Deaf Prison Phone Justice Timeline
This is a brief summary of HEARD’s efforts to force the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Department of Justice (DOJ), & prison phone corporations to ensure that all disabled incarcerated people have access to telecommunication, such as Videophones (VP), Captioned Telephones (CapTel), Teletypewriters (TTY) and more.
November 2012
HEARD volunteers attend Prison Phone Justice rallies & contact commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to demand accessible telecommunications for imprisoned disabled people & their loved ones.
December 2012
Due to HEARD’s advocacy, the FCC invites public comments on cost & access to Inmate Calling Services (ICS) & Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) for disabled and non-disabled incarcerated people.
January – March 2013
HEARD launches the #DeafPrisonPhoneJustice Campaign and encourages the community to submit comments to the FCC. HEARD mobilized hundreds of deaf/disabled incarcerated people to submit comments to the FCC on their experiences. We also submitted our first comment highlighting the impact of isolation on incarcerated communities. To view these comments from 2013 go to: bit.ly/2013-FCC-Comments
April 2013
Responding to HEARD’s Call to Action, many deaf/disabled incarcerated people worked together to translate comments from ASL to English & submitted them to the FCC. Accessible & affordable telecommunication, including Videophones (VPs) and captioned telephones (CapTel), was requested.
August – September 2013
The FCC caps the rates for telephone calls & clarifies that facilities and ICS cannot charge disabled incarcerated people more money for relay service. This new proposal did not address the accessibility concerns raised by disabled incarcerated communities and HEARD. The FCC requests more comments from the public in response to community feedback.
November – December 2013
HEARD continues to educate, organize, & mobilize. Over 700 signatures were included in the Community Sign-On Letter, which HEARD submitted to the FCC with HEARD’s second comment.
January 2014
HEARD submits another comment emphasizing the impact of the ongoing systemic abuse, isolation, and discrimination against deaf/disabled incarcerated people, while demanding EQUITABLE & accessible telecommunications.
June-July 2014
HEARD’s co-founder Talila A. Lewis & others from the Prison Phone Justice Campaign join the FCC’s “Reforming ICS” workshop about incarcerated people & telecommunications. HEARD also hosts showings of the “Deaf In Prison” documentary to highlight firsthand accounts from deaf incarcerated people and emphasize the need for telecommunications access.
January 2015
HEARD mobilizes deaf youth at NTID/RIT to develop community-led research initiatives on modern telecommunication use and needs. The results show that most deaf/disabled people do not use TTYs. TTY calls are at least 4x slower compared to VP & telephone calls.
September – October 2015
FCC proposes a capped rate for telephone calls and free TTY calls. The proposal does not mandate VPs and other methods of telecommunication for deaf/disabled incarcerated people or address the costs.
March – August 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic increases the urgent need for affordable & accessible telecommunications. The FCC seeks more comments in August about what other forms of relay should be available to incarcerated people & how they can help.
November 2020
HEARD submits a comment in coalition with 13 disability organizations asking the FCC to require prison phone companies to provide access to all modern relay services and eliminate charges for incarcerated people using these services. HEARD hosts workshops to inform the community about this ongoing issue and show them how to file their own comments with the FCC.
May – July 2021
Deaf parents of an incarcerated Child Of a Deaf Adult (CODA) and Alphonso Taylor, a formerly incarcerated Black deafdisabled man, meet with FCC commissioners to share the horrifying real life impact of the FCC’s continued inaction. Alphonso passes away shortly after this meeting, in large part due to the very thing he explained to the commissioners.
September 2021
HEARD, alongside 22 other disability organizations, submit comments, sharing formerly incarcerated deaf/disabled community member’s stories of deprivation of language, socialization, communication, and community while incarcerated.
September 2022
The FCC approved an order requiring prison phone companies to provide access to all relay services in carceral systems with internet & 50+ people, including point-to-point video calls. The definition of “jail and prison” now includes juvenile detention, mental health facilities, immigration detention & federal prisons. Companies are also required to report about TRS and disability access. These rules are planned to go into effect in 2024.
May 2023
In response to the FCC’s call for comment regarding the implementation of the landmark Martha Wright-Reed Act. HEARD organized comments from 15 currently and formerly incarcerated deaf/disabled people about the inaccessibility of prison tablets, video visitation, and video eMessaging.
Present Day
Despite the tremendous victory of the September 2022 regulations requiring ICS providers to provide accessible telecom, HEARD advocates continue to see deaf/disabled incarcerated people in states like New York, without access to life saving telecommunication technologies like videophones. ICS providers continue to seek out loopholes in regulations that allow for them to charge incarcerated people for connecting with loved ones. HEARD continues to fight against the exploitation of incarcerated people and their loved ones by prisons and ICS providers, especially that of people with communication disabilities.