The Center for Public Integrity’s new series on the finance industry that’s milking dollars from the families of prisoners, then the prisoners after they’ve been released from prison is a must read, and one that will make you wonder why our correctional facilities are punishing those left behind on the outside as well:
Pat Taylor doesn’t believe in going into debt. She keeps her bills in a freezer bag under her bed, next to old photo albums, and believes in paying them on time religiously. For Taylor, living within your means is part of being a good Christian.Lately, Taylor, 64, has felt torn between that commitment and her desire to be a loving, supportive mother for her son Eddie….
To get cash to her son, Pat used to purchase a money order at the post office for $1.25 and mail it to the prison, for a total cost of less than $2. But in March of last year, the Virginia Department of Corrections informed her that JPay Inc., a private company in Florida, would begin handling all deposits into inmates’ accounts.
Sending a money order through JPay takes too long, so Taylor started using her debit card to get him funds instead. To send Eddie $50, Taylor must pay $6.95 to JPay. Depending on how much she can afford to send, the fee can be as high as 35 percent. In other states, JPay’s fees approach 45 percent.
After the fee, the state takes out another 15 percent of her money for court fees and a mandatory savings account, which Eddie will receive upon his release in 2021, minus the interest, which goes to the Department of Corrections.
Eddie needs money to pay for basic needs like toothpaste, visits to the doctor and winter clothes. In some states families of inmates pay for toilet paper, electricity, even room and board, as governments increasingly shift the costs of imprisonment from taxpayers to the families of inmates.
“To give him $50, I have to send $70 off my card,” says Taylor, who moved to a smaller apartment on the outskirts of Johnson City in part because of the rising cost of supporting Eddie.
“They’re punishing the families, not the inmates.”
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2014.
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2012/09/28/jpay-offers-innovative-services-to.html?page=all
Read the opinion of the CEO.
Dont send them any money. Divorce the crook. What about the people that he stole from? Do you think that they will ever get the restitution that the court ordered him to pay?
A lot of discourse about conditions of prisons and the money being made off prisoner’s families. Think of the children who have to suffer so a few people can make money off prisoners.
This is a very enlightening article. It is one thing for the person to serve their time, it’s another for the family serving every minute of the inmates time with them. The shame for the family is one thing, the robbery they suffer at the hands of profiteers is another.
A must read story, thanks for your article.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/09/30/…
Many people are in jail on drug charges, not all of them guilty.
Here in AZ, the for-profit prisons not kept at 100% capacity (per contract) must be subsidized by the state to make up for each cell not filled. That means there is strong incentive to send the most minor of offenses to prison, and even those who may be innocent but opted out of a trial by peers.
The for-profit prisons are paid by the state, receive federal subsidies, tax breaks, and charge the inmates on a per day basis.
They form alliances with other corps who find other ways to make profit off the incarcerated and their families. Is it possible that there are kickbacks or other incentives for the for-profits? Why not?
Additionally, inmates are often sold as free labor to businesses in the areas.
The person leaving prison is laden with debt, has a criminal record which precludes them from supporting themselves in an extremely competitive job market, have burdened their families who have stuck with them through this, and have been separated from their family, included children, so must attempt to reestablish their relationships with them. There is no support, none.
It’s no wonder that they so often end up back in prison on parole violations (some violations include not getting a job soon enough). And the profit keeps rolling in.
And all of this for possession of a joint, in some cases. Sometimes even less than that. Our young men (and women) are being tagged, forever in the system, forever stigmatized, enduring damage to their families and collectively to their communities, while rich white men steal, cheat, do Cocaine and get zero time when caught.
The system is rigged and is working only for the rich.
Right on Kris, in order to buy little necessities prisoners work outside the prisons for fifty cents an hour. Private prison lobbyists have gotten legislatures to enact minimum sentences to keep prisoners longer. When they get out with felon wrapped around them and they can get a job, their restitution, fines, etc. have been turned over to collection (wow the fees, another unpunished racket) and any withholding or taxes coming back go to the collection agencies. Mayor Rothschild has been active in bringing ex-offender programs for reintegration back into the community. Sponsoring workshops show-case various community resources, such as, Educational, Legal, Jobs, Employer Information and introduction of Faith based strategies. The Mayor doesn’t toot his horn on a lot of behind the scenes efforts he has been responsible for in Tucson. But among public officials he has been a strong voice for rehabilitation of released prisoners.
Our Prison system has been in the crapper for way to long…..Greedy private corporation’s are not the answer.
We as a nation, feed these greedy corporations that have been sucking on the governments tits for to long. It’s a shame our schools aren’t allocated the money the prison system is allotted.