Prosecutors to Congress: Let state prisons jam cellphones

COLUMBIA, S.C. Top state prosecutors from across the country are again urging Congress to pass legislation allowing state prisons to jam the signals of cellphones smuggled to inmates, devices the attorneys argue allow prisoners to plot violence and carry out crimes.

Simply, we need Congress to pass legislation giving states the authority to implement a cell phone jamming system to protect inmates, guards, and the public at large, the 22 prosecutors all Republicans, led by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson wrote in a letter sent Wednesday to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Wilsons office said there are plans to reach out to Democratic state prosecutors, arguing the issue isnt a partisan one.

The letter, provided to The Associated Press, cites a handful of criminal incidents the attorneys say were orchestrated by inmates using contraband cellphones, including a Tennessee drug conspiracy and a double homicide hit ordered by an Indiana inmate.