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News :: Prisons |
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New Jail Phone Rates in Effect |
Current rating: 0 |
by Sandra Ahten
Email: spiritofsandra (nospam) hotmail.com (unverified!)
Phone: 217-367-6345 |
12 Mar 2005
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The Champaign County Board has negotiated new jail phone rates with Evercom. These substantially lower rates are the results of the County Board directing the negotiating team to begin the negotiating process ELIMINATING the $14,000 montly compensation" / "kickback" that they had been receiving. |
NEW JAIL PHONE RATES
The new rates are good for both local and long distance calls uniformly. The rates are 10 cents per minute with a $2.00 surcharge per call. So a 10 minute call would be $3.00 and a 15 minute call would be $3.50.
This is great news for the families in inmates who had been forced to pay more about $6.40 even for local calls of 15 minutes. Long distance calls had been reported as much as $8 and $9.
The new rates took effect immediately as of Friday, March 11 and will be in effect until May 31, 2005 when the County Administrators believe they will have a new contract out for bid and returned.
***PHONE RATES WERE DIRECTLY TIED TO JAIL SUICIDES*** (despite News Gazette editorial)
This victory is bitter sweet, in that it took a shameful and drastic loss of life to get us mobilized enough to demand this change. The phone policy had a direct connection in at least one of the three suicide deaths at the Champaign County Jail last year. Despite the unsigned editorial in the News Gazette that claims that the suicides are, “as related to the jail phone contract as a rooster crowing is to the sun rising in the morning.”
Terrell Layfield, the third victim was directly affected by the phone policy as his family in Chicago has lost their phone service as a direct result of the sky high charges that resulted as he talked to his wife and three daughters. The family then went to cell phone coverage for themselves. But you can not accept collect calls on cell phones. On the morning of his death Mr. Layfield has already made arrangements to call his wife via a "three-way," where-as he would call someone locally and they would in turn call Mrs. Layfield and connect the two.
At the coroners hearing, according to the testimony of Lt. Metzler of the Urbana City Police because of a "lockdown" at the jail inmates were only allowed to leave their cell for an hour a day. Mr. Layfield asked in writing for the guard to change his hour so it coincided with when he could call his wife. Lt. Metlzer characterized this call as Mr. Layfield “complaining” in writing.
Mr. Layfield’s request was denied. According to Metzle’rs testimony, Mr. Layfield was very upset. He was agitated and would not stop hollering and banging things in his cell. An inmate, who is in contact with Mrs. Layfield say that both he and the guard had “words” with each other. This was at about 9am. According to the Sheriff, this noise and agitation was the reason that the guards did not perform the mandated fifteen minute “eyeball” checks. The Sheriff acknowledged the department’s culpability in failing to perform the checks, at a press conference. Unfortunately it was more than 2 hours later when the guard, serving lunch, would discover Mr.Layfield’s body hanging in his cell.
What would have been the results of that morning had Mr. Layfield been able to talk to his wife?
NOT THE LAST WORD
The Coroner’s report should not be taken as the last word on declaring Mr. Layfield’s death a suicide. The coroner’s hearing, with a jury of the public is nothing but a rubber stamp of the Coroner’s decision. This practice needs to be given a good look by the public. The public must assume that a jury would hear testimony and be presented evidence. In this case Lt. Metzler was the only testimony. The coroner asked him some questions, but there was no one cross examining him. The juror’s were allowed to ask questions, but they had not studied the case, nor are they trained in what questions to ask. Lt. Metzler’s testimony was full of conjecture. A small example of this was Lt. Metzler’s characteriztion of Mr. Layfield using the proper procedure (of asking in writing for a variance in his free time from his cell) as “complaining in writing.”
Lt. Metzler of the Urbana Police gave testimony because he is the head of criminal investigation at the Urbana Police. The Urbana Police are touted as the “outside investigative agency” in the last two jail suicides. The Sheriff was the only investigative agency in the first suicide.
CU Citizens for Peace and Justice is maintaining that there needs to be a truly outside agency investigate the suicides.
FOUR POINTS OF CHANGE
CU Citizens for Peace and Justice asked for four points of change as a result of the jail suicides.
1) Change in visitation policies at the jail. Results: Accomplished though we are asking for changes to be put in writing.
2) Change in phone policy. Result: Accomplished. We will watch to see that the bid contract is as equitable.
3) Investigation of criminal aspects of all three suicides by an outside agency. Result: Denied by States Attorney, Julia Reitz who is in charge of both deciding if criminal prosecution should happen AND is the defense attorney of the Sheriff Dept.
4) Study from an outside agency as to why three suicides would and could happen in our jail: Sheriff Walsh has agreed to this and a consultant from the National Correction Institute of the Federal Bureau of Justice was scheduled to come on Feb. 22. Results are unknown at this time.
To read more about the history of this story you can read my stories previously posted at this link: http://www.ucimc.org/feature/display/26909/index.php
To read the News Gazettes coverage about me in regards to my activism on this matter follow this link: http://www.news-gazette.com/localnews/story.cfm?Number=17807
A big hand goes to UC Indy Media whose gave me the forum to voice these concerns. (via this website, IMC Radio News, and the Public i newspaper).
I also acknowledge all those who proofread and edited my work, those who showed up at County Board members, those who strategize with me, CU Citizens for Peace and Justice who allowed me to organize with them, the local media including News Gazette (Especially Mike Monson, WDWS, WCIA, WILL radio, (the other TV station that I can't recall the letters for), my husband and friends who bolstered me, the County Board members who voted to eliminate the kickback and renegotiate the phone contract.
Sincerely,
Sandra Ahten |
See also:
http://www.news-gazette.com/localnews/story.cfm?Number=17807
http://www.ucimc.org/feature/display/26909/index.php
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This work is in the public domain. |
