Two convicted killers say they watched pornography on state-issued tablets, and California’s prison brass still cannot show proof the system works as promised.
Story Snapshot
- Named death row inmates describe watching pornography and skirting controls on taxpayer-funded tablets [1][2][3]
- California prison officials call tablets “tightly controlled,” but offer no technical rebuttal to evasion claims [1]
- A recent policy bans obscene content on messages and video calls, suggesting reactive governance [2]
- Scale matters: roughly 90,000 inmate devices and a contract pegged near $189 million [1][5]
What the inmates say they are doing with the tablets
Robert Maury, sentenced to death for multiple murders, told reporters he watched pornography on his taxpayer-funded tablet. Samuel Amador, also on death row, described alternating between porn and short family clips, adding that inmates “get around” the system’s blocks. These are not anonymous claims; they are on-the-record admissions tied to names, crimes, and locations within California’s prisons [1][2][3]. Their accounts depict both direct viewing and workarounds using brief video segments to bypass filters [2].
Allegations extend beyond voyeurism. Coverage tied the program to broader misconduct, including sexualized chats and explicit image sharing, the very behaviors the platform’s restrictions were supposed to prevent [1][2]. The narrative of “short clips” and “ways around the system” matches common evasion patterns seen when content filters police dynamic media rather than static web pages. The claims focus on practice, not policy—how inmates allegedly behave with real devices, in real time, behind real walls [1][2].
What the state says, and what it does not
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation described the tablets as “tightly controlled education tools,” designed to reduce crime and improve rehabilitation efforts. That position signals intent, but it does not address the named inmates’ specific evasion accounts, nor does it present logs, filter specs, or forensic audits that would falsify the claims [1]. Officials also implemented a new policy banning obscene messages, sexual images, and sexual conduct on video calls, a step that aligns with the reported abuses but arrived only after public scrutiny [2].
The gap is glaring: specific allegations on one side and general assurances on the other. Without transparent data—device audits, cache analyses, network logs, violation counts—taxpayers cannot verify that the touted safeguards function across roughly 90,000 devices. The absence of a technical rebuttal effectively cedes ground to the on-the-record inmate accounts. Common sense and conservative governance would demand proof of performance before and after policy shifts, not platitudes [1][2].
The money, the scale, and the risk to public trust
Reports place the contract value around $189 million, scaled to digitally equip the state’s entire incarcerated population. At that price, Californians should expect measurable results, not headlines about death row porn consumption. Large deployments magnify small security gaps; even a modest evasion rate can produce widespread misconduct when multiplied by tens of thousands of devices. Every unanswered allegation erodes confidence in the stewardship of both public safety and public funds [1][5].
Porn on taxpayer-funded tablets — that’s what some California death row inmates are reportedly watching.
Over 90,000 devices were handed out as part of a multimillion-dollar program meant to connect prisoners with family and provide educational resources. Instead, reports say… pic.twitter.com/2Uptl5ot7F
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 14, 2026
Some argue tablets can reduce recidivism and maintain family ties, goals that merit serious consideration. Those benefits do not excuse weak controls or opaque oversight. The state can reconcile both priorities by releasing independent forensic findings, detailing filter configurations, publishing violation metrics, and demonstrating that new bans are enforced with teeth. Until then, the optics remain lopsided: inmates describing porn access in detail, while administrators offer slogans and late-breaking rules [1][2][5].
What accountability should look like now
First, publish an independent forensic audit of a large, random sample of devices: caches, histories, files, and traffic. Second, disclose content filtering architecture and third-party penetration test results that directly test short-clip evasion. Third, report disciplinary actions linked to tablets—pre- and post-policy—so Californians can see enforcement, not promises. Fourth, brief the public on any tablet-linked grooming prosecutions and the corrective measures that followed. Accountability starts with data, not declarations [1][2][5].
Sources:
[1] Web – California death row inmates watching porn on taxpayer- …
[2] Web – Watching Porn on California’s Death Row
[3] Web – Newsom slammed as California death row inmates watch …
[5] Web – Newsom’s $189M Taxpayer-Funded Prison Tablet Program Rocked …
