On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that
makes phone calls from California’s prisons free of charge. The new law places the cost of calls not on incarcerated people — or the people
receiving calls from them — but on the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

California is the second state after Connecticut and the biggest state
by far to institute such a law, which is a direct shot at the $1.4
billion prison telecom industry. For years prison telecom companies have maintained rates that “can be unjustly and unreasonably high, thereby impeding the ability of inmates and their loved ones to maintain vital connections,” the FCC said in 2020.

...

<https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/california-free-prison-calls>

Long overdue, in my view. The courts & FCC just exposed a massive scam
by GTL, a big player in the field. They had assimilated $121 million
from inactive accounts. The CT/CA approach cuts the head off the monster.

Every study has shown that isolating inmates from their family and
friends increases the recidivism rate, and THAT costs us all.

************************** Moderator's Note **************************

"Ever study" is a bit too broad for my comfort, but I'll agree that
GTL should not be taking money that doesn't belong to it. I've written
before about the extraordinary costs of doing work in prisons, and
those costs still remain, but GTL has crossed a line if these
allegations are true.

Bill Horne

Full Disclosure: GTL owns the company I used to work for.

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