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USA Today ✈ At 18, I thought I would spend the rest of my life in prison. Reading opened new worlds, helped me help others. High e-reader fees are latest to harm inmates.

Chris Wilson 

Last year, West Virginia contracted with a company, Global Tel Link (GTL), to provide free tablets to prisoners. 

These kinds of initiatives are rapidly becoming more popular, as states grapple with the legacy of four decades of tough-on-crime policies and renewed public calls for more rehabilitative prisons. 

And it sounds great. Until inmates realize the company charges users every time they use the tablets, including 25 cents a page for emails and 3 cents a minute to read e-books. By that calculation, most inmates would end up paying about $15 for each novel or autobiography they attempt to read. To people who have little to no money, that’s not a benefit. That’s exploitation. The only beneficiary, aside from Global Tel Link, is West Virginia, which receives 5% of the profits.

Update: GTL says it now allows inmates to read a limited number of books for free each quarter.

Continue reading @ USA Today. 

Books Helped Me Get Through A Life Sentence ➖ Exploitative Fees Rob Others Of Benefit

USA Today ✈ At 18, I thought I would spend the rest of my life in prison. Reading opened new worlds, helped me help others. High e-reader fees are latest to harm inmates.

Chris Wilson 

Last year, West Virginia contracted with a company, Global Tel Link (GTL), to provide free tablets to prisoners. 

These kinds of initiatives are rapidly becoming more popular, as states grapple with the legacy of four decades of tough-on-crime policies and renewed public calls for more rehabilitative prisons. 

And it sounds great. Until inmates realize the company charges users every time they use the tablets, including 25 cents a page for emails and 3 cents a minute to read e-books. By that calculation, most inmates would end up paying about $15 for each novel or autobiography they attempt to read. To people who have little to no money, that’s not a benefit. That’s exploitation. The only beneficiary, aside from Global Tel Link, is West Virginia, which receives 5% of the profits.

Update: GTL says it now allows inmates to read a limited number of books for free each quarter.

Continue reading @ USA Today. 
Understanding imprisonment

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