A prison phone industry giant said what??

The Huffington Post just published the first article we’ve seen on the prison phone regulation that includes a public interview with the CEO of Securus.

by Leah Sakala, September 10, 2013

The Huffington Post just published the first article we’ve seen on prison phone market regulation that includes a public interview with Richard Smith, the CEO of Securus, which is the second-largest corporation in the prison telephone industry.

In the year we’ve spent doing detailed analyses of this industry’s shenanigans, we can’t help having gotten a little jaded. But the industry keeps on shocking us with new lows. Here’s a teaser from the article.

First, Mr. Smith likens corporate phone companies to selfless public servants:

It’s almost like throwing firemen and policemen under the bus, it just isn’t fair.

He then turns right around and admits that the corporate bottom line is his top priority:

It isn’t an altruistic business. It’s a business for profit.

The article also cites our work, pointing out that in the few weeks since the FCC has voted to regulate the prison phone industry Securus has actually raised its deposit fees even higher. Now, instead of costing $7.95 to make a deposit over the phone, Securus charges $9.95.