All Minnesota inmates were supposed to have access to tablets this year, but fewer than 30% do

The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) said inmates would have access to prison-approved tablets this year. But so far, fewer than 30% have them.

In November 2024, DOC spokesperson Aaron Swanum said new tablets would be distributed for free starting in December. However, despite a limited pilot at two facilities, the rollout was ultimately delayed because of issues with state accessibility standards and other “unexpected implementation challenges,” DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell said in a June memo.

Though DOC Director of Communications Shannon Loehrke said in an email that the department intends to “provide accessible devices to every incarcerated person” who wants one, family members and advocates on Thursday called the delay unacceptable as the tablets are one of the best ways inmates can stay in touch with family via email and relax by listening to music or playing games.

They say the DOC has been promising upgraded tablets since 2018.

Dontania Petrie, who was incarcerated at Shakopee prison from 2017 to 2020, said she was advised not to continue purchasing music on her tablet in 2018 because the DOC planned to switch providers — and she’d soon lose access.

It wasn’t until 2023 that the DOC officially stopped allowing inmates to buy tablets through the company JPay, transitioning to ViaPath Technologies, formerly GTL — confirming the warning Petrie had received years earlier.

As of Tuesday, 28% of Minnesota’s incarcerated population — about 2,240 individuals — have access to working tablets, the DOC confirmed. The tablets allow inmates to send email messages and take as much time as they want to compose them.

“I believe it’s a lifeline for them,” she said during a virtual news conference on Thursday. “It’s a way for them to stay connected to us … to a world that too often forgets them.”

Now the ViaPath contract is nearing its end, and the DOC is preparing to find a new provider. State procurement rules require a formal request for proposal (RFP) process, which Schnell described as “long and complicated.”

While the DOC looks for a new contractor, incarcerated Minnesotans can’t buy new tablets or request repairs for their existing JPay devices. However, inmates enrolled in education programs sponsored or approved by the DOC have access to technology for coursework and other materials, Loehrke said.

“Broken tablets are supposed to be removed, because they are not repairable,” Loehrke said in an email.

Petrie, who now studies law, is still advocating for digital access as a member of the Minnesota Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee.