[orangecat]

See also http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/10/inmate-calling-compa...

Apparently a large amount of those fees are paid back to the prisons via "commissions", so it's basically governments auctioning off the right to take advantage of prisoners and their families.

[mindslight]

It's essentially the same thing that has happened across many other areas of the economy - it's impractical to own slaves, so they're rented instead.