The Bald Eagle Party

An Open Letter to Governor Tina Kotek Oregon Must Match or Beat California’s Three-Cent Prison Messaging Rate Oregon does not need to invent a new standard. California has already demonstrated that secure statewide correctional messaging can be offered for three cents per message while including free monthly messages. By Killian Yates | August 18, 2026 Governor Tina Kotek Attn: Constituent Services 900 Court Street NE, Suite 254 Salem, OR 97301-4047 Dear Governor Kotek: I am writing to urge you to intervene in the Oregon Department of Corrections’ current tablet and electronic-messaging negotiations before another long-term communications agreement is finalized. This is no longer a request for Oregon to experiment with an untested pricing model. California has already established a clear and directly comparable precedent. ...

The Bald Eagle Party | Open Letter Once Delivery Is Paid For, Viewing Must Be Free An open letter urging Governor Tina Kotek to end per-minute charges for viewing family messages and photographs in Oregon prisons—and to build a bipartisan national standard protecting prisoners and their children. By Killian Yates | August 10, 2026 Governor Tina Kotek Attn: Constituent Services 900 Court Street, Suite 254 Salem, OR 97301-4047 Subject: Protecting the Communication Rights of Oregon Prisoners and Their Families Dear Governor Kotek: I am writing to request immediate action concerning the Oregon Department of Corrections’ use of per-minute charges for electronic messaging and family communications through the GettingOut/Telmate platform. I recently raised this matter in an open letter to President Donald J. Trump. That letter described the problem plainly: “Four cents a minute to see your children.” It also propos...

Bald Eagle Party | Government Accountability and Civil Rights Four Cents a Minute to See Your Children An open letter to President Donald J. Trump—and a one-page proposal to end double-charging for prison messages and family photographs By Killian Yates | Bald Eagle Party | August 8, 2026 The principle is simple: Once a person has paid to send an approved message, photograph, or other electronic content to an incarcerated person, the recipient must be allowed to open, read, and view that content without paying a second fee. A correctional communications company may charge a separate, reasonable, one-time fee to transmit a reply—but it must not run a meter while a person reads, thinks, types, or looks at a photograph of their family. Mr. President, this is unacceptable Mr. President, The Oregon Department of Corrections directs families and adults in custody to use the GettingOut platform for electronic messages and photographs. ...