March 16, 2005
Cell phones being smuggled into prisons
News 8 has obtained exclusive video of a dangerous trend that Texas prison officials are battling to stop: inmates getting their hands on cell phones to continue illegal activity from within prison walls.
"In the video, Texas prison correctional officer Eula Mae Johnson can be seen arriving at a meeting to pick up a cell phone and drugs which she planned to courier into the unit where she worked. The courier fee? $250.
According to investigators, other prison employees are suspected of smuggling in cell phones to inmates, for a total of 154 investigations in the last year. They say most offenders aren't using the phones to call family, either.
"Gang inmates are ordering murders out here in the free world by simply calling another gang member out here and ordering such a hit," the investigator said.
Fort Worth victims' rights activist Rona Stratton Smith fears inmates might reach out to those they hurt.
"To know that somebody in prison is calling you or calling your children would be terrifying to anybody," Smith said."
Click here and here for links to articles around the world on inmates and cell phones.
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