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Some family members of people being held in Minnesota prisons say the state is moving too slowly in creating a new system to allow incarcerated people to use tablet computers. The tablets are used by incarcerated people to message with family members, access educational content and play media like music.  

Brandy Earthman is an advocate for the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee and has a son incarcerated at the prison in Rush City. She said the tablets have been a lifeline for people in prison.  

“My son could actually read books, he could take courses, he could write messages to us, and most importantly they can hear our voices, they can hear the voices of people who love them,” Earthman said. “That connection keeps them grounded, it gives them purpose and it reminds them that they still matter in there.”  

The state had planned to provide free tablets in prisons starting last year. But in a memo released in June, Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said ensuring that the previous tablet contract complied with state requirements “coupled with other unexpected implementation challenges” delayed a plan to roll them out. 

Schnell outlined “a long and complicated process” to find a vendor to comply with state procurement rules and address security concerns associated with tablets. He said in the memo that the state is preparing a request for proposals.  

“You and I can go out and buy an iPad. Minutes after we open the package, we can connect to an open Wi-Fi network to gain access to all the internet has to offer. This simply doesn’t work in the secure environment of a prison,” Schnell said in the memo. “We must have robust security requirements to protect against the segment of our population who would be inclined [to] use the technology to engage in ongoing criminal conduct.” 

A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Corrections said the agency doesn’t immediately have any other comment.  

David Boehnke, an organizer with the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, said “all they have to do is allow people to use the existing system to buy or repair tablets and then we don’t have this crisis.” The state stopped allowing incarcerated people to buy tablets from the company JPay two years ago. 

Lorrie Schwartz lives in Idaho and said it would be difficult to communicate with her daughter without a tablet, who she said has been incarcerated at Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee for 11 years.  

“For me, the tablets make it easier and more private for families and incarcerated individuals to stay in contact, because individuals can be in contact in their rooms rather than in open areas,” Schwartz said.

Advocates said communication has also been restricted due to a system where mail is scanned by a third-party to stem the flow of contraband into prisons, as well as some limits on free phone calls.

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People incarcerated in Minnesota prisons and their families say the state is moving too slowly in creating a new system to allow tablet computers in prisons.

Minnesota Correction Facility in Shakopee

Incarcerated people wait for tablets in Minnesota prisons as state seeks vendor

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