Incarcerated people and their loved ones deserve to stay connected. Period.
Preying on vulnerable families through hiked-up telephone and video calls generates $1.4 billion yearly for telecom companies. One in three families goes into debt to talk with their incarcerated loved ones. Most families face financial hardships, and paying for phone calls can worsen a bad situation.
COC and our coalition partners in Massachusetts are urging state senators and representatives to co-sponsor An Act to Keep Families Connected (S.1494 & H.1796). The legislation would eliminate all phone charges from prisons and jails – especially important for Black communities, who are disproportionately targeted by the racist criminal legal system.
If it becomes law, An Act to Keep Families Connected would keep telecom corporations from preying on Black Massachusetts families who simply want to stay in touch with their loved ones behind bars. Two years ago, neighboring Connecticut became the first state to make prison phone calls free, and California followed suit last year — tell your state legislators that Massachusetts should become the next state to keep families connected.
