Ban on cell phone use by inmates proposed

Prison inmates will have to drop 35 cents into a pay phone if a ban on cellular telephones and pagers wins final approval in the General Assembly.

Under the proposed legislation, guards and visitors at state and county prisons will be allowed to carry cellular telephones and pagers into jails, but it will be illegal for the devices to be used by prisoners.

By a 200-0 vote, the state House of Representatives on Monday passed a watered-down version of a measure, initially proposed in February, that would have made it illegal for guards, visitors and inmates at state prisons to possess telecommunication devices in jails.

The legislation was suggested in June by a grand jury investigating Ronald Whethers, who was accused of operating an interstate drug trafficking ring inside the Westmoreland County Prison.

The grand jury found that a former guard, Anthony Shawley of Derry Township, slipped several cell phones to Whethers, then looked the other way while Whethers arranged drug shipments between Pennsylvania and New York.

Whethers was in prison awaiting trial for a drug-related killing.

Shawley and 20 others face charges in connection with the grand jury investigation. Several guards were reprimanded after a review of operations at the prison.

The proposed legislation, House Bill 578, would prohibit the use of cell phones by inmates. It also would make it a crime for people to provide telecommunication devices to inmates without first obtaining written permission from the prison superintendent or warden.

The crime would be a first-degree misdemeanor and would carry a maximum fine of $10,000, plus a sentence of up to five years in prison.

The bill's author, state Rep. John Lawless of Montgomery County, said Wednesday that the House Judiciary Committee took some teeth out of the bill, which is headed to the Senate for consideration.

'I was in favor of the original legislation, but when it came out of committee it was amended,' he said.

Lawless said certain groups that have dealings within prisons opposed a complete ban on telecommunication devices.

'It's my understanding there were some groups, like ambulance personnel and doctors, who often go inside prisons and often carry these devices, who raised some concerns' about a total ban, Lawless said.

Still, Lawless said, the bill clarifies laws 'to be sure that a prisoner is not running a drug ring or engaged in other criminal activity from inside prison.'

'Prisoners have limited rights,' he added. 'They certainly don't have the privilege to possess a cell phone or modem-equipped device.'

He noted that pay phones are available so prisoners can make calls about personal and legal matters.

Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck, a member of the county prison board, said he supports legislation banning the use of cell phones by inmates. He declined to comment on whether the law should have included a ban on possession of telecommunication devices by prison guards and visitors.

'I'm sure the (House) committee ran the bill by the state Department of Corrections first and looked at the entire situation. They probably determined there was a need for using some of these devices within some areas of a prison,' he said.

Peck said the main goal of the legislation was to get a state law on the books banning cell phone use by inmates. This legislation, he said, appears to fulfill that purpose.