Thread by @WorthRises

"I was in prison on my daughter’s 8th birthday... I had seen it happen over and over to the men around me: active and willing fathers who lost their babies because of the cost of a call." - Jewu

You minced no words with this one, Jewu @ctbailfund!
ctpost.com/opinion/articl…

"That’s right, amid a fight over prison calls, the state signed a second predatory contract with the same corporation to further exploit families with incarcerated loved ones. But what can we expect when the state has its hand in the cookie jar?"

"Parents inside need to comfort their kids, support them through remote learning and confirm negative COVID tests. But often they can’t — because they can’t afford to pay Securus, and JPay, and their private equity owner Platinum Equity, and the state."

"This leg session, the CT Connecting Families coalition... is again asking lawmakers to correct this travesty and repair the harm by passing SB520, sponsored by Senate President Martin Looney, that would prohibit charging incarcerated people and their families for communication."

"& we are not taking crumbs like the $1M Gov Lamont allocated in his budget this yr to slightly reduce the cost of calls. It’s a slap in the face to families for whom 'affordable' has no meaning. It’s time our electeds create real relief for all CT families & stop preying on us."

Big shoutout to @ctbailfund and @VeneziaHM for their collaboration on this brilliant, poignant, and timely piece.

To think today @NedLamont thought it worthy to celebrate a 4 cent reduction in phone call rates in 5 months? We're not interested in your crumbs Ned.

ctnewsjunkie.com/2021/02/19/cos…