Nevada inmate advocacy group joins national boycott

An advocate group for prison inmates is joining a nationwide boycott of prison phone systems during August.

Executive Director Mercedes Maharis said the group is protesting the high cost of collect phone calls made by prisoners to their friends and families on the outside.

"Particularly out-of-state calls," she said. "Nowhere does it stipulate there is any cap on out-of-state calls."

"MCI has the new contract and it's a disaster," said Maharis. "I have a bill showing that a family living outside the state is being charged over $50 an hour to talk to their loved one at Jean prison."

She said a Wisconsin woman whose husband is in the Nevada prison system didn't know about the new rates and now faces a $1,000 phone bill.

She said local collect call charges are also "through the roof," requiring a $1 connect charge every 15 minutes and $3 for person-to-person collect calls.

And she said the prison system gets half of the money. While it is supposed to go to the Inmate Welfare Fund, she said most of the cash is actually transferred to pay for prison medical costs and staff expenses.

The protest asks Nevada inmates and their families to boycott the system during August to draw attention to the issue. Kay Perry of the National campaign for Equitable Telephone Charges has organized a national boycott of prison phone charges saying a large number of states have similar systems that unfairly charge inmate families.

"We are talking about stopping the prisons from gouging $2 million during the month from the families," Perry said.

Maharis termed the Nevada contract approved earlier this year "an irresponsible contract that has caused much suffering."

"No one is suggesting that taxpayers should provide each prisoner with the perk of a personal telephone," she said. "But there is a public benefit to helping prisoners maintain family ties and the system should be made fairer for their families."

"These profit sharing deals are nothing more than government sanctioned kickbacks," she said.