By CHRIS COLLINS
(undated) — Jailhouse phone calls may soon be offered free of charge, if a bill advanced in the Massachusetts Senate becomes law.
“An Act relative to inmate telephone calls” would make phone services provided to prisoners in Department of Correction facilities and houses of correction free to prisoners and those they call. Under the current system, calls must be either made collect or at the prisoner or families expense, with money raised from the calls often going back to support jail programs.
Supporters say the change would make it easier for inmates to maintain connections with family and community, especially during a time when in-person visits are restricted because of the COVID 19 pandemic.
The bill has been reported favorably out of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. No word yet on when it may come up for a vote in either the House or Senate.