Sanford: Now Is the Time to Act

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Representative Mark Sanford released the following statement in response to the fight at Lee Correctional Institution on Sunday night that left seven inmates dead and 17 injured:
 
“For years, inmates serving time in correctional facilities throughout South Carolina and the rest of the country have been smuggling cell phones into prisons, which in turn have been used to carry out crimes like the one at Lee Correctional. These senseless and avoidable crimes are a reminder of how important it is to render contraband cell phones useless in our state prisons. 

“It’s past time for the FCC to make a change here; lives literally hang in the balance. In that regard, I’ll be meeting with the various stakeholders on this issue over the upcoming weeks to create legislation to address this issue. It’s something I worked on as governor and look forward to continuing to do so now.”

Last July, Rep. Sanford sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, urging the FCC to review its position prohibiting the use of jamming technologies by state and local correctional facilities. Click here to read the letter.