CCR Annual Report 2005 - Center for Constitutional Rights

PRISONTELEPHONEPROJECT
22
CCR v Exploitation of Prison Families
The New York Campaign for Telephone Justice, launched in October 2004, seeks to
end the exploitative contract between MCI and the New York State Department of
Correctional Services (DOCS) that grossly overcharges the families of prisoners to
maintain telephone contact with their loved ones. This contract awards the State an
annual commission in excess of $20 million and charges family members 630% more for
calls than the average residential consumer. In addition, family members are subjected
to pre-emptive blocks on their phones and must face a Byzantine process in order to get
service restored.
The Campaign grew out of several lawsuits filed by CCR to challenge the practice, which
attorneys see as an unlawful and unlegislated tax that targets members of the community
who can least afford it. This summer, we went back to state court to appeal a
decision in one case and had an important ruling in federal court allowing us to proceed
with our constitutional claims in another. The Campaign has had an extraordinary year
that resulted in the passage of the Family Connections Bill in the New York State
Assembly in May, organized scores of family members to confront MCI shareholders at
their annual meeting in Virginia, and secured a strong editorial in The New York Times in
support of our efforts.
The Campaign has been extremely successful in bringing together family members,
elected officials, public policy experts, members of the faith and labor communities, and
the media to illuminate this egregious practice and bring pressure on those responsible
to stop the contract. The Campaign’s web-based advocacy component has enabled New
Yorkers to send letters directly to their elected officials and local newspapers to urge
passage of the legislation. In addition, internet-based public service announcements
that depict the plight of family members faced with impediments to maintaining phone
contact have increased CCR’s capacity to reach an even broader audience. Last, an
innovative marketing and media strategy that targets youth and grassroots communities
has made the Campaign a powerful organizing opportunity for those who feel the
greatest impact of the MCI/DOCS contract. We will continue to step up our efforts this
fall as the contract’s deadline approaches.