Thread: Did you know that the billionaire owner of the @DetroitPistons makes money by charging Black and immigrant families to speak with their loved ones in jail cells? You should know this story, it's incredible. (1)
For decades, if your loved one was in jail, you could usually go and see them and at least hug them. Families depended on it to maintain contact. Remember, most people in jail aren't convicted yet and are in a cage solely because they are so poor they can't pay cash bail. (2)
But big corporations realized there was a lot of money to be made. Years ago, they began having jails get rid of in-person visits so people can't hug their kids b/c it would raise more profit from calls. They worked with officials to get monopoly telecom contracts. (3)
How did it work? They offered police and jails a cut of the cash if they agreed to eliminate in-person family visits, knowing that people would be forced to pay more for calls. They monetized human contact. They monetized the love of poor families. (4)
While the Pistons paint their logo in rainbow colors and the @NBA talks about racial justice, many players don't know that one of the NBA's owners makes his fortune by taking cash from Black/immigrant families and taking away the ability to hug their kids. (5) @MRobertsNBPA @CP3
Luckily there is work being done to raise awareness about this profiteering and to organize against it. Look at the amazing victory just obtained in Connecticut. Check out the work of @WorthRises and @paulwrightHRDC to learn more. (6) @BiancaTylek
https://twitter.com/WorthRises/status/1400669488312459267
And some talented journalists like @ddayen have written extensively about it. There is a lot more we must do to get people to understand that much of the policy in the punishment bureaucracy is based on profit. (7) prospect.org/justice/the-nb…
To dig deeper, and to see hundreds of examples, I wrote about this in my book Usual Cruelty and in this long essay from the book here. (End) yalelawjournal.org/forum/the-puni…
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