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Massachusetts becomes fifth state to make prison calls free

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264 points toomuchtodo | 2 comments | 29 Nov 23 02:33 UTC | HN request time: 0.428s | source
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dvektor ◴[29 Nov 23 04:02 UTC] No.38455412[source]▶
Here (Maine) calls are almost $7.00/hr which is indeed outrageous, however the jobs pay 2-4x better than other prisons i've been in, the food is better, you are given more things like clothes that other prisons would make you pay for. And I am allowed to go to college, and even hold a job developing software.

So although it is absurd, I have been in other prisons where the calls are dirt cheap but they have shit food, they dont give you ANYTHING and there isn't shit for opportunities. I understand that sometimes the profit they make off the calls might be going to things like quality of the food, etc. I know that this is almost never the case, but I do know that it is somewhat the case here.

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jauntywundrkind ◴[29 Nov 23 06:04 UTC] No.38456088[source]▶
How I got here is a very interesting related recent (17d) submission, where a tech-savy inmate discusses how lucky they were to pretty much accidentally end up getting sent to a Maine prison, where they were able to get access to the internet & go from what reads to me like a hopeless prison mentality to a hopeful, interested, engaged & active person in the world, even from their confines.

Alas, the greater context here, and seemingly much of why they write, is that Maine seems to be the one a few rare states where they believe there's any hope of reform & rehabilitation. And even to get this context, it seemingly took Covid for them to be granted access to the knowledge & information to unlock & enable their journey & growth, for them to escape a foreboding dark prison fatalism. https://pthorpe92.github.io/intro/my-story/ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38229231

This is unhumble as heck & just my own weird strange warped view, but I personally think there is a resounding screaming loud truth that access to FOSS is a civic virtue that can redeem lives & should be amplified accelerated & supported at all levels. Prisons, schools, & elsewhere: being able to personally entail ourselves into such great projects lifts the soul, gives us worthy efforts to motivate & work towards. FOSS invites us in to participate in the greater non-zero-sum aspects of humanity.

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strangesmells06 ◴[29 Nov 23 11:09 UTC] No.38457998[source]▶
Just hang around all day with no rent learning and coding. Maine prison sounds pretty sweet.

Actually sounds a little like those hackers that live in pod spaces in SF.

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1. dvektor ◴[29 Nov 23 12:21 UTC] No.38458519[source]▶
I do pay rent because I work (10% of my salary) as well as I obviously pay my taxes. This is why I feel like it is insane that people wouldn't want this to be more prevalent.. would you rather have me sucking up tax payer money and leaving prison in worse shape than when I came in? or completely changing my life and paying for my housing and paying my taxes and leaving with a career and a guarantee that I never come back? seems obvious
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2. strangesmells06 ◴[29 Nov 23 18:46 UTC] No.38463418[source]▶
I think you shouldn't be in jail in the first place!

Drugs being illegal is batshit insane and literally keeps the cartels in business which destabilizes entire countries and kills way more people than having legal drugs.

Anyway thats a whole different conversation.

That being said theres this weird liberal trend to feel sympathy for murderers. And in my book if a person is a murderer or rapist or something, they need to be in a dungeon not a comfy prison with internet.

But for the bullshit you got in for Im glad you were able to find a good spot and make the best of the situation.

Hope you can get some sort if early release situation.