Video visitation: Jails and corporations profit from the poor

(theGrio)  Video visitation is coming to a county jail near you.

Families can take advantage of new technology and talk to their loved ones through video conferencing. On the surface, the concept sounds good.

What could go wrong? What’s wrong is when you mix prisons and profits and companies make money off the backs of prisoners and their loved ones.

Texas is embarking on a revenue-generating scheme that is catching on across the country. Of the 254 counties on the Lone Star state, 13 have signed contracts with a private company to provide video visitation to inmates in county jails. Sixty percent of the people in Texas jails are awaiting trial and are guilty of nothing except not being able to afford to post bond, while the remaining 40 percent are serving a sentence.