As prison visits prohibited amid pandemic, families push for free calls

BOSTON — Families of people incarcerated in the state’s prison want to be able to call them for free.

The Keep Families Connected Coalition held a Day of Action to urge lawmakers to pass a bill that would eliminate the cost across the entire Department of Corrections.

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, it costs $5.40 for a 15-minute phone call from Bristol County facilities. That’s 3.5 times higher than the cost of a 15-minute call from a Massachusetts state prison.

“Especially when a lot of family members are making less than $25,000 a year. So $50, $100 to even more,” said Ayana Aubourg of Families for Justice as Healing. “If you have a parent calling every day to help their child with their homework, that accumulates and places a heavy financial burden."

But sheriffs across the state say they’d lose millions in revenue for inmate programs and the law would force them to slash their budgets.

“The cost of those phone calls is not nearly as prohibitive than the cost to the taxpayer who has to pay for the average cost, probably is somewhere around $35-45,000 a year per inmate inside our facilities,” said Sheriff Thomas Hodgson. “There’s a real easy choice to cut those costs. Don’t come to jail."

Nonprofit Worth Rises says almost half the revenue from prison phone calls go to state and county commissions in alleged kickbacks to correctional facilities. Court documents from a 2018 lawsuit over Bristol County’s high phone fees show Hodgson’s office was paid $1.17 million by telecoms company Securus in commissions from 2011 to 2013. Hodgson did win that case, with the court ruling the burden of setting phone calls is on the legislature.

Download the free Boston 25 News app for up-to-the-minute push alerts