20,000 Americans Call for Limits on Sheriffs' Commission Fees on Phone Calls

WASHINGTON, June 22, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Silent Sentence Coalition today announced that a Change.org petition to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reached 20,000 signatures in support of eliminating sheriffs' commissions from prison phone rates. This outpouring of public support was delivered today in comments to the FCC shared by the Silent Sentence Coalition, which reflect signatures from 50 U.S. states and territories in support of the reform of prison phone rates.

Across the U.S., sheriffs are subverting market forces by demanding a percentage of the revenue generated from prison phone calls. These commissions were originally intended to cover costs of operation, yet even as operation costs are diminished, sheriffs continue to receive disproportionately high percentages of revenue. As sheriffs receive increasing percentages of profits from prison phone calls, costs for inmates and their families also rise.

High telephone rates threaten the stability offered to inmates through frequent family phone conversations. These conversations are critical to ensuring inmates build and sustain the necessary support system to avoid re-incarceration after release. But instead of supporting inmates and their families, sheriff's departments continue to exploit a system in desperate need of reform.

"It is time for the FCC to close the loopholes being utilized by our nation's sheriffs," said Silent Sentence Coalition Executive Director Robert Raben. "Sheriffs across the country continue to place this regressive tax on inmates and their families, resulting in a $3 billion windfall for law enforcement over the last five years. Now, in addition to the cost of the call, the National Sheriffs Association (NSA) is asking for up to 11¢/minute for every phone call made from their prisons, and that's just wrong."

The FCC is anticipated to make a decision on prison phone rates in the near future. If you believe that it is time for the FCC to regulate sheriffs' commissions, visit our website at www.silentsentence.com to submit comments to the FCC, send an email to the NSA, or tweet your support for this important cause.

About The Silent Sentence Coalition

The Silent Sentence Coalition is committed to preserving access for inmates and their families to stay connected during incarceration. We are committed to ending the tax that local Sheriffs' offices and state departments of corrections demand to provide access to this important technology, and to ensure that inmates and their families can make calls affordably.

SOURCE The Silent Sentence Coalition