Inmates' families want collect call prices put on hold

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Families of inmates in Oklahoma prisons say they're being gouged for the price of telephone calls.

And they want a state House subcommittee on public safety and transportation to determine what's a fair price for a phone call.

Lynn Powell is president of a group that includes relatives of prison inmates. Powell says telephone rates from various state-run and private prisons have more than doubled this year.

She says since the state Department of Corrections keeps a share of the phone profits, it has no incentive to keep the price down.

Dave Miller is chief of administrative operations for the D-O-C.

Miller says the department receives about $1.5 million dollars in telephone profits.

He says the Legislature instructed the D-O-C to spend $1 million of those profits for medical services this year.