California’s Prison iPad Program EXPOSED
A recent investigation found that California has spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars providing iPads to prisoners – devices that have reportedly been used to access sexually explicit content and commit further crimes.[1] Yes, the money your government takes from you is being used to provide free entertainment and even access to young girls for convicted criminals, including death row inmates.
The lengths our state government will go to waste taxpayer money never cease to amaze me. And when those programs end up putting the public at greater risk, it becomes even more outrageous! So, what exactly happened? We need to talk about it today.
Explosive Investigation Results
Over the past several weeks, we've focused almost exclusively on the primary election. And that's good, it's important. But there are still so many other things happening in California politics that we need to be paying attention to. Bills are still being introduced, bad laws are still on the books, and investigations are continuing to uncover fraud, waste, and, quite frankly, evil.
That's why today we're stepping away from election coverage to focus on a story that broke last month about California's prison system – a story that raises serious questions about how our taxpayer dollars are being spent and whether the people running this state have completely lost sight of their priorities. So, what exactly happened?
Well, investigative journalist Christopher Rufo, a contributing editor for City Journal, interviewed inmates on death row in California prisons and uncovered how a state program has been exploited for disgusting, and in some cases criminal, purposes. What was this program? Beginning in 2017, five California prisons piloted a program that provided tablets to inmates at no cost.[2] The idea quickly gained traction, and by 2021 the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) began distributing tablets statewide. Since then, approximately 90,000 free tablets have been handed out to prisoners across California.[3] This cost the state $189 million over four years, with extensions built in that will bring the total up to $315 million.[4]
The purpose of this program was to further what is called “digital equity” – the idea that prisoners deserve access to technology as a matter of fairness, as a matter of their civil rights. Proponents argued that inmates who maintain family bonds are less likely to reoffend, that tablets would give inmates access to rehabilitative materials, and that they would prepare them technologically for life after prison.[5] The language used to describe the program gives away California’s view of criminal justice – terms like “digital equity” and “justice-impacted individuals”…rather than taxpayer-funded iPads and criminals. CDCR defended the program by arguing that the tablets are monitored, restricted, and focused on rehabilitation, and supporters have continually invoked Bible access and virtual classrooms as evidence the program is geared toward wholesome purposes.
But what is actually happening? Because while that all sounds good, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realized giving convicted murderers, rapists, and pedophiles access to devices with the internet or texting / calling could lead to some very bad results. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, that is exactly the case. Rufo spoke directly with dozens of death row inmates, and was told that inmates were using the state-provided tablets to receive explicit photos and videos from outside contacts, i.e. nude images, sexually explicit video chats, and pornographic clips circulated in short segments. While CDCR claims the tablet use is monitored, inmates say they have found workarounds to the rules. For example, an inmate may video call someone who then broadcasts pornographic content on their TV for the inmate to watch with them. Inmates also describe how security filters can be easily bypassed, saying the restrictions are especially easy for anyone familiar with technology.[6]
So, the money that you are paying to be used by our government to take dangerous criminals out of society is directly funding their ability to 1) have electronic devices, 2) use those electronic devices for disgusting, debased purposes, and 3) do so without consequence or restriction. That should OUTRAGE every single taxpayer. But, in case that isn’t bad enough, it gets worse. Because the devices are also being used to commit further crimes.
Take as a prime example the case of Nathanial Diaz. Diaz was incarcerated at Avenal State Prison in Kings County for committing lewd acts against a minor – so a known child predator and sex offender. He was given a tablet as part of this program. And surprise, surprise – he used the tabled to communicate with his victim, the very child he was put in prison for having committed a crime against in the first place and coerce her into sending his explicit images. He maintained hours-long daily contact with her and called her thousands of times, directly in violation of the 10-year no contact order in place.[7]
So, a convicted sex offender can initiate contact with a minor outside prison walls through a state-issued, taxpayer-funded device. Does this sound like something you want your money going toward? Is this what the purpose of taxes and government are supposed to be?
Douglas Eckenrod, former deputy director of California’s adult parole operations, stated to Rufo, quote “I would bet my pension that there’s a vast amount of childhood pornography on the tablets. There are probably several thousand [children] that are currently being groomed.”[8] To think that there are criminals in prison right now who can groom children in our communities, able to exploit them and ask for explicit content – which itself is an additional crime – all on devices that we pay for…that is too much to fathom. We are literally handing them the ability to blackmail, extort, coerce, and abuse our children – we are PAYING for it!
The Bigger Issue – California’s View of “Justice”
This wasn't an unforeseen consequence though; it was a predictable outcome of a system that is concerned more with ideology than with reality or with true justice. Everything about California – literally everything – serves as proof that our state’s leadership has systematically redefined what justice is and has dismantled any type of serious approach to punishing and preventing crime.
Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions shortly after taking office, and it has been twenty years since the last execution of a criminal.[9] Death row inmates have been dispersed throughout state prisons instead of being isolated on death row, meaning instead of being kept in isolation, they are now being integrated into the general population.[10] San Quentin's State Prison, once California’s most notorious correctional facility, has been transformed into a rehabilitation-focused facility complete with classrooms, art programs, podcast studios, and even a public café.[11] Gavin Newsom said his goal for the death row section of the prison was to transform it into a “positive, healing environment.”[12] And now we're giving prisoners tablets and investing hundreds of millions of dollars into improving their digital experience.
Do you see the pattern? This program is just the digital arm of a broader effort to treat convicted murderers, rapists, and child predators as a marginalized population deserving of state-funded services.
But that is not the point of prison.
Prison is meant to punish wrongdoing, protect innocent people, deter future crime, and provide an opportunity for rehabilitation – not to make incarceration as comfortable, convenient, or enjoyable as humanly possible. California is spending hundreds of millions of dollars (dollars you PAY THEM) on upgrading the “digital experience” of people convicted of the most serious crimes imaginable. When, in reality, they should not have any type of digital experience! While law-abiding Californians struggle to afford housing, groceries, and basic necessities, our state government is investing enormous amounts of money into improving the quality of life of convicted criminals. That is not justice; that is a complete inversion of justice.
Why This Matters for YOU
This impacts you on several levels. From a basic financial standpoint, every time the government spends money on one thing, that is money it cannot spend somewhere else. As more and more programs are added, the budget becomes increasingly stretched, which means the government then has to find more and more ways to raise revenue.
This is why it is so important that our government only funds programs that are truly necessary. They should not take a single dollar more from you or me than is required to properly govern. But when California continues to roll out expensive programs like this, someone has to pay for them. And that someone is you. Whether it's through higher taxes, more fees, or simply diverting money away from more important priorities, taxpayers are ultimately the ones footing the bill.
Put another way: government spending is not free. Every dollar the state spends first has to be taken from someone who earned it. And every time California creates a new program, it creates a new expense that taxpayers will eventually be asked to fund.
It also impacts you from a public safety standpoint. Criminals are put in prison because they cannot be trusted to operate in society. They have hurt people – real people, real children, real human beings. In many cases, they have permanently altered or destroyed the lives of innocent people. That is why we separate them from the rest of society in the first place: to protect the public.
Prison is not simply about where someone sleeps at night. It is about restricting the freedoms that allowed them to victimize others and preventing them from creating new victims while they are incarcerated. When California gives inmates increased access to technology, communication tools, and digital platforms without adequate safeguards, it creates new opportunities for abuse. And this investigation suggests that is exactly what has happened!
Every time a prisoner is able to contact a minor, harass a victim, coordinate criminal activity, or exploit loopholes from behind bars, that is a failure of the prison system's most fundamental responsibility – protecting innocent people. The first duty of government is to protect law-abiding citizens, not to expand privileges for people who have already proven they cannot be trusted with them.
But most importantly, this impacts you on a moral level. Because at some point, this stops being a conversation about budgets, government programs, or prison policy. It becomes a conversation about what we, as a society, believe is right and wrong.
Every law and every public policy reflects a set of values. It communicates what we prioritize, what we reward, and what we believe justice should look like. Increasingly, California is sending the message that the comfort, convenience, and experience of convicted criminals deserve significant public attention and taxpayer resources, while victims and law-abiding citizens are treated as an afterthought. That is a moral issue.
Justice requires us to remember who the innocent party is. When someone commits a serious crime, our first concern should be the victims, their families, and the protection of the broader public – not how to make prison as pleasant and accommodating as possible, and not even how to rehabilitate the person who committed the crime.
Compassion has a place in our society. But compassion detached from justice stops being compassion entirely. Our state has become so focused on improving the lives of criminals that it has completely forgotten the people those criminals harmed in the first place. That is immoral, and that should never be something we are content with.
Call to Action
Here’s the thing: now we know. This investigation has uncovered gross mismanagement – both financially and morally – on part of our government. Now that you know about it, you need to ask yourself, is this the criminal justice system you want? And if not, what are you going to do about it? What CAN we do about it?
First, we stay informed. Stories like this often come and go in a single news cycle, and California is counting on the fact that most people will never hear about them. We cannot afford to be uninformed citizens. That is why you and I are both here!
Second, we need to elect leaders who have a fundamentally different view of justice. This isn't ultimately a technology or budget problem; it's a worldview problem. If we continue electing people who believe prison should prioritize comfort and accommodation over punishment, deterrence, and public safety, we should expect more policies like this in the future. This is yet another reason why the November election matters so much.
Third, speak up. Have conversations with your friends, your family, and your church communities. Many Californians have no idea where their tax dollars are going or how dramatically our state's approach to crime has changed over the past decade.
And finally, as I usually say, don't become cynical. California's problems were created by policy choices, which means they can also be changed by policy choices. But that only happens when informed citizens are willing to stay engaged, even when it feels like their voices don't matter. The future of California won't be decided by politicians alone. It will be decided by whether ordinary Californians are willing to pay attention and insist on a government that prioritizes victims, public safety, and true justice.
There is something deeply wrong about a system that continually elevates the comfort and experience of criminals, while the voices of victims and law-abiding citizens are pushed further to the margins. As people who care about truth and justice, as Christians, we cannot just accept that without question.
If we want a better future for our children, we have to be willing to stand for what is right, even when it’s unpopular. We must be willing to say that justice is not something the government gets to redefine whenever it becomes politically convenient. Justice is not invented by the state, as Christians we know it is defined by God, and any system that drifts away from that standard, any system that thinks it is more compassionate than God – that system loses its way.
We should never stop working toward a California that restores true, biblical justice. I will leave you with this warning, from the book of Isaiah: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”[13] That is a warning our leaders should not ignore.
References:
[1] Rufo, Christopher F., and Haley Strack. “Gavin Newsom Delivers Porn to Death Row Inmates — at Taxpayer Expense.” California Post, May 13, 2026. https://nypost.com/2026/05/13/opinion/gavin-newsom-delivers-porn-to-death-row-inmates/.
[2] Blankenship, Artemus. “When California Prisons Switch Tablet Vendors.” Prison Journalism Project, January 15, 2024. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/2021/03/26/when-california-prisons-switch-tablet-vendors/.
[3] Wolffe, Kate. “Almost All People Incarcerated in California Now Have Free Tablets,” July 19, 2023. https://www.capradio.org/articles/2023/07/19/almost-all-people-incarcerated-in-california-now-have-free-tablets/.
[4] Rufo and Strack, “Gavin Newsom Delivers Porn to Death Row Inmates — at Taxpayer Expense.”
[5] California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “Tablet Project Enhances Communication for Incarcerated,” March 1, 2021. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2021/03/01/tablet-project-enhances-communications-for-incarcerated-population/.
[6] Rufo and Strack, “Gavin Newsom Delivers Porn to Death Row Inmates — at Taxpayer Expense.”
[7] United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of California. “California State Prisoner Indicted for Child Sexual Exploitation,” April 21, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/california-state-prisoner-indicted-child-sexual-exploitation-offenses.
[8] Rufo and Strack, “Gavin Newsom Delivers Porn to Death Row Inmates — at Taxpayer Expense.”
[9] Bedard, Hayley. “Twenty Years Since Last Execution: California Remains Under Execution Moratorium as Advocates Push for Mass Clemency Grant.” Death Penalty Information Center, January 15, 2026. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/twenty-years-since-last-execution-california-remains-under-execution-moratorium-as-advocates-push-for-mass-clemency-grant.
[10] Hernandez, Jodi. “California Department of Corrections to Begin Phasing Out San Quentin Death Row.” NBC Bay Area, March 29, 2024. https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/north-bay/san-quentin-death-row-prop-66/3493102/.
[11] Rufo, Christopher, and Haley Strack. “Watching Porn on California’s Death Row.” City Journal, May 13, 2026. https://www.city-journal.org/article/death-row-porn-tablets-california.
[12] Thompson, Don. “San Quentin’s Death Row to Be Replaced by ‘positive, Healing Environment.’” KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco, January 31, 2022. https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-quentins-death-row-to-be-replaced-by-positive-healing-environment.
[13] Isaiah 5:20, ESV
