Giving Compass' Take:

• As part of a series of new reforms, inmates in New York City will soon be able to make phone calls for free in prison. 

• Mayor Bill de Blasio also announced better access to voting for inmates as part of the new reforms. How can other cities follow suit?

• Read about how to help inmates heal after experiencing trauma in prison.

Prisoners in New York City no longer have to use their scant funds to call their loved ones and lawyers, according to the New York Times.

Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the law on Aug. 6, putting to end the annual collection of more than $5 million in inmate telephone fees. “Unfortunately, the city has been profiting from some of the poorest and most vulnerable New Yorkers for years,” Corey Johnson, the City Council speaker and sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “Thankfully, that is now going to stop.”

New York City inmates make around 26,000 calls every day, generating more than $20,000 in daily revenue, according to Corrections Accountability Project.

The new rule will go into effect in 270 days, the Times reports, and is part of a broader series of reforms. On Tuesday, Mayor de Blasio announced that voter registration will be made more accessible to inmates. "Voting is the most basic American right, and we must take every opportunity to increase access to this right for all people,” Speaker Johnson said.

Throughout the US, industries that profit off prisoners, including for-profit prisons themselves, have been under increasing scrutiny.

The detention of immigrants and asylum seekers, for instance, has recently grown into a billion-dollar industry. Many for-private prisons deny inmates adequate meals and amenities, and jails throughout the country often harvest money intended for inmate food for private purchases such as real estate.

Critics of New York City’s elimination of phone fees include the city’s correction officers union, which claims that easier access to phone calls enables inmates to conduct more criminal activity.

Advocates, meanwhile, say this is merely a long overdue human rights issue in a country with draconian incarceral laws.

Read the full article about prison phone calls by Joe McCarthy at Global Citizen