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us

PROGRAM

Nove mber 19,2012

Sanll Dareh shorl , Sen;or COlln$d

Jamie feltner, S. nior Rdvisor

Antonio Gina ttl , I1dv",,,, '1 Direct or

Ma rl a Mcfarla nd ,

D~p u ~!I

D;rutor

Grac e Meng, Re$e"rchcr

Al ba Mora in,

HRW.org

Marlene H. Dortch
Secretary
Federal Communications Commi ssion
445 12th Street S.w.
Wash ington, DC 20554

Ian Kyse l, I1rye h N eiu Fell')w

R U" " f " ;'U

Aliso n Pan:er, Dir."tor
laura Piner, Counterterron'fm r.dvisor
Nlcole Pin man , Sorof Justice Fellow

Andrea Prasow, Senior COllnterturo6sm Counsel

Re : CC Do cket No. 96-12 8 ("Wright Petition") Alternative Rulemaking
Propo sa l

S. mantha Reiser, fluo,;;,,!;e
Brian Root , QII"n t;;t;<lclVe Il n" /'1st
Ricardo S. ndova l Palos, Rue"rcher

Ele na Ya nko, I1sso c;t'te

Dear Secretary Dortch :
Miche le Aleu nde.,

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Brut. Rlbb. S."'. I.",
Kare n Atkm. n
Jo,.-e C..lift edl
Teny (Iliott
Mlchoel G, nlCh

I write on behalf of Human Rights Wa tch to expre ss ou r appre ciation
for t he November 15, 201 2 announcement of th e Federal
Communi ca tion Commi ss ion's (FCC) notice of propos ed rulem aking
on interstate phone call rule s and rates. We al so urge the FCC to
continu e to take action on CC Docket No. 96-1 28 (the "Wright
Petition") and end the exorbitant rate s now in effect in most state s
for pri son ph one calls.
As petition ers and the dozens of parties who have made ex parte
submi ss ion s in this matter have amply explained, the current system
of regulatin g call s to prison s, which allows state s to receive
kickbacks from telephone se rvi ce providers in exchange for pri son
phon e con tracts , results in un fai rly high phon e ra tes for inmate s and
th eir fa milies. In the 42 stat es t hat still allow com missi ons, or
kickbacks, tel ephone rate s for phone calls to pris oners currently
range from $10.00 to $1 7.00 for a 15-minute call.

Mlchlel E. Gell .1I

Mln l /Uonl
Oet . y Ko",1
Wcndy .h YI

Rob.1I Kin.n"
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DlrI.nW.Swl(
John R. Tlylo,

The high phon e rates for calls from prisoners charged in most state s
exploit t he vulnerability of inmates and the ir fami lie s, causing them
severe ha rm. Approximately 2-7 million children in the US have at
lea st on e parent in prison . In addition to the prison walls themselves,
many mil es often separate inmate s from their children . According to
2005 resea rch by the Urban In stitute, women in pri son s are hou sed
an average of 160 miles from th eir children, whil e men are hou sed an
average of 100 mile s from their ch ildren . Man y inmates cannot cou nt
on their family members having th e time and financial resources to
make frequent visits. Being able to maintain regular phone contact is
therefore vital for them to be able to maintain fam ily tie s. Prisoners

Mlrl. Wllbu,.Cl th.,lne Ztn nll~m

AMSTERDAM ' BEIRUT ,BERLIN

BRUSSElS · CHICAGO · GENEVA • JOHANNESBURG . LONDON ' LOS ANGELES • MOSCOW SAN fRANCISCO - TOKYO • TORONTO . WASHINGTON · ZURICH

NAIROBI, NEW YORK ' PARIS '

who, if able to obtain a paying job while incarcerated, make as little as $ . 03 an hour
simply cannot afford to help their families pay for expensive phone calls. As the New
York Times pointed out in a September 23,2012 editorial, inmates' families must
often choose between communicating with their loved ones and "putting food on the
table."
The main justification state officials cite for high phone rates is that providing phone
service to inmates entails increased security costs. Yet 11 states that have banned or
reduced kickbacks have seen their prison phone rates plummet and have reported
no increased security breaches since doing so.
The result of the current exploitative phone system is to effectively cut families off
from one another, undermining prisoners' and their relatives' human right to family
unity. Inmates and their families pay in the emotional anguish resulting from being
cut off from their support systems. Society at large also may pay in the higher rates
of recidivism that result from the social isolation of inmates, as prisoners who lack
community ties are more likely to reoffend when released from custody.
The Wright Petition has been pending since 2003. It is past time for the FCC to act on
the Wright Petition and put an end to the unconscionable prison phone system
currently in place.
thank you for your consideration,

Maria McFarland
Acting Director, US Program
Human Rights Watch