Palmetto State News

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has partnered with Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas to propose a new legislative measure aimed at preventing the use of contraband cellphones in correctional facilities. The proposed bill, named the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025, seeks to empower state and federal prisons to implement cellphone jamming systems to curb illegal activities facilitated by cellphones behind bars.

"We have been focused on pushing for federal legislation to jam cellphone signals in correctional institutions," Graham stated. "Cellphones in prisons are widely used by inmates to communicate with drug cartels, human traffickers, and gun runners. Bryan and his team have made it real to me that cellphones in prisons aid and abet lawbreaking."

The initiative has gained support from several senators, including Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and James Risch of Idaho. In the House, Congressman David Kustoff of Tennessee is leading a companion legislative effort.

The introduction of this legislation follows various incidents where inmates utilized contraband cellphones to carry out criminal activities. In 2018, a cellphone-related territorial dispute between gang members resulted in a deadly brawl at the Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina. More recently, two teenagers were killed at an Atlanta birthday party, allegedly ordered by inmates using contraband phones in a Georgia prison. Additionally, in December 2024, two inmates in California were convicted of serious crimes, including murder, for leading a drug trafficking operation from within prison walls using illicit cellphones.

The issue of contraband cellphones has been prevalent, as evidenced by Georgia authorities seizing over 15,000 such devices in 2024 alone. The severity of the situation is further underscored by the murder of Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer Lt. Osvaldo Albarati in 2013, a crime allegedly orchestrated via an illicit cellphone.

Senator Graham emphasized the urgent need for reform, expressing full support for Senator Cotton’s legislative push: "I completely support Senator Cotton’s legislation that would stop this practice. This needs to come to an end."