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Prison Phone Giant GTL Cuts Prices in Miami-Dade Jails, But Only After County Taps COVID-19 Relief Funds to Replace Forfeited Kickbacks
by Ashleigh Dye
When prison telecom company Global Tel*Link (GTL) agreed to slash the price for calls that it charges detainees held by the Miami-Dade Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) in November 2021, it was only because advocates of the incarcerated convinced county officials to forfeit kickbacks …
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More from this issue:
- Locked Up and Left to Die, by Michael Barajas, Sophie Novack,
- After 49 Years in Prison for a Murder in Which He Didn’t Pull the Trigger, Former Black Liberation Army Member Sundiata Acoli Wins Parole, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Louisiana Prisoner’s Excessive-Force Claim Despite Prison Disciplinary Conviction Issued for the Same Incident, by Matthew Clarke
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Louisiana Prisoner’s Suit Dismissed on Heck Grounds, Holds Related Disciplinary Convictions Don’t Absolutely Bar Excessive Force Claims, by Matthew Clarke
- Securus Rolls Out “Free” E-tablets to Texas Prisoners, by Edward Lyon
- Oregon Federal Court Issues Groundbreaking, Model COVID-19 Damage Class & Wrongful Death Class Certification, by Mark Wilson
- Eleventh Circuit Says Florida Prisoner Alleging Sexual Assault by Guard Need Not Also Prove Excessive Force and Malicious Intent, by David Reutter
- Washington Pays $3.25 Million for Negligent Medical Care Causing Preventable Prisoner Death, by Mark Wilson
- DOJ Secures Settlement With South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice at Detention Center Where Staff Hogtied and Bit Kids, by Brooke Kaufman
- Healthcare Audit in Utah Prisons Reveals “Inadequate Service” and “Systemic Deficiencies” After 18 Prisoner Deaths During Pandemic, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- After Paying $500,000 to Consultant Outed for Corruption Ties, Iowa DOC Accused of Allowing “Corporate Dodge”, by Jacob Barrett
- Ninth Circuit Holds California Prison Officials Entitled to Legislative Immunity When Promulgating Rules, by David Reutter
- $12.5 Million Settlement Over Invasive Strip and Body Cavity Searches of NYC Jail Visitors, by Matthew Clarke
- Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting Uncovers Almost 1,000 Privileged Calls Recorded in Four County Jails, Sues York County for Denying Public Records Request, by Keith Sanders
- BOP Prisoners on Extended Home Confinement Not Headed Back to Prison When COVID-19 Emergency Ends, by Casey Bastian
- $500,001 Settlement Against Guard Who Groped Delaware Prisoner With Long History of Lost Cases, by Keith Sanders
- Kansas Appeals Court Vacates Prison Dentist’s Conviction for Sexually Abusing Prisoner, Says Touching Wasn’t “Lewd”, by Mark Wilson
- The Catalog of Carceral Surveillance: Mobile Correctional Facility Robots, by Cooper Quintin, Beryl Lipton
- $275,000 Settlement Reached After Detainee’s Attempted Suicide at Illinois Jail, by David Reutter
- Washington Pays $3 Million to Murdered Prisoner’s Family After Overriding Single-Cell Recommendation for Violent Cellmate, by Mark Wilson
- Settlement Finally Reached in Prisoners’ Hep-C Class-Action Against Connecticut DOC, by Edward Lyon
- Prison Phone Giant GTL Cuts Prices in Miami-Dade Jails, But Only After County Taps COVID-19 Relief Funds to Replace Forfeited Kickbacks, by Ashleigh Dye
- Kentucky Supreme Court Rules ‘Incarceration Fees’ May Not Be Collected After Charges Are Dismissed, by Casey Bastian
- $250,000 Paid to Woman Forced to Give Birth in California Jail Cell by Guards and CFMG Nurses, by Ashleigh Dye
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Suit of Epileptic Illinois Prisoner Who Suffered Seizure and Fell From Top Bunk, by Edward Lyon
- Sacramento Shooting Stokes Debate Over CDCR Rule Changes on Good Conduct Credit, by Matthew Clarke
- U.S. Prison and Jail Populations Flat or Rising Again After 2020 Decline Spurred by Pandemic, by Matthew Clarke
- Third Circuit Joins Fifth, Tenth and D.C. Circuits in Holding Heck Favorable-Termination Dismissals Are PLRA Strikes, by Mark Wilson
- Illinois Department of Corrections Cancels Contract with Canteen Provider Keefe, by Kevin Bliss
- Sixth Circuit: Michigan DOC’s Years-Long Delay in Access to Religious Services and Items Constitutes Constructive Denial of Religious Exercise, by Jacob Barrett
- Georgia Sheriff Victor Hill Facing Criminal Trial for Using Restraint Chair to Punish Jail Detainees, by David Reutter
- $7,000 Default Judgment Awarded in Failure to Protect Suit Against Former Arkansas Jail Guard, by Harold Hempstead
- Ineffective Mississippi Prison Industries on the Chopping Block After Scathing Report, by Ashleigh Dye
- Eighth Circuit Holds Pornography Policy Unconstitutional as Applied to South Dakota Prisoner, but Denies Relief, by David Reutter
- Overdoses Skyrocket in Tennessee Prisons During Pandemic Despite Visitation Restrictions, by Edward Lyon
- Federal Suit Challenging Iowa DOC Ban on Nude Images Moves Forward, Defendants Denied Summary Judgement on Due Process Claim, by David Reutter
- Third Circuit Reinstates Suit Filed by Transgender Prisoner Assaulted at New Jersey Federal Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- $17.5 Million Paid to Ohio Prisoner Left Quadriplegic After Brutal Attack by Guards, by Harold Hempstead
- “On-Going Distress and Harm” Persist at FCI Sheridan Months After Court-Ordered Inspection, by Brooke Kaufman
- New Jersey Sex Offenders Excluded From Programming, Chances for Early Release, by Mario Palomo
- Sixth Circuit Revives Tennessee Detainee’s Suit, Holds Lower Court Not Required to Retain Jurisdiction of State Law Claims After Dismissing Federal Claims, by Matthew Clarke
- $45,000 Paid by Idaho Jail to Settle Censorship Suit Filed by HRDC, by Jacob Barrett
- Fifth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Texas Sheriff Who Rehired Abusive Jailer Who in Turn Again Abused a Detainee, by Matthew Clarke
- Illinois Inspector General Finds Prisoner Labor Used to Benefit DOC Employees, by Casey Bastian
- $6,500 Settlement After Eleventh Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Florida Jail Officials Who Repeatedly Opened Detainee’s Legal Mail, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Ashleigh Dye:
- Former Missouri Prisoners Awarded $20 Million for Sexual Abuse by “Resident Pervert” Guard, May 1, 2023
- Nevada DOC Director Sacked After Prisoner Escape Goes Unnoticed Four Days, April 1, 2023
- Virginia DOC Resists Prisoner Fee Cuts, April 1, 2023
- Texas Prison Warden and Brother Charged with Shooting Two Migrants, Killing One, April 1, 2023
- CoreCivic Still Accruing Fines fort Short-staffing Florida Jail Where Developmentally Disabled Teen Was Raped, March 9, 2023
- Alabama County Ends Controversial Policy Using Women’s Pregnancies to Jail Them, March 1, 2023
- CoreCivic Still Accruing Fines for Short-Staffing Florida Jail Where Developmentally Disabled Teen Was Raped, March 1, 2023
- $959,000 Paid by Pennsylvania County in Deaths of Two Detainees, Plus at Least $750,000 from PrimeCare, Feb. 1, 2023
- Former Judges in Pennsylvania ‘Kids for Cash’ Scandal Must Pay $206 Million in Damages, Feb. 1, 2023
- $480,000 Paid by California County to Detainee Whose Newborn Died After Guards Stopped at Starbucks en Route to Hospital, Feb. 1, 2023
More from these topics:
- 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.
- CoreCivic Pays $82,500 for First COVID-19 Death at San Diego ICE Lockup, Nov. 1, 2025. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, COVID-19, Federal Tort Claims Act, Failure to Train/Supervise, Detention - Generally.
- Securus Loses Bid to Dismiss HRDC Price-Fixing Suit, Nov. 1, 2025. Class Certification, RICO, Statutes of Limitation and Laches, HRDC Litigation, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- FCC Issues Proposed Rule Permitting Cellphone Jammers in Prisons and Jails, Nov. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Telephone Rates, Cell Phone Access, Federal Legislation, Police State-Surveillance.
- FCC Votes For Dramatic Hike to Prison Phone Call Rates, Nov. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Telephone Monitoring, Cell Phone Access, Video Visitation, Securus, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- FCC Backtracks on 2024 Order to Cut Prison Phone and Video Rates by Half, Aug. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Video Visitation, Private Phone Contractors, Securus.
- HRDC Collaborates on Prison Telecom Cost Report to Washington Lawmakers, Aug. 1, 2025. Electronic Tablets, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates.
- JPay Loses Bid to Revoke Class Certification in Washington Prisoners’ Challenge to Crummy Products and Service, July 15, 2025. Electronic Tablets, Computers, Telephone Rates, Securus.
- Free Calls in Massachusetts Lead to Defunded Prison Programs, July 15, 2025. Telephone Access, Telephone Rates, Private Phone Contractors.

