When Texas jails issue tablets, it comes at cost for inmates and families

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. In 2021, Bryan Collier, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said that tablets would “fundamentally change” communication for the state’s more than 100,000 prison inmates. The devices, TDCJ officials said, would make it easier for state inmates to communicate with loved ones, reduce the amount of contraband entering prisons through physical mail and give them access to digital books and entertainment — all on a secure network.