Virginia's prisons and jails are gouging people who are incarcerated and their family members by contracting with for-profit firms that charge excessive prices for email communication, phone calls, and basic provisions at the stores operating in prisons and jails. Instead of encouraging those who are incarcerated to stay in touch with family members, the excessive fees discourage communication which is important for people's mental well-being and ensuring their success once they are released. Many families of those incarcerated are low-income, and approximately one-third of families go into debt trying to stay in communication with their loved ones.
Virginia should join the growing list of states that are eliminating or limiting fees for communication and capping the profits that can be made in the prison stores.
