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FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL Ers "Ectives VOLUME 8, ISSUE 5 ISSN# 1091-8094· SEPT/OCT 2002

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FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL Ers FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL ers "ectives VOLUME 8, ISSUE 5 ISSN# 1091-8094· SEPT/OCT 2002 Prison officials recognize poSsible solutions to this unjust LET'SPLAY that· maintaining family ties is an dilemma. iniportant factor in helping prisoners MONOPOLY: make a successful return to society. The Boom In P~on Phone Florida's Prison The question that begs an answer is: Systems Phone System Why are families of the prisoner Watch too many TV police by Linda Hanson and forced to use an expensive collect­ dramas, and you're led to believe Teresa Bums-Posey call system that saddles the innocent that prisoners are' restricted to with telephone bills· that often reach making just one phone call. But the For Florida prisoners, hundreds, even thousands of dollars? nation's telecommunications . maintaining contact with family and Most of the prison population come companies know better, and they are friends can be extremely. difficult and from the low to middle class making more than pocket change off expensive. Upon reception, the spectrum and· most were the primary families ofprisoners. prisoner is usually assigned to an breadwinners in their household. So' Most local and state prisons" institution that is hundreds of miles when they enter prison they leave allow prisoners to make daily callS, from their home. This assignment Wives, sons and daughters to manage creating a correctional phone market renders regular visitation unlikely, if the affairs of the house on a very worth'well over $1 billion a year. As not impossible, because ofthe severe . limited income. Most families can states across the country pack more hardship it imposes on families who barely survive even without the prisoners into jails and prisons - the are juggling to maintain their burden of receiving their loved one's latest count is over 2 million ­ personal lives in the absence of their collect-call. And' many sacrifice competition ·to provide phone service loved one. Thus, the most other essentials to be able to hear to those prisoners is fierce. meaningful option available for their loved one's voice ifonly for 15 Through the history of the prisoners to maintain family contact minutes, the maximum time allowed penal system in America, most saw is the prison phone system. This per call.. prisons. as a liability. But in the option is often the .only means In this article, we'll explore 1990's that view changed, at least available to prisoners who can the genesis of the prison phone with corporate America. Prisons neither read or write. But make no system, the cost for' families became tremendous public works mistake about it, prison phone calls including the many overcbarges, and projects, throwing off money as a are expensive. FAMlUES ADVOCAlES PRISONERS Book Review 6 N . Use afForce in Florida Prisons 9 I THE Post Conviction Comer '" 12 INSIDE Notable Cases '.." 14 iJ FI~rida Parole Game, Part 2 21 Corporate-Sponsored Crime Laws 25 UNmD FOR PRISON REFORM .." ·~~~~l:=w:~·W·:·":·:··· FLORIDA PRISO~ LEGAL Perspectives -----------.:....- FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL· . wet dog throws off water. Once for operator-assisted non-person-to PERSPECl'IVES communication. giants caught wind person collect long-distance calls and .of the idea a single pay phone the surcharge for residential Operator P.O. Box 660-387 that Cbuluota, Florida 32766 inside a prison could earn its owner Station Collect calls set by the inter­ $12,000 a year, companies like MCI, exchange carri~ with the highest Publlshlng Division of: Sprint and 01hers lined up at prison yearly donlestic long distance toll FLORIDA PRISONERS' LEGAL AID gates. The prisoners on the other revenues. ORG.,INC A 50I(c)(3) Non Profit Orpublulon 'side of the fence would. place The Florida Public Service Fox (407) 568-6200 approximately $1 billion a year in Commission bas approved the rate Email: fPlp@aolcom long distance phone calls. But unlike cap for opeiator assisted non-person­ Website: WWW.fPlao.org those on the oUtside, the prisoners to-person in-state pay telephone would not have the option to,pick collect calls at a maximum rate of their long-distance carrier - the $0.30 per minute, plus a $1.75 prison does. And so MCI and its surcharge. (See Florida FPLAO DIRECTORS TcraaA Burus-Poscy competitors learned that the way to ,Administrative Code 25-24.516 Pay Bob O. Posey, CPL get prisoners as customers was· to Telephone Rate Caps.) The eighty­ give the prison system a legal kick­ five percent rate would translate· to David W. Bauer, Esq. Loren D. Rhoton, Esq. back: on a one-dollar phone call, the $0.255 per minute. plus a $1.487 OIclIrHallson, CPL Florida prison system would make surcharge. which means $5.31 per UndaHanson over 50 cents. more than the long 15-minute call anywhere in the state distance carrier idelf. In no time. of Flonda. Of course this rate does corrections departments became not apply to non-person-to-person FPLPSTAFF phone call millionaires. local ~, which cost $1.70 (eighty­ TaaaA 8llms-Poscy five percent of the rate equivalent to BobO.Poscy 0Jcar HIIISOll (RAPE) Reach out And Plunder the local coin rate, $0.25, plus a Shari JoImson Everyone. $1.7~ surcharge), for a 15-minute The attraction for these call. The $5.31 per IS-minute call in telecommunications companies ~ Florida is at least three-times more FPLP ADVISORY BOARD exclusive access to a portion ofthe than .the dime-a-minute rate Sprint William VllD Poyek inmate market. Unlike conventional charges the outside world. Philip BasJey-Tcny Vausbn pay phones. which let callers use the ' For those out-of-state family Michael Lambrix·James QuisteY long-distance carrier of their choice, members. the rate for receiving one Uncia Oottllcb-Susan MllDniq Enrique DIaz.(]eftc SaIscr . prison phones funnel .all of the IS-minute call is 4 times the rate for Midlacl PlIImcr-Matt SlIawood ininates' calls to a siDgIe company. in-state calls. For example, one 15­ TrisbMiUs In Florida, prisoners can make minute call to Michigan costs collect calls only, which is especially $19.01. The same holds true for profitable to phone companies. other states like Oliio, Mississippi Under the current contrac:t . and Louisiana. This writer bas between the Florida Department of reviewed phone bills from various Corrections and MCI WoridCom parts of the nation and the most Communications. ,which runs until chilling was a phone bill from the May 31, 2006,' rates and call Virgin Islands. This bill showed a surcharges charged to the called tota1 of 19 calls during a three month party for intraJata and interlata period totaling 93 minutes at a cost collect calls sba11 be at eighty-five of$179.15. That translates to $1.93 percent of the rate cap approved. by per minuteI the Florida Public Service The contract between the Commission for operator-assisted DOC and MCI provides for the non-person-to-person pay telephone Department to receive 53 percent of collect calls. For interstate and gross revenues. ,During the 2000­ international collect calls regulated 200 I fiscal year. the DOC generated by the Federal Communications $15,286,142.86 in prisoner telephone Commission, MCI is permitted to commissions. The commissions charge up to the maximum toll rates received by the DOC has steadily 2--------------- -------------- FLORIDA PRISON LEGAL Perspectives -------------- climbed since the early 90's when Conunission. bad not received the long-distance such commissions were kicked-baCk In 1991, International rate caps from the Federal ! to the Department as an incentive to Telecharge was ordered to refund Communications Commission.) I award phone contracts to the most $750,000 and was fined $250,000. lucrative bidder. Instead ofawarding In 1993, North American What Can Be Done? the telephone contract to the Intelecom was ordered to refund During the late 199Os, company that guarantees the lowest $414,000 and was fined $25,000. organized efforts by prisoners' rates for the customer - in this case The most outrageous families in Nebraska and Nevada families of prisoners-the Department overcharging came at the bands of resulted in those states' DOCs beiJJg awards the contract to the company the cUrrent telephone contract holder, forced to forego or significantly that provides the ,greatest MCI. In 1996, MCI was ordered to reduce the commissions received by commission, or legal kick-back, to refund $1,6 million dollars. But, the the prison system off telephone the DOC. This practice encourages overcharging was just the tip of the contracts. That resulted in much telephone companies to submit bids iceberg. Upon further investigation lower rates for prison collect calls. showing large commissions for the it was discovered that two DOC , In Nevada, because of pressure from DOC without regard to the actual employees involved in the contraCt families, the state's Public Service rates being charged., bidding process bad rigged the bids Commission actually adopted rules Under the current system, so that MCI would be awarded the limiting how much commission the ' the average in-state amount a family contract. Those DOC employees Nevada DOC could receive on phone member is charged per month to also were fo~d to have attempted to contracts. accept prisoner initiated collect calls destroy documents to cover-up their In 1999, a lawsuit filed by is $69.19. The average for out-of­ involvement in the bid rigging prisoners' families in KentuCky state calls is three and four times that process. Ironically, the two resulted in that state's Public Utility amount. employees were simply demoted to Commission mandating lower rates Clearly families and friends lower· ranks and no criminal c:bar8es for prison collect caUs. of loved ones in prison are being were filed.
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