How Prison Phone Companies Profited During the Pandemic

Every Tuesday evening through May 4th, The Greene Space and the non-profit advocacy organization Worth Rises are holding virtual panel discussions about the business side of the prison industry, asking: who profits when people get put away? We're previewing those discussions with a weekly segment here on The Brian Lehrer Show.

This week, incarcerated people, their families and other allies have been fighting for what they call “phone justice” for years. Calls can cost $1 a minute in some facilities, and the phone companies that contract with prisons and jails make big profits.  Bianca Tylek, executive director of Worth Rises, and Ulandis Forte, an activist and grandson of Mrs. Martha Wright-Reed, the namesake of the prison phone justice legislation, talk about why the phone companies can charge so much and what activists are doing to try to make a change.

EVENT, 7pm: Sign up for Tuesday's live virtual panel discussion on phone justice HERE.