The Bald Eagle Party | Open Letter
Once Delivery Is Paid For, Viewing Must Be Free
An open letter urging Governor Tina Kotek to end per-minute charges for viewing family messages and photographs in Oregon prisons—and to build a bipartisan national standard protecting prisoners and their children.
Attn: Constituent Services
900 Court Street, Suite 254
Salem, OR 97301-4047
Subject: Protecting the Communication Rights of Oregon Prisoners and Their Families
Dear Governor Kotek:
I am writing to request immediate action concerning the Oregon Department of Corrections’ use of per-minute charges for electronic messaging and family communications through the GettingOut/Telmate platform.
I recently raised this matter in an open letter to President Donald J. Trump. That letter described the problem plainly:
“Four cents a minute to see your children.”
It also proposed a simple minimum standard:
This principle should be adopted immediately in Oregon and advanced nationally through bipartisan, multi-agency collaboration.
Based on information provided to me directly by an Oregon adult in custody, a family member may pay approximately $0.25 to send an image or message, after which the incarcerated recipient must enter a paid portion of the system—reportedly costing $0.04 per minute—to view the content, read it and prepare a response. The Department of Corrections’ own tablet materials confirm that messaging is currently among the services subject to per-minute charges. Its public FAQ also acknowledges the specific concern that an incarcerated person may have to pay by the minute to view a message for which the sender has already paid.
This is not merely a disagreement over prices. Charging by the minute to read a message, look at a photograph of one’s children or thoughtfully compose a response places an artificial financial clock on family relationships. Reading speed, literacy, disability, age and language proficiency can all increase the cost of accessing the same communication.
Oregon law already recognizes the principle
The practice raises serious concerns under Oregon law.
Article I, section 15 further requires that laws concerning punishment be founded upon “protection of society, personal responsibility, accountability for one’s actions and reformation.”
A charge that continues running while a person reads a family message or looks at a child’s photograph does not advance public safety or accountability. It obstructs the family relationships and rehabilitative connections that can support successful reentry.
The Oregon Legislature has recognized these relationships expressly. ORS 423.160 establishes a Bill of Rights of Children of Incarcerated Parents. Among its protections are a child’s rights:
“To have a lifelong relationship with the incarcerated parent.”
Those rights become less meaningful when communication is conditioned on the incarcerated parent’s ability to keep paying while reading or viewing something that the child or another family member has already paid to deliver. Children should not bear an additional punishment because a parent is incarcerated.
Oregon law also gives the Department of Corrections authority and responsibility to provide opportunities for self-improvement, protect adults in its custody and adopt rules for the proper administration of the department. The Office of the Governor, in turn, has the constitutional responsibility to “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
Actions requested
I respectfully ask you to take the following actions:
- End per-minute viewing charges. Direct the Department of Corrections to end per-minute charges for viewing approved messages, photographs and other content after delivery has been paid for.
- Guarantee on-demand access. Require delivered content to remain available for repeated viewing without an additional timer, login charge, session charge or device-access charge.
- Separate reading from sending. Permit, if necessary, a reasonable and clearly disclosed one-time charge for sending a response, while prohibiting charges for time spent reading, thinking or composing.
- Publish every price. Require the Department and its communications vendor to publish a complete, easily accessible rate sheet explaining every charge imposed on incarcerated people and their families.
- Order independent review. Refer the current pricing practice to the Oregon Corrections Ombudsman for review under ORS 423.420 and ORS 423.425, including whether the practice is unreasonable, unfair or otherwise objectionable.
- Build a bipartisan working group. Convene the Governor’s Office, the Department of Corrections, the Corrections Ombudsman, legislators from both parties, family representatives, formerly and currently incarcerated people, civil-rights organizations and the communications vendor.
- Advance a national standard. Work with the White House, Oregon’s congressional delegation, the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission and other states to establish a nationwide paid-once, free-to-view standard.
The Department has publicly indicated that it is exploring moving messaging away from the paid-per-minute portion of its tablet system. That is encouraging, but exploration is not an enforceable protection. The rule should be adopted, published and incorporated into every applicable vendor contract.
This is not a partisan issue
Conservatives can recognize this as a matter of limited government, family stability and responsible contracting. Progressives can recognize it as a matter of civil rights, rehabilitation and economic fairness. Members of every party should agree that government contractors must not impose unnecessary financial pressure on children and families simply because one family member is incarcerated.
Accountability for a crime does not require commercially metered access to one’s children. Protecting basic communication does not excuse criminal conduct or diminish lawful sentences. It supports rehabilitation, preserves family bonds and respects the limits that Oregon law places on the administration of confinement.
I respectfully request a written response identifying whether your office will refer this matter to the Corrections Ombudsman and require the Department of Corrections to implement a paid-once, free-to-view policy.
Oregon has an opportunity to establish a clear and humane standard that other states—and ultimately the federal government—can follow. I urge you to lead that effort across party lines.
Respectfully,
Killian Yates
Official sources and further research
- Oregon Constitution — Article I, sections 13 and 15; Article V, section 10.
- Oregon Revised Statutes, Chapter 423 — including ORS 423.020, 423.075, 423.160 and the Corrections Ombudsman provisions.
- Oregon DOC Tablet Deployment — official program and pricing information.
- Oregon DOC Tablet Deployment FAQ — discusses per-minute message viewing and the possible transition to pay-per-message responses.
- Oregon DOC Electronic Communications — identifies GettingOut as the department’s messaging service.
- Oregon Corrections Ombudsman — complaint and oversight information.
Public officials receiving or recommended to receive this letter
Attn: Constituent Services
900 Court Street, Suite 254
Salem, OR 97301-4047
Oregon Corrections Ombudsperson
c/o Office of the Governor
900 Court Street, Suite 254
Salem, OR 97301-4047
Oregon Department of Corrections
3723 Fairview Industrial Drive SE 200
Salem, OR 97302
900 Court Street NE, S-201
Salem, OR 97301
900 Court Street NE, H-271
Salem, OR 97301
900 Court Street NE, S-223
Salem, OR 97301
900 Court Street NE, S-323
Salem, OR 97301
900 Court Street NE, H-295
Salem, OR 97301
900 Court Street NE, H-395
Salem, OR 97301
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