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August 8, 2018

New York Becomes First Major U.S. City to Make Prison Calls Free
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has signed a new law to allow
prisoners to make free phone calls from inside New York City's jails,
following a long campaign by activists demanding an end to the
exorbitant and exploitative rates charged by the billion-dollar prison
phone industry. Currently, the private company Securus, which manages
phones in New York City's jails, reaps $2.5 million every single year
off prisoners' phone calls. About 75 percent of the people incarcerated
in New York City's jails have not been convicted of a crime and are
sitting in jail awaiting their trials.


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