While TDCJ have improved their website recently, there is still a gap in the general information that many people seek when a loved one goes to prison in Texas, or for those who write to inmates in TDCJ units.
There is now a new forum that aims to provide as much information as possible on all aspects of TDCJ, uncluttered by too much chit-chat and references to what might be possible elsewhere but not relevant to TDCJ.
The new forum is here: Texas Prison Support
You will need to register to see the whole forum, and then you will need to activate your account in order to post.
So if you have any burning questions, don't be shy or think you will look stupid for asking - we were all new to this once!
Showing posts with label inmate phone service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inmate phone service. Show all posts
Monday, 5 May 2014
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Xenophobia
The dictionary defines xenophobia as follows:
"Intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries:"
By chance this week I have learned of the changes that TDCJ have made to the procedures for visitation across all units effective from 1 March 2014. The full document can be found here TDCJ Visitation Changes (the jump from the TDCJ Hompage is currently not active).
While I appreciate that some of these things will make visitation easier for a lot of people, particularly the inclusion of nephews and nieces in the "close relative" catagory for contact visits, there are other things that make it much more difficult for those travelling a long way for visitation - not just from overseas, but anywhere more than 300 miles away.
The item that affects me the most is the new requirement for the visitor ID to have an address that matches the TDCJ records for that person. For the past 8 years, my passport has been adequate ID but that does not contain my address details. I do not drive, so I do not have a European driving licence. I would offer a utility bill, as that is usually accepted here in the UK as proof of address, but as TDCJ do not permit those overseas to register for the inmate phone service it would seem unlikely that a bill would be accepted for anything else. One would think that my flight details might also be proof that I do indeed still live all the way over here and will be returning after the visit, but I don't hold out much hope of that either - considering most TDCJ staff I have known over the years admit to having never been out of the state let alone out of the country and look at my passport as something wierd and unknown, expecting them to understand what a flight print out is is probably pushing things too far.
The only way over this particular hurdle appears to be for me to get a provisional driving licence, at the £50 fee (pushing the cost overall of this visit over the £1000 mark). The DirectGov website says the licence is issued within one week - I hope so because I fly out in 4 weeks time and TDCJ gave no warning that the rules would be changing like this.
I know TDCJ are not there for my convenience. But there does appear to be a consistent level of general ignorance about anything that happens outside of Texas when it comes to making any rules at all. It is also starting to appear as xenophobia when you look at the following:
There is a question about what items would make visiting with children easier, but the way it is worded you can only respond to that if you actually have children. As anyone who visits TDCJ units knows, when children are in the visit room it affects everyone else there, so why should I not also be able to say that providing colouring pencils and paper would be a good idea?
Question 10 says: Do you communicate with the offender by letter, email (JPay) or phone before a visit?
The answer options are:
Finally, the last field on the survey asks for suggestions on how the unit can make visitation more enjoyable. I started typing my response, but the character limit is only around 200 - not nearly enough to mention the things I would like to, such as maybe sometimes using the outside seating at my husband's unit which has never been used in the 8 years he has been there. The staff at the unit are usually polite and efficient, even when their equipment doesn't work properly, and I have no issue with them at all. It's the TDCJ Administration that appear to be bunkered down in Austin and Huntsville like a bunch or Preppers, desperate to keep everyone out and everyone in, both at the same time.
And to top it all, when I hit the "submit" button, I get an error message. I have emailed the webservice team about all of this, but you know, I'm not Texan, so I'm not holding out for a response any time soon.
"Intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries:"
By chance this week I have learned of the changes that TDCJ have made to the procedures for visitation across all units effective from 1 March 2014. The full document can be found here TDCJ Visitation Changes (the jump from the TDCJ Hompage is currently not active).
While I appreciate that some of these things will make visitation easier for a lot of people, particularly the inclusion of nephews and nieces in the "close relative" catagory for contact visits, there are other things that make it much more difficult for those travelling a long way for visitation - not just from overseas, but anywhere more than 300 miles away.
The item that affects me the most is the new requirement for the visitor ID to have an address that matches the TDCJ records for that person. For the past 8 years, my passport has been adequate ID but that does not contain my address details. I do not drive, so I do not have a European driving licence. I would offer a utility bill, as that is usually accepted here in the UK as proof of address, but as TDCJ do not permit those overseas to register for the inmate phone service it would seem unlikely that a bill would be accepted for anything else. One would think that my flight details might also be proof that I do indeed still live all the way over here and will be returning after the visit, but I don't hold out much hope of that either - considering most TDCJ staff I have known over the years admit to having never been out of the state let alone out of the country and look at my passport as something wierd and unknown, expecting them to understand what a flight print out is is probably pushing things too far.
The only way over this particular hurdle appears to be for me to get a provisional driving licence, at the £50 fee (pushing the cost overall of this visit over the £1000 mark). The DirectGov website says the licence is issued within one week - I hope so because I fly out in 4 weeks time and TDCJ gave no warning that the rules would be changing like this.
I know TDCJ are not there for my convenience. But there does appear to be a consistent level of general ignorance about anything that happens outside of Texas when it comes to making any rules at all. It is also starting to appear as xenophobia when you look at the following:
- International postage stamps are not available through commisarry at many units, meaning inmates must use 3 inland stamps and pay more than is required for the service
- Inmates are not permitted to call friends and family overseas, and those people living overseas (meaning, outside of the USA, excluding Alaska and Hawaii) are not permitted to registered their phone for the Inmate Telephone Service
- Visitors must obtain photo ID with a current address included - something that is not required in many other countries including Britain.
- Every weekend
- More than twice per month
- Once per month
- When I am able to but not on a consistent basis
There is a question about what items would make visiting with children easier, but the way it is worded you can only respond to that if you actually have children. As anyone who visits TDCJ units knows, when children are in the visit room it affects everyone else there, so why should I not also be able to say that providing colouring pencils and paper would be a good idea?
Question 10 says: Do you communicate with the offender by letter, email (JPay) or phone before a visit?
The answer options are:
- Always
- Sometimes
- Never
Finally, the last field on the survey asks for suggestions on how the unit can make visitation more enjoyable. I started typing my response, but the character limit is only around 200 - not nearly enough to mention the things I would like to, such as maybe sometimes using the outside seating at my husband's unit which has never been used in the 8 years he has been there. The staff at the unit are usually polite and efficient, even when their equipment doesn't work properly, and I have no issue with them at all. It's the TDCJ Administration that appear to be bunkered down in Austin and Huntsville like a bunch or Preppers, desperate to keep everyone out and everyone in, both at the same time.
And to top it all, when I hit the "submit" button, I get an error message. I have emailed the webservice team about all of this, but you know, I'm not Texan, so I'm not holding out for a response any time soon.
Saturday, 6 July 2013
The Mountain
Many of us have mountains to climb in our lives. Some are the real kind of rocks and snowy peaks that we chose to climb because they are there. Others are obstacles in our way to other things, we usually hope "better" things. And for some, life itself is just one big mountain that must be scaled.
My husband an I are negotiating a mountain of sorts with his time in TDCJ, and this in itself is a mountain of his that he reached the top of, only to find a bigger one obscured by the mist. For his brother, life has been one mountain after another, and may have grown bigger over time due to his brother's own actions. You can't bury mountains; they rise and fall of their own volition, but if you have the right equipment then most are conquerable. Sadly for my brother-in-law, he faced one mountain too many and was found dead a few days ago.
This now presents us with more mountains, although I am confident that these will not be as large or looming as ones we've already faced.
The first one was how to get word to my husband. His mother lives in a care home and is unable to access the inmate telephone system for TDCJ inmates. I live in the UK, and am also prohibited from registering with the TDCJ phone system. My mother-in-law is also in a difficult position when wanting to call overseas, but thankfully the care home did allow her to call me a couple of days after the event.
She also called and spoke to one of the new Chaplains at my husband's unit, explained the situation, and the Chaplain organised a call between my husband and my mother-in-law, which is not supposed to happen but I am so thankful that it did. It meant my husband was informed within a few days of the death of his brother, and by someone close to him instead of a guard or the Chaplain himself.
Had either of us been able to access the TDCJ inmate phone system, the Chaplain's assistance would not have been necessary.
The yarn I have been spinning this week is half Yak down and half Merino wool and very soft to the touch. I had been thinking of naming it something to do with the Himalayas because of the Yak content. However, time moves on even if we don't. It is now simply named "The Mountain".
My husband an I are negotiating a mountain of sorts with his time in TDCJ, and this in itself is a mountain of his that he reached the top of, only to find a bigger one obscured by the mist. For his brother, life has been one mountain after another, and may have grown bigger over time due to his brother's own actions. You can't bury mountains; they rise and fall of their own volition, but if you have the right equipment then most are conquerable. Sadly for my brother-in-law, he faced one mountain too many and was found dead a few days ago.
This now presents us with more mountains, although I am confident that these will not be as large or looming as ones we've already faced.
The first one was how to get word to my husband. His mother lives in a care home and is unable to access the inmate telephone system for TDCJ inmates. I live in the UK, and am also prohibited from registering with the TDCJ phone system. My mother-in-law is also in a difficult position when wanting to call overseas, but thankfully the care home did allow her to call me a couple of days after the event.
She also called and spoke to one of the new Chaplains at my husband's unit, explained the situation, and the Chaplain organised a call between my husband and my mother-in-law, which is not supposed to happen but I am so thankful that it did. It meant my husband was informed within a few days of the death of his brother, and by someone close to him instead of a guard or the Chaplain himself.
Had either of us been able to access the TDCJ inmate phone system, the Chaplain's assistance would not have been necessary.
The yarn I have been spinning this week is half Yak down and half Merino wool and very soft to the touch. I had been thinking of naming it something to do with the Himalayas because of the Yak content. However, time moves on even if we don't. It is now simply named "The Mountain".
Monday, 1 October 2012
"Improvements" to the Offender Telephone System in TDCJ
Hot off the press from The Echo (the inmate newspaper inside TDCJ), here are some details of the "improvements" to the system:
"Offender Telephone System Implements Changes
Changes are happening to the Offender Telephone System (OTS). Some were effective on August 8, and other will be phased in as enhancements are made to the automated system to support changes.
Offenders are now allowed an unlimited number of minutes each month. Also, the maximum duration of each call has increased from 15 minutes to 20 minutes.
Another immediate change now allowed offenders to hear a list of family and friends (F&F) who are registered to receive their telephone calls. A voice prompt provides offenders with instructions for listening to their list of registered F&F.
Offenders are also able to purchase an unlimited amount of phone time on a monthly basis from their Trust Fund Account. F&F will be allowed to fund their Securus Correctional Billings Service (SCBS) accounts or pay their bill, up to $250, through the web or the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, and up to $500, through the call centre (800-844-6591) in one transaction.
Phased in changes will include an offender-approved calling list, separate from the offender visitor list. Once implemented, an offender will no longer have to add a F&F to his/her visitor list if they only want to have telephone contact. An offender will have up to 20 approved registered F&F, excluding attorney(s), on his/her approved calling list.
Until the approved calling list changes are fully functional, offenders must continue to add F&F to their visitor lists in order to have telephone contact. As important note regarding these changes is they impact only the offender telephone list; all current policies and procedures regarding the offender's visitor list will remain in place.
Another phased-in change will allow offenders to call approved registered postpaid/contract (no prepaid) cell phones. F&F can only register their postpaid cell phones by calling the Enrollment Centre (866=806-7804) and speaking to a representative. During the registration process, the representative with F&F in the call and with their permission, will contact the F&F's phone company to verify the owner of the phone and that the cell phone is postpaid/contract.
Any previously registered landline telephone number that is switched to a cell phone by F&F will be inactivated and will require a re-registration of the telephone number as a cell phone. Once the landline is switched to a prepaid cell phone, the number cannot be re-registered and will be permanently inactivated as long as it remains prepaid.
If a F&F has previously registered a landline, they can keep receiving calls on that landline as well as any approved registered postpaid cell phone. It is important to note that each approved, registered phone number counts as one of the 20 allowed numbers an offender is allowed to contact.
Announcements regarding the OTS changes will be available to offenders through the offender phones and printed materials and to F&F through websites and printed materials.
Here is a recap of the changes:
Immediate:
* Offenders will have an unlimited number of minutes each month.
* Offenders will have 20 minute maximum duration calls, up from 15 minutes.
* Offenders can listen to their list of approved and registered F&F when making calls.
* Offenders can purchase an unlimited amount of phone time st the commissary.
* Offenders will experience an increase in the transaction amount of F&F SCBS accounts.
To be phased in:
* Offender telephone list will be separate from the offender visitor list.
* Offenders may have up to 20 registered F&F on an approved calling list.
* Offenders can call approved, registered, postpaid/contract cell phones.
Important telephone numbers and websites for F&F are:
F&F Registration: 866-806-7804
www.texasprisonphone.com
F&F Billing
800-844-6591
www.securustech.net/tdcj
Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Ombudsman Coordinator:
936-437-4927
ombudsman@tdcj.state.tx
[end]
Still no mention of extending the system - as many other states and the Federal prison system does - to include overseas phone calls. Given the information above, the only reason I can see for this lies firmly with the phone company itself. Securus has no way of enforcing someone overseas to take up a phone contract with them in order to use the service. A way round this could be for Securus to provide remote phone numbers for overseas F&F - as many other phone companies do. These are acceptable for jails all across the US including those in Texas. Those numbers could be available only on a pre-paid basis (as most others currently are) with a debit or credit card with the same address as the phone account would be registered to, so the company gets the cash up-front and overseas F&F are able to receive calls on an approved number.
We live in an era of instant remote payment transactions with the tap of a cell phone. There is no logical reason why Securus is still resisting this revenue opportunity.
"Offender Telephone System Implements Changes
Changes are happening to the Offender Telephone System (OTS). Some were effective on August 8, and other will be phased in as enhancements are made to the automated system to support changes.
Offenders are now allowed an unlimited number of minutes each month. Also, the maximum duration of each call has increased from 15 minutes to 20 minutes.
Another immediate change now allowed offenders to hear a list of family and friends (F&F) who are registered to receive their telephone calls. A voice prompt provides offenders with instructions for listening to their list of registered F&F.
Offenders are also able to purchase an unlimited amount of phone time on a monthly basis from their Trust Fund Account. F&F will be allowed to fund their Securus Correctional Billings Service (SCBS) accounts or pay their bill, up to $250, through the web or the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, and up to $500, through the call centre (800-844-6591) in one transaction.
Phased in changes will include an offender-approved calling list, separate from the offender visitor list. Once implemented, an offender will no longer have to add a F&F to his/her visitor list if they only want to have telephone contact. An offender will have up to 20 approved registered F&F, excluding attorney(s), on his/her approved calling list.
Until the approved calling list changes are fully functional, offenders must continue to add F&F to their visitor lists in order to have telephone contact. As important note regarding these changes is they impact only the offender telephone list; all current policies and procedures regarding the offender's visitor list will remain in place.
Another phased-in change will allow offenders to call approved registered postpaid/contract (no prepaid) cell phones. F&F can only register their postpaid cell phones by calling the Enrollment Centre (866=806-7804) and speaking to a representative. During the registration process, the representative with F&F in the call and with their permission, will contact the F&F's phone company to verify the owner of the phone and that the cell phone is postpaid/contract.
Any previously registered landline telephone number that is switched to a cell phone by F&F will be inactivated and will require a re-registration of the telephone number as a cell phone. Once the landline is switched to a prepaid cell phone, the number cannot be re-registered and will be permanently inactivated as long as it remains prepaid.
If a F&F has previously registered a landline, they can keep receiving calls on that landline as well as any approved registered postpaid cell phone. It is important to note that each approved, registered phone number counts as one of the 20 allowed numbers an offender is allowed to contact.
Announcements regarding the OTS changes will be available to offenders through the offender phones and printed materials and to F&F through websites and printed materials.
Here is a recap of the changes:
Immediate:
* Offenders will have an unlimited number of minutes each month.
* Offenders will have 20 minute maximum duration calls, up from 15 minutes.
* Offenders can listen to their list of approved and registered F&F when making calls.
* Offenders can purchase an unlimited amount of phone time st the commissary.
* Offenders will experience an increase in the transaction amount of F&F SCBS accounts.
To be phased in:
* Offender telephone list will be separate from the offender visitor list.
* Offenders may have up to 20 registered F&F on an approved calling list.
* Offenders can call approved, registered, postpaid/contract cell phones.
Important telephone numbers and websites for F&F are:
F&F Registration: 866-806-7804
www.texasprisonphone.com
F&F Billing
800-844-6591
www.securustech.net/tdcj
Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Ombudsman Coordinator:
936-437-4927
ombudsman@tdcj.state.tx
[end]
Still no mention of extending the system - as many other states and the Federal prison system does - to include overseas phone calls. Given the information above, the only reason I can see for this lies firmly with the phone company itself. Securus has no way of enforcing someone overseas to take up a phone contract with them in order to use the service. A way round this could be for Securus to provide remote phone numbers for overseas F&F - as many other phone companies do. These are acceptable for jails all across the US including those in Texas. Those numbers could be available only on a pre-paid basis (as most others currently are) with a debit or credit card with the same address as the phone account would be registered to, so the company gets the cash up-front and overseas F&F are able to receive calls on an approved number.
We live in an era of instant remote payment transactions with the tap of a cell phone. There is no logical reason why Securus is still resisting this revenue opportunity.
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Just marking time
As I've said before, I don't want this to be "just another inmate-wife blog". That's why I don't blog about the minute details of what we deal with on our journey, and why I throw in my handcrafts and other stuff now and again. I'm more than just an inmate's wife, just as hubby is more than an inmate or defined solely by his crime. We're individuals who just happen to be in this situation together at the moment.
But some things keep rearing their ugly heads time and again, and right now it's the phone situation. It's funny sometimes when I find myself explaining it to someone else, as I did this morning to a good friend, and I find a justification or partial explanation in what I'm saying as I say it that I had not fully comprehended before. In case you didn't already know, TDCJ inmates had a phone system installed around 2 years ago, but there are strict conditions of use, the main ones being:
Inmates can only call those who are
This means that a TDCJ inmate can chatter away to their heart's content with a US penpal they have never met and possibly have only exchanged a couple of letters with over the course of a few weeks, yet I cannot talk to my husband at all under any circumstances except if I can get there for a visit, when we have been married for almost 6 years and I knew him before his crime. Tell me how this is fair.
But what I was explaining to my friend earlier is that TDCJ are not discriminating against hubby. He can use the phone system just like any of the other inmates in general population can. The issue is, I am discriminated against because of where I live. He has registered, has recorded his voice, is in general population and not Ad Seg or on Death Row, so in the eyes of TDCJ and the Texas legislators I am the one in the wrong because I live in the wrong place. And why should they care? They have provided what TIFA and other advocate groups asked for; a phone service.
We've dealt with it for the past 7 years since he moved from county jail into TDCJ and we'll continue to deal with it, but sometimes things happen that would be much simpler to deal with by spending just a few minutes of real-time talking. Right now, his mum is dying, and there are things we need to discuss and work out, but we have to do it through letters that take around 10 days to cross the ocean. Tell me how this is fair.
No, tell the Texas legislators that it is NOT fair. Please.
But some things keep rearing their ugly heads time and again, and right now it's the phone situation. It's funny sometimes when I find myself explaining it to someone else, as I did this morning to a good friend, and I find a justification or partial explanation in what I'm saying as I say it that I had not fully comprehended before. In case you didn't already know, TDCJ inmates had a phone system installed around 2 years ago, but there are strict conditions of use, the main ones being:
Inmates can only call those who are
- on their visit list
- registered with the phone company and have a landline in their name
- resident in the USA (excluding Alaska and Hawaii)
This means that a TDCJ inmate can chatter away to their heart's content with a US penpal they have never met and possibly have only exchanged a couple of letters with over the course of a few weeks, yet I cannot talk to my husband at all under any circumstances except if I can get there for a visit, when we have been married for almost 6 years and I knew him before his crime. Tell me how this is fair.
But what I was explaining to my friend earlier is that TDCJ are not discriminating against hubby. He can use the phone system just like any of the other inmates in general population can. The issue is, I am discriminated against because of where I live. He has registered, has recorded his voice, is in general population and not Ad Seg or on Death Row, so in the eyes of TDCJ and the Texas legislators I am the one in the wrong because I live in the wrong place. And why should they care? They have provided what TIFA and other advocate groups asked for; a phone service.
We've dealt with it for the past 7 years since he moved from county jail into TDCJ and we'll continue to deal with it, but sometimes things happen that would be much simpler to deal with by spending just a few minutes of real-time talking. Right now, his mum is dying, and there are things we need to discuss and work out, but we have to do it through letters that take around 10 days to cross the ocean. Tell me how this is fair.
No, tell the Texas legislators that it is NOT fair. Please.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
This is why TDCJ needs to allow international phone calls by inmates
The best example of a real situation has occurred to illustrate the stupidity and missed opportunity of TDCJ and the Texas Legislature in not permitting inmates to make international calls via the new phone system. Inmates are permitted only to call those on their visitation lists who have a registered USA land-line with the phone company (excluding Hawaii and Alaska). And for those thinking that Skype would circumvent this issue, it wont. You have to provide proof of residency that matches the landline number.
There was a riot at my husband's unit last Thursday.
Normally I wouldn't be too concerned, because it is a big place and often he is nowhere near where the trouble is. I just wait for the letter with the details which usually takes between 10-14 days to get here. But this time, the circumstances are different:
The confrontation happened when the field crew were returning to the chow hall. I currently don't know if my husband has been given his old job back on food service (which would put him in the chow hall when the disturbance occurred) or if he is still assigned to the field squad and had to go out to work (which would put him in the chow hall when the disturbance occurred), or even if he is still not being called to work at all and just went for his lunch as usual (which would put him in the chow hall when the disturbance occurred). So whatever his assignment, the chances are high that he was there.
I've been told there were several officers and inmates involved, an officer has a broken jaw and injured hand (and I'm sad for them that they had to deal with it) and that tear gas / pepper spray was used. The unit was put on temporary lockdown, which was later lifted for all excluding the wing where the field crew are housed.
I am pretty sure that once the lockdown ended, many inmates got on the phones and were telling their loved ones that they were OK. Those whose loved ones live in the USA anyway. My husband doesn't have anyone to call because none of the family over there have a land-line in their name - like so many Americans and a growing number of Europeans. So he can't even call someone and ask them to pass a message on to me that he is OK. He fulfills all the inmate-related requirements for calls, such as not being in Ad Seg.
So I have to wait for around 2 weeks before I hear anything from him, even if he mails something out that very night. How is this fair on me, when others can receive calls? I'm not asking for special treatment, just equity with other friends and family of TDCJ inmates who are no better or worse individuals than I am.
There was a riot at my husband's unit last Thursday.
Normally I wouldn't be too concerned, because it is a big place and often he is nowhere near where the trouble is. I just wait for the letter with the details which usually takes between 10-14 days to get here. But this time, the circumstances are different:
The confrontation happened when the field crew were returning to the chow hall. I currently don't know if my husband has been given his old job back on food service (which would put him in the chow hall when the disturbance occurred) or if he is still assigned to the field squad and had to go out to work (which would put him in the chow hall when the disturbance occurred), or even if he is still not being called to work at all and just went for his lunch as usual (which would put him in the chow hall when the disturbance occurred). So whatever his assignment, the chances are high that he was there.
I've been told there were several officers and inmates involved, an officer has a broken jaw and injured hand (and I'm sad for them that they had to deal with it) and that tear gas / pepper spray was used. The unit was put on temporary lockdown, which was later lifted for all excluding the wing where the field crew are housed.
I am pretty sure that once the lockdown ended, many inmates got on the phones and were telling their loved ones that they were OK. Those whose loved ones live in the USA anyway. My husband doesn't have anyone to call because none of the family over there have a land-line in their name - like so many Americans and a growing number of Europeans. So he can't even call someone and ask them to pass a message on to me that he is OK. He fulfills all the inmate-related requirements for calls, such as not being in Ad Seg.
So I have to wait for around 2 weeks before I hear anything from him, even if he mails something out that very night. How is this fair on me, when others can receive calls? I'm not asking for special treatment, just equity with other friends and family of TDCJ inmates who are no better or worse individuals than I am.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Almost at another anniversary
In just over 3 weeks, we will have been married for 5 years. In those 5 years I have spent 84 hours in my husband's company. We have spoken just 3 times by phone in those 5 years because TDCJ inmates are not permitted to make overseas calls (unlike the vast majority of other state and federal inmates in the USA, and most jail inmates as well) despite the fact that he is elligible to use the phone system and we are more than willing to pay for it - or even pay a small premium. I can't tell you why TDCJ inmates are not permitted to call overseas, because no one will tell me why. I have asked politicians, TDCJ staff, the TDCJ Ombudsman's Office, and no one will give me a straight answer.
I can't count the letters, but I have boxes from him and I know I have sent at least 3 times as many. Don't read too much into that; I send more because there is no limit on the number of stamps I can have in my possession, and I am not limited to visiting the post office every 2 weeks (when they may not have any stamps at all), plus I can use the correct denomination of stamps on my letters to him whereas he has to always pay more than he needs because his unit refuses to stock the international rate postage stamps. There is no rhyme or reason to this, my pal on Death Row in Texas is able to get international stamps from her commisarry. TDCJ inmates are not permitted to receive stamps purchased by any other means.
So what can we exchange by way of gifts to mark this momentous occasion? The simple answer is, not much. I can only send books, magazines and stationary packages from approved vendors (not direct from myself or any other individual), and the writing paper must be plain white. No care packages yet for TDCJ inmates although this is in the pipleine and should be available next spring if the reports are to be believed.
I usually try to write a story based around the things associated with the anniversary. This year that means wood, silverware, daisies and turquiose. I will probably try and find a couple of anniversary cards with daisies on, or with turquoise lettering. I may see if I can do some research on silver mining, maybe there is a good book on Amazon that he will find interesting (I am blessed that he is interested in most things!).
For myself, I will continue the tradition of eating Chinese, either with friends or with my daughter and her boyfriend. And I am also going to see some live music in our town a couple of days before our anniversary too. Seth Lakeman will be playing his fiddle and I shall be there singing along.
Don't be sad for us because we can't be together this year. Be happy that we were able to get married at all and now have another date each year to tick off that brings us close to our future and the cabin by the lake.
I can't count the letters, but I have boxes from him and I know I have sent at least 3 times as many. Don't read too much into that; I send more because there is no limit on the number of stamps I can have in my possession, and I am not limited to visiting the post office every 2 weeks (when they may not have any stamps at all), plus I can use the correct denomination of stamps on my letters to him whereas he has to always pay more than he needs because his unit refuses to stock the international rate postage stamps. There is no rhyme or reason to this, my pal on Death Row in Texas is able to get international stamps from her commisarry. TDCJ inmates are not permitted to receive stamps purchased by any other means.
So what can we exchange by way of gifts to mark this momentous occasion? The simple answer is, not much. I can only send books, magazines and stationary packages from approved vendors (not direct from myself or any other individual), and the writing paper must be plain white. No care packages yet for TDCJ inmates although this is in the pipleine and should be available next spring if the reports are to be believed.
I usually try to write a story based around the things associated with the anniversary. This year that means wood, silverware, daisies and turquiose. I will probably try and find a couple of anniversary cards with daisies on, or with turquoise lettering. I may see if I can do some research on silver mining, maybe there is a good book on Amazon that he will find interesting (I am blessed that he is interested in most things!).
For myself, I will continue the tradition of eating Chinese, either with friends or with my daughter and her boyfriend. And I am also going to see some live music in our town a couple of days before our anniversary too. Seth Lakeman will be playing his fiddle and I shall be there singing along.
Don't be sad for us because we can't be together this year. Be happy that we were able to get married at all and now have another date each year to tick off that brings us close to our future and the cabin by the lake.
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Spreading the word
I've been doing some guest blogging this week for our friends at the Improve TX Citizens Coalition blog. The Improve TX blog covers issues related to TDCJ, and currently has a couple of petitions that you can sign. One is asking for TDCJ inmates to be permitted to make overseas calls on the new inmate phone system (a subject close to our hearts), another is to limit the current 40% kickback that Securus receives as part of its deal to provide the TDCJ inmate phone system, and the third petition is to allow inmates to receive wedding bands if they marry after they enter TDCJ, and to allow weddings to be carried out on TDCJ property. Currently inmates can only retain a wedding band if they have it at intake, and all inmate weddings must be conducted as proxy weddings.
Check out my guest post here.
Check out my guest post here.
Sunday, 26 June 2011
View from a PA prison cell - inmate phone services; who gets the benefits?
As well as my husband being incarcerated, there are approximately 2 million other Americans sharing his circumstances at the moment. I write to a couple of other inmates and one is an elderly guy in Pennsylvaina doing a life sentence. He is very active in the politics of incarceration, and could be considered to be a royal pain in the behind to the "prisoncrats" he regularly writes to. He wrote something recently that I wanted to share with you all, and now I have his permission to post it, here it is:
Mother Mary by Jon Y
Sixty-year-old Mary, disabled and impoverished, languishes in her Philadelphia room, wishing that during what remains of her life she could converse with her son who is incarcerated in a distant Department of Corrections (DoC) prison. Neither she nor her son writes well enough to communicate through letters. medical issues preclude her from travelling either to that prison to visit him or to a Prison Society site for a video "virtual visit" thereby leaving her telephone as their only viable means of communication. However, the DoC's imposition of a 44.4% socially regressive commission on Pennsylvania inmates' telephone contracts with families (Prison Legal News, April 2011) is a nearly impenetrable barrier to Mary experiencing the joy of conversing with her son.
The DoC contract with Global Tel*link ("GTL": owed by Wall Street's Goldman Sachs), telephone service provider for prison inmates in more than half of the States. Mary's son cannot telephone her "collect" because she is unable to afford a mandatory GTL prepaid account for $6.25 per 15-minute collect call in as much as GTL would charge her a 20% service fee for each $25 payment that she would invest in such a pre-paid account.
Purchase of pre-paid telephone fees ($5.15 per 15-minute call) is available to her son via the prison commissary but he has little or no personal income. Since the DoC requires that inmates purchase no less than $10 (plus 60 c sales tax) of pre-paid telephone time, his prison account is inadequate. Mary's only option is to send $10 to her son to pre-pay for 2 calls - but she learns that maintaining familial relationships for inmates clearly is not a priority for the DoC.
Research of the Prison Legal News (April 2011, pp 1-17) confirms that (1) phone companies do not compete to offer lower phone rates to inmates' families but rather to provide larger kickbacks to prisons, and (2) since such commissions are not controlled by State or Federal regulatory agencies, the only limit on the maximum rate for prison phone call costs is the top rate of kickback permitted by service contracts between GTL and the DoC. For example, in contrast to GTL's kickback enhanced $5.15 charge for Mary to speak with her son, GTL's non-kickback contract with Rhode Island DoC costs RI inmates a flat fee of just 70c for 20 minutes! GTL obviously perceives that RI prison telephone service contract as profitable. If Mary's son were confined in a federal prison, her costs for telephone reunions with him could be as little as 90c for a 15-minute call.
Not in Pennsylvania! The DoC directs families to send funds to inmates through "JPAY", a Florida corporation that charges an additional $4.95 if contacted by phone or $395 if contacted by email to deposit $10 into a prison account. Does the DoC also receive a kickback from JPAY? Mother Mary, $14.95 poorer, awaits a call from her son. However the system has not finished fleecing her yet.
From each entry of wages, gifts etc into an inmate's account, 20% is seized as payment of court-imposed fines, costs and retribution. Upon Mary's $10 being transferred from JPAY to her son, $2 is automatically deducted. Thus, in order to reunite with her son, Mary becomes monetarily responsible for his sentence! With only $8 of that $14.95 actually deposited in his prison account, Mary's son is unable to comply with the DoC's $10-minimum purchase of pre-paid telephone time. If Mary could have afforded $25 to overcome such deductions, JPAY charges would increase to $6.95 via email and $7.95 by telephone!
Mary is but a composite of the hundreds of indigent (grand)parents of inmates who are being victimized by the DoC's $7+ million kickback from GTL. Children of inmates are even more helpless to overcome such agency greed. They should not be cut off from imprisoned family in order for the state to turn a profit. South Carolina, California, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York and Rhode Island do not accept kickbacks from their telephone service providers!
The DoC claims its $7+ million annual kickback from GTL is necessary for the telephone system to function in prisons but then diverts more than $4 million of that commission to the DoC's General Fund. That is not a "reasonable user fee"! The DoC further alleges that $3 million of the kickback is retained to "benefit" inmates! If that were so, the DoC could simply hire a single employee at each prison for an annual wage of $20,000 to process money orders sent to inmates by families rather than requiring JPAY processing at the exorbitant rates cited above.
But who cares? Do you? Our Marys cannot fight this struggle alone. If you care for those like Mary, it is time for education, advocacy, coalition building and community organizing to lead the struggle against a kickback so ill-conceived that is shocks the conscience!
(The views expressed above are Jon's not mine, though I do share his fury at the extortionate charges levied upon inmate families by the phone companies, JPAY and the States involved)
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