SJC says sheriffs can charge commissions for prison phone calls

Court leaves issue up to Legislature Commonwealth MagazineBy Shira SchoenbergMay 17, 2022 MASSACHUSETTS SHERIFFS HAVE the legal authority to raise revenue from contracts for inmate phone calls, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday. Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, whose office was at the center of the lawsuit, called the decision “a win for taxpayers.” “In […]

Letter to the Editor – December 29

The Somerville TimesDecember 29, 2021Aaron Steinberg To the Editor: Every day, incarcerated people and their loved ones shoulder exorbitant costs to call each other because for-profit companies charge about four times the actual cost of phone service. As a result, one in three families with a loved one in prison will go into debt to […]

DAY-LONG HEARING ON CORRECTIONS SEES PLEAS FOR FREE CALLS AND AN END TO LIFE W/OUT PAROLE

DAY-LONG HEARING ON CORRECTIONS SEES PLEAS FOR FREE CALLS AND AN END TO LIFE W/OUT PAROLE DIG BostonOctober 7, 2021By Jean Trounstine On Tuesday, Oct. 5, a legislative hearing held by the Joint Committee on the Judiciary highlighted the work activists across Massachusetts are doing to end racism and injustice in the criminal legal system. One-hundred sixty […]