Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums2.3 Million Americans Rot in Prison -- Meet the Corporations Exploiting Them for Profit
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/23-million-americans-rot-prison-meet-corporations-exploiting-them-profitGlobal Tel* Link. You have a collect call from: Tim. An inmate in Shelby County Correctional Facility . If you wish to accept and pay for this call, dial zero now.
I dont know how many times I heard the same robotic voice speak these words since last fall. I was researching the story of Timothy McKinney, a Memphis man facing his third death-penalty trial for the killing of an off-duty police officer in 1997. Tim would call from Shelby County Jail, to answer my questions and to do what anyone facing trial would want to do: air concerns about his case, vent. Sometimes he would call multiple times a week. Because the phone calls were limited to fifteen minutes at a time, a couple of times he hung up and called right back, so we could keep talking.
The calls were expensive, more than a dollar per minute, depending on the time of day. In order to accept one, I had to set up a prepaid account with Global Tel* Link, or GTL, The Next Generation of Correctional Technology. If Tim called and my account was out of money, the automated voice would prompt me to replenish it via credit card, while he waited on the other line. By accepting an inmate call, you acknowledge and agree that your conversation may be monitored and recorded, the company advises.
I dealt with Global Tel* Link for only a few months. But for Tims relatives, this had been their reality for years. GTL makes more than $500 million a year exploiting families like his, who face the choice between paying exorbitant phone rates to keep in touch with incarcerated loved onesup to $1.13 per minuteor simply giving up on regular phone calls. Like many other telecommunications companies that enjoy profitable monopolies on prison and jail contracts across the country, GTL wins its contracts by offering a kickbackor commissionto the prison or jail systems it serves. As an exhaustive 2011 study in Prison Legal News explained, the kickback is based on a percentage of the gross revenue generated by prisoners phone calls . [The] commissions dwarf all other considerations and are a controlling factor when awarding prison phone contracts.
The higher a kickback, in other words, the more likely a company is to win the contract. These high kickbacks translate into higher phone rates for family membersusually the very people who can least afford it. Like the vast majority of those who pass through the massive jail and court complex known as 201 Poplar in downtown Memphis, Tims family was not wealthy. When it came time for his trial last spring, his mother would be in court every day, only to leave straight for her night job, cleaning office buildings.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
1 replies, 721 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (4)
ReplyReply to this post
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
2.3 Million Americans Rot in Prison -- Meet the Corporations Exploiting Them for Profit (Original Post)
xchrom
Oct 2013
OP
LukeFL
(594 posts)1. I understand the exploitation behind it but
I don't feel sorry for Tim.