City Desk

Last week, the D.C. Council approved legislation intended to lower phone charges for prisoners in D.C. correctional facilities. But the council’s action doesn’t help out D.C. inmates housed in private prisons, where phone calls home can cost up to $.60 per minute. A few weeks ago, Evercom Inc., which provides phone service for the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) facility in Youngstown, Ohio, overcharged friends and family of some of the prison’s 1,200 D.C. inmates for collect calls. The company has promised refunds; 15-minute calls that are normally $9.75 cost $14.30. Meanwhile, D.C. Prisoners Legal Services Inc. has filed a broad suit against CCA and its phone carriers, which is now pending in court. —Annys Shin