Dramatic Communication (Phone Call) Restrictions Initiated on Texas Death Row

This is just terribly sad. For the last six months we have been allowed to make one five minute phone call each week. Under this policy that would be 52 calls a year. Staff just made the announcement today that now we will only be able to make four calls a year. This is particularly disheartening because tomorrow is the day that the Faith Based Initiatives are scheduled to start on Texas Death Row. Why would staff suddenly initiate such a dramatic restriction on one of the only means of communication that we have with our friends and family? Especially now? This is just terribly sad. And this must be mentioned: guys out in general population with Life Sentences for capital murder have free and open access to the OTS (Offender Telephone System). They can use the phones and call whoever they want for hours and hours each day. For the first (approximately) 18 years I was here I never made a phone call. They started to allow us to make the five minute calls at random times and intervals— anywhere from around once a month to once every two weeks— after the COVID crisis began. Then, they started allowing us to do the weekly five minute calls for the past six months. Now they have suddenly dramatically reduced the calls to only four calls a year. Terribly, terribly sad…