People in my facility are feeling the impact after Missouri increased the price of phone calls from state prisons in September after lowering the price earlier this year. 

Last January, the price of phone calls decreased by 60%, from 5 cents a minute to 2 cents a minute. Five dollars bought 250 minutes instead of 100 minutes. We were able to communicate more frequently with our families and be more active in their lives. The savings also allowed people to afford lotion, shampoo, dental floss and even bags of The Whole Shabang potato chips, which are a luxury for us inside the walls. Morale and self-esteem rose. 

But on Sept. 1, the price of phone calls went back up to 5 cents a minute. The price of phone calls in our state prisons has fluctuated along with the Federal Communications Commission decision last year to raise price caps on the cost of phone calls from prison. 

I asked people around me about how they were impacted by it.

“I have to figure out now who is important to talk with, such as my kids, and who I can afford not to talk with. I think this will cause me to lose a lot of relationships,” said Dex the Mex when we were speaking by the phone cages. People who overheard him speak kicked and slapped their doors in agreement. 

Another resident, Markwan, said he only had $9 a month in spending money. After purchasing 20 minutes of phone time, he only had $8 left to buy soap and toothpaste. “I can’t even write home or buy stamps to send out emails,” he said. 

Like Markwan, many people in our housing unit are struggling. Many of them are Black and brown people from families in disadvantaged neighborhoods of St. Louis, which was heavily damaged by a huge tornado this past spring. Many prisoners only have what the state provides, which isn’t enough to allow us to effectively communicate with the outside world.

“I read in the Prison Activist Resource [Center] guide that we must be allowed to communicate with central authorities, the courts, our legal representatives, elected officials and consular services,” said Dee, adding that the increase in price was a violation of her rights. 

Dee’s comments caused such an uproar with people that officers came and removed us from the phone cages. We were starting to cause a scene — a good, ugly scene. People were expressing themselves and blowing off steam. It was one of few ways we have now to communicate without feeling the pinch.