The Center for Constitutional Rights enlisted M+R to expose and end a 15-year contract between New York State and MCI that charged family members exorbitant rates to call their loved ones in prison.  M+R focused campaign messaging on the enormous kickback New York State received at the expense of families who could least afford it.  We secured newspaper editorials criticizing the state for this injustice and then worked with CCR to pressure newly elected Governor Eliot Spitzer to end the contract.

Through the Campaign for Telephone Justice, M+R helped CCR:

• Secure op-eds in newspapers in most major cities in New York State, including The New York Times, El Diario/La Prensa, Albany Times-Union, Poughkeepsie Journal, Schenectady Daily Gazette, Syracuse Post-Standard, and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle;

• Influence Governor Spitzer to announce that New York would forgo its share of the contract, cutting rates almost in half; and

• Ensure that the State Legislature passed a bill to reduce future costs for this phone service, guaranteeing an end to this injustice!

For more information, please contact Andrea Koppel at akoppel@mrss.com.