PRISONERS' CALLS NET STATE $21M

Albany, New York (AP) - State inmates who telephone family members,
friends, or anyone outside prison walls are charged about a third more than
the rates available to the general public, a published report says.

And most of the money the inmates spend on the calls will go to New York
state.

Last year, the state made $21 million from collect phone calls placed by
inmates, according to a report in today's New York Times.

"Inmates do not have a right to make telephone calls," said James B.
Flateau, spokesman for the state Department of Correctional Services. "If
they are going to make phone calls, we believe it is smart to charge a
commission and use the funds to offset the costs that taxpayers pay for
inmate programs."

Critics say the charges present hardships for families, who should not have
to suffer high phone bills because of their relative's sins. A few
lawsuits have been filed in Illinois and New York charging that the
practice exploits inmates and their families.

"Most of these people are poor," said Robert Gangi, executive director of
the Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit group that monitors
prison conditions. "They don't have the political leverage to fight it."

Tulen Rivera says she usually drives to visit her husband, an inmate at a
prison near Buffalo. But the mother of three boys says the trip is hard to
make, so she spends about $200 a month on phone calls.

MCI provides phone service to New York's prisons. It was chosen in part
because it pays a larger share of earning to the state, 50 percent, than
its competitors.

Some states add surcharges to inmate calls, but New York requires that
inmates pay the operator-assisted rate. That adds up to about $5.03 for a
10 minutes call, according to MCI. A direct-dialed 10 minute call would
cost $3.83, MCI says. Telephone companies say most of the extra costs are
due to additional security features, including blocking prisoners from
calling unapproved numbers and a program that tells those who pick up the
phone that an inmate is on the line.