MASSACHUSETTS — Massachusetts has become the fifth state to make prison phone calls free statewide — and the first to include provisions for free calls from county jails — thanks to a bill signed this month by Gov. Maura Healey and going into effect Friday.
The bill marks a “historic investment in the rights of incarcerated people,” allowing Massachusetts families to stay connected “without oppressive financial burdens,” the Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts said in a news release.
“It’s been an uphill battle to say the least, but one worth fighting for,” William “7even” Ragland, Chairman of the African American Coalition Committee, a coalition of men incarcerated at MCI-Norfolk focused on reforming the criminal legal system, said in part in the news release. “Given our low prison wages, our families are often left with the bill, deciding whether to put money on their loved ones’ phone accounts or pay their rent, put gas in their cars, or put food on their tables … Today marks a change.”
Nia Reid-Patterson, who was identified in the news release as a “directly impacted person” and No Cost Calls Coalition Member, said: “It feels like a boulder has been lifted off my chest.”
“I appreciate the support, hard work, and advocacy of the legislators over the years, specifically Rep. Chynah Tyler, Sen. Cindy Creem, and Sen. Liz Miranda,” Reid-Patterson added. “They listened to our stories, they cared for us, they fought for us! Today I am grateful that Gov. Healey listened and uplifted the voices and struggles of some of the commonwealth’s most financially vulnerable people.”
The bill is more generous than a plan Healey floated for inmate calls earlier this year. Healey sought to cap free calls to 1,000 minutes per inmate at state Department of Corrections prisons, and not extend the policy to county jails — facilities that hold a majority of inmates outside of state, federal and youth prisons in Massachusetts.
Calls to inmates cost families some $14 million in fees per year, according to the Keep Families Connected/No Cost Calls coalition. Fees range from 12 cents per minute for calls to state DOC inmates up to 14 cents at county jails. Calls to inmates in Massachusetts local jails are cheaper than the national average of about $3 for 15 minutes, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.
Before the bill was signed, advocates for free calls said in their arguments that the private companies that provide telecommunications services to prisons and jails are “predatory,” forcing families across the state to effectively pay a tax to communicate with family members.
“Not only will this help relieve some of the financial burden that has been solely on me while I try to keep our housing afloat so my partner has somewhere stable and safe to come home to, it will also help us maintain healthy mental and emotional connections that are fundamental in reducing rates of recidivism and keep him strong and safe until he can be released,” coalition member Joanna Levesque, whose partner is at Old Colony Correctional Center, said in a news release after Healey signed the budget earlier this year.
The Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts added that the bill set a powerful precedent that it urges other states to follow.
“Massachusetts is the third state just this year and the fifth state overall to make communication free for incarcerated people,” Bianca Tylek, Executive Director of Worth Rises, noted. “It’s so clear that the connecting families movement is picking up speed and taking hold … Thanks to the relentless work of families and allied advocates over many years, parents, children, siblings, and spouses on the outside will finally be able to reconnect with their loved ones inside.”
Neal McNamara contributed to this report.
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