Michigan Jails banned visits in “quid pro quo” with prison phone companies, lawsuits say
Michigan Jails banned visits in “quid pro quo” with prison phone companies, lawsuits say
Civil rights group sues two counties, says hundreds more have banned visits.
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Hi, I'm not a native English speaker. The title is quite difficult for me to understand. Can someone please ELI5?
Afaik, "quid pro quo" could mean "retaliation" right? But what does "prison phone companies" mean?
In the US, if you're in jail, you have to make phone calls through whatever provider the jail uses. These are private companies and charge a lot of money to the family just to talk to their loved one. A quid pro quo is a reward or advantage in return for something. In this case, the jails receive extra money for letting certain phone companies be the only ones prisoners can use. By preventing in person visits, they are lining their pockets with even more money. It's disgusting.
Thank you, I understand now.
However, why would a prison allowed to profit on something like this? Where'd the money go to?
I mean, WHAT YEAR IS IT!?
Phone call is basically "ancient" technology by today standard. Even better if they use VOIP or internet-based phone/video call. That would cost them very little to install and operate.
Everyone agrees.
Conservatives have worked hard to build and protect a for-profit prison system in the U.S. We cannot begin to address these issues as long as this deadly plague of conservatives continues to infest our government.