Idaho Prison Blog

What to do when a name disappears from your JPay contact list? What do you do when you have no idea why - or how the contact disappeared? Were they fed up with you, or did the prison or JPay remove them from your list without notice to anyone? Sometimes, people on the outside - at least in the beginning of a relationship - don't want to give out their physical address or telephone number (and sometimes their real names) to prisoners... understandable... but when that person unexpectedly drops off your contact list (and presumably, your name dropped off their contact list), how then do you let your new friend know that it wasn't you (the prisoner) who did it? You don't - usually. In some cases, contacting the investigations unit at your facility may reveal if, and why [they] removed a contact from your list. You can also contact JPay using a trouble ticket (which will likely take them nearly a month to give you a noncommittal answer) asking if the contact requested their nam...

Imagine that when one of your co-workers was late to work your entire department was docked a weeks pay for his tardiness - or if your child's entire class had a well earned field trip and three days of classes canceled because someone in her class shoplifted a pack of gum at the grocery store. Is this type of collective punishment appropriate even where those punished have no say in the actions of others? Should these punishments extend even to the denial of medical treatment? Despite IDOC SOP and regulations preventing any prisoner from having any supervisory or other authority over another inmate, prison administrators at the ISCC continue to utilize "peer pressure" tactics to maintain control of prisoners by punishing (usually by locking down) entire housing units (tiers) when only one prisoner assigned to that tier gets into even a minor altercation or fight with another - even when the offending prisoner is removed from the tier to the hole, or assigned to another...

In an email sent to prisoners on February 27, 2019 from an unidentified (but presumably an IDOC administrative) source, several prohibitions on the content of outgoing videograms were listed. Below is a copy of that email: //////////////// 02/27/2019 RE: Rules for VideoGrams Please note the following rules for VideoGrams: > 30 second video taken at the JPay kiosk > Cost to send is 2 e-Stamps (same as friends and family pay) > May be sent as an attachment to an email or sent alone > All outbound VideoGrams are automatically held until reviewed for release (just like incoming) > Rules (All match with our current mail and JPay rules): > Inmates must be seated at the kiosk when taking photos. > Inmates must be wearing IDOC approved clothing (not altered/no wife beaters). > No photos of their tattoos. (Pointing out tattoos). > No showing of the stomach, chest or any other body part that is covered by IDOC uniform. > No unapproved hats or head w...

On February 13, 2019, JPay launched outgoing videogram services for prisoners at the ISCC and other facilities that were not already a part of the beta testing of the program. These 30 second videos may be sent to anyone on the inmates' (email) contact list, but people on the street must download the videogram app to their phone to view the video. If you can send a videogram to an inmate, then you already have the app on your phone. To get the free app on your Apple or Android phone, go to www.jpay.com and follow the instructions. Each video, incoming or outgoing, costs 2 eStamps to send.

While the debate over the death penalty in the United States rages on, few people realize that life without parole (LWOP) is nothing more than a death sentence on the installment plan. These prisoners, competent enough to either stand trial or plead guilty, should be able to make the decision to end their lives when there is no more viable life to live. Without regard as to how much it costs to house a prisoner, it is clearly in the best interest of society - and to prisoners - to allow LWOP inmates to decide that, like terminally ill patients, the quality of life in prison and hopelessness in the knowledge that freedom will never again be theirs is such that death is preferred. To allow prisoners the option to choose to end what is effectively an irreversible and terminal situation is not only humane, but in the public interest. Like most life forms, the primary function of human beings is procreation and protection of offspring. Humans also strive to innovate and create, to explore a...

According to a CenturyLink representative, JPay has decided not to implement video visitation throughout the IDOC, not because of any technology, bandwidth or other insufficiencies, but because the price that would be charged per 30 minute contact would be prohibitive. In a January 2019 conversation, Kris Coleman of CenturyLink stated that while the testing of the video visitation (what civilians know as face timing, Skyping or a video call) in a limited number of IDOC facilities was successful, JPay has decided that the cost of $6 per visit would prohibit the volume of such calls to make the venture viable for the company. Previously, JPay, through CenturyLink had stated that bandwidth at most facilities was insufficient for video calls. "Bandwidth isn't a problem at all," said Coleman, "there is more bandwidth available than we could possibly use." With 30 minute inmate telephone calls in Idaho costing between $3.57 and $25 depending on how and to where the ca...