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Articles by Mel Motel

Prisoners Respond to Call for Prison Phone Justice; SCI-Huntingdon Delivers!

In June 2012 we posted the first advertisement for the Campaign for Prison Phone Justice in Prison Legal News. We asked you, our readers, to send letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) describing how you and your families have been impacted by the high cost of prison telephone calls. ...

Louisiana Public Service Commission Postpones Prison Phone Reforms

After heated hearings and postponement, on December 12, 2012, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) voted to lower the cost of phone calls made from Louisiana prisons and jails by cutting the rates of most calls by 25% and prohibiting costly surcharges. [See: PLN, Jan. 2013, p.14; Feb. 2012, p.36]. ...

Reintroducing the Private Prison Information Act: An Interview

Christopher Petrella and Alex Friedmann are leading a coalition of organizations urging U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) to reintroduce the Private Prison Information Act during the 113th Congress. I reached them both on the phone on a busy afternoon on January 9, 2013. Alex spoke from his office in ...

Louisiana Public Service Commission Votes to Lower Prison and Jail Phone Rates

On December 12, 2012, after a “raucous” hearing with four hours of testimony, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) voted to lower the cost of telephone calls made from state prisons and local jails. With rates of $.30 per minute and surcharges to set up phone accounts, calls made by ...

Cook County, Illinois Lowers Jail Phone Rates

On December 18, 2012, the Board of Commissioners for Cook County, Illinois voted to lower the outrageous cost of telephone calls made by prisoners at the Cook County Jail.
The county has a contract with Securus Technologies, which operates phone systems in 2,200 jails and prisons across 44 states. The ...

Organizations Submit Letters to FCC Urging Action on Prison Phone Rates

On October 23, 2012, the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), which publishes Prison Legal News, submitted a joint letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging action on the “Wright Petition,” which asks the FCC to place caps on interstate prison phone rates to make them more affordable.

The Wright ...

PLN Readers Flood the FCC with Letters; Campaign Fights for Prison Phone Justice

In June 2012, Prison Legal News began running a full-page flyer for the Campaign for Prison Phone Justice, asking people to get involved and take action. Within weeks, letters from PLN readers began flooding the Federal Communications Commission, urging the FCC to cap the high costs of interstate prison phone ...

"Strong Families, Safe Communities" Sends Clear Message for Phone Justice

Mel Motel: "Strong Families, Safe Communities" Sends Clear Message for Phone Justice

2012-11-15

The Campaign for Prison Phone Justice is a national effort challenging prison phone kickbacks and the U.S. Prison Telephone Industry. The campaign is jointly led by: Media Action Grassroots Network, Working Narratives, Prison Legal News and Participant ...

The Trials of Eroy Brown: The Murder Case that Shook the Texas Prison System, by Michael Berryhill (University of Texas Press, 2011). 244 pages, $29.95

Book review by Mel Motel

The Trials of Eroy Brown: The Murder Case that Shook the Texas Prison System opens with a Tony Judt quote about how truthfully embracing history is an uncomfortable process. Michael Berryhill’s engaging account of one man’s journey through the then-named Texas Department of Corrections (TDC) ...

From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Black Panther Robert Hillary King, Oakland, CA: PM Press (2009) $24.95 hardback, 217 pages

Book review by Mel Motel

Robert Hillary King writes like he speaks. I had the honor of spending some time with the only freed member of the Angola 3 in April 2009 when he swung through Vermont on his book tour. Starting softly, in front of an audience of 60, ...