Panel debates JPay tablet replacements, resolves multiple DOC property claims

The joint House–Senate claims subcommittee on April 30 reviewed a series of property claims from people in Department of Corrections custody and questioned the department about contract and equipment availability for in‑custody tablets.

Miss Sandy, the subcommittee’s adviser and counsel, summarized multiple property claims arising from transfers to restrictive housing where staff packed and inventoried personal property. The committee considered claims involving shoes, televisions, a JPay tablet, headphones and other personal items.

John Lauer, acting deputy general counsel for the Department of Corrections, told the panel the department currently lacks a replacement tablet system because of contracting and ADA compliance issues with vendors. "Currently the department does not have a [tablet] system that we are allowing incarcerated persons to purchase," Lauer said, explaining the department has been working with vendors but that existing, grandfathered devices can no longer be replaced when they fail.

That discussion framed decisions on several claims. Representative Quam successfully moved to approve $70 for Anthony Edwards’s missing Adidas shoes while denying payment for Edwards’s food/canteen items and a JPay tablet because records indicated the tablet was returned in working condition and the claimant did not report malfunction inside the 24‑hour timeframe the department uses for reporting damaged electronics.

The committee approved Hurley Griffin’s tablet claim after records showed his device expanded its lithium battery while in staff custody and was disposed of; members noted storage and temperature as possible contributing factors but said the record supported payment. Senator Murray and Representative Frederick discussed storage conditions at Stillwater and the need for agency documentation of packing and disposition.

Other outcomes included approval of compensation for Hassan McKeever’s TV (committee found insufficient documentation that staff noted damage at pack‑up) and approval of $136 for Albert Palmer’s two pairs of shoes while denying headphones that were treated as altered contraband. The committee also approved $18.40 to Jeremy Richardson for missing state‑issued clothing confirmed by staff.

Committee members frequently urged better documentation by corrections staff at the time of pack‑up and asked the agency to provide details about storage conditions and device replacement plans in follow up to these claims.