Strategies to Deal with Prison Medical Care Costs, by Mark Wilson
- Federal Court Orders Cameras to Cover Blind Spots at North Carolina Prison, by David Reutter
- Rejecting Foreign Language Letters after Interpretation May Violate Prisoner’s Rights, by David Reutter
- $400,000 Settlement in New Jersey Juvenile Solitary Confinement Suit, by Derek Gilna
- Illinois Supreme Court Affirms Supervised Release Period Despite Sentencing Omission, by Derek Gilna
- Vermont Newspaper Defends Hiring Reporter with Sex Offense Conviction, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Illinois Drug Court Judge Gets Prison Time Following Fellow Judge’s Fatal Overdose, by Joe Watson
- How U.S. Prison Officials Rubberstamped a CIA Torture Chamber, by Carl Takei
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Wisconsin Sex Offender Registration Fee, Names John Doe Plaintiffs, by Derek Gilna
- Fourth Circuit Finds Strip Searches and Delousing of Arrestees Constitutional, by Lonnie Burton
- Prison Legal News Wins FOIA Appeal Against BOP, by Derek Gilna
- Washington Prisoner Granted Injunction Ordering Outside Orthopedic Evaluation, by Mark Wilson
- Seventh Circuit: New Trial for Wrong Legal Standard in Jail Death Case, by Mark Wilson
- Texas Prisoner Held in Prison 35 Years after Conviction Vacated, by Matthew Clarke
- Corporations You’ve Never Heard of are Making Millions from Mass Incarceration, by James Kilgore
- Illinois University Faculty Member and PLN Contributor Fights for His Job after Opposing New County Jail, by Joe Watson
- Vice President’s Son Discharged from Navy Due to Drug Use, by Christopher Zoukis
- Michigan: Perjured Testimony at Trial Results in Habeas Relief, but Reversed on Appeal, by David Reutter
- Court Denies Challenge to D.C. Sex Offender’s Website on Registry Officials
- Terrorism Suspect Moves to Suppress Statements Made to FBI due to Torture Threats, by Matthew Clarke
- Tennessee Jail Considers Charging for Toilet Paper, Underwear, by Christopher Zoukis
- Automatic Placement of Death Row Prisoner in Segregation Does Not Violate Due Process, by David Reutter
- ACLU Awarded $50 Million to Help End Mass Incarceration, by Christopher Zoukis
- Seventh Circuit Reverses Verdict when Prisoner Not Allowed to Poll Jury, by Derek Gilna
- Liability against Taser for Negligence Upheld but $5.5 Million Damages Award Reversed, by David Reutter
More from Ben Walsh:
More from these topics:
- $3.25 Million Verdict in New York Against Jail Medical Profiteer Armor Health, July 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions.
- $5 Million Paid by Colorado County for Jail Detainee’s “Gruesome” Death from Untreated Ulcer; Claims Proceeding Against Southern Health Partners, June 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, May 1, 2026. Private Prisons, DOC/BOP misconduct, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Digital Tablet Shift Brings Added Cost, Lost Data to Prisoners in California, April 1, 2026. Computers, Prisoner Property, Telephone Rates, Securus, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- Tulsa Jail Withholds Records Related to Detainee Deaths, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Wrongful Death, Suicides, Access to Media, Public Records Act.
- Analysts Recommend Closing California’s Soledad Prison, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Cost of Prison Systems.
- More Measles Cases Detected at Jails in New Mexico and Texas, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Contagious Disease -- Misc., Overcrowding, Jail Specific, Immigration Detention.
- ICE Taps New Contractor to Run Deadly Detention Center in Texas, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Contractor Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Totality of Conditions, Immigration Detention.
- FCC Releases Final Version of Order Gutting 2024 Phone Cap Regulations, Feb. 1, 2026. Misconduct/Corruption, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates.
- The Succession Battle for a Prison Empire, Dec. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Private Phone Contractors.

