TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Danny Burstein:
By the way, its great the state decided to give a break to the
> families of inmates. Prison phone systems have always been a terrible
> rip off most of the time. PAT]
Yes.
The families committed no crime and the state should not make any profit off of them.
More importantly, family contact with inmates help reduce repeat crime. Phone service to offenders and their families reduces crime and trouble in prison.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Lisa, Lisa, Lisa ... you are missing the point entirely. Whether the families 'committed no crime', or not, police generally believe that 'prisoners are scum, in fact, most of the people we 'serve' are scum, so by logical extension, the families of prisoners are scum as well. And the corrections industry is _very_ dependent on the local police officer to keep on stocking them up with prisoners. You start reducing trouble in prisons and trying to reduce recidivism -- which the corrections industry depends on greatly -- and first thing you know, the whole system will fall apart. Cook County Jail (Chicago) and Riker's Island, NY have thousands of employees between them who depend on still having their jobs tomorrow and forever. Please stop and _think_ before you praise anything which even slightly reforms prisons. PAT]