Although this initiatives aim is to provide access to educational materials and incentives for good behavior, its pricing structure might work against the best interests of the inmates. The Prison Policy Initiative estimated that 2017 wages in West Virginia prisons ranged between 4 cents and 58 cents an hour.

"If you pause to think or reflect, that will cost you," said Katy Ryan,APBPs founder and educational coordinator. "If you want to reread a book, you will pay the entire cost again. This is about generating revenue for the state and profit for the industry. Tablets under non-predatory terms could be a very good thing inside prisons. GTL does not provide that."

The WVDCR will receive a 5% commission on gross revenue from the tablets, reports Reason. A spokesperson for West Virginia prisons noted that no inmates are being forced to use the tablets in the Reason report. The spokesperson also said the 5% commission will go toward a fund at each prison that inmates "use for such things as paying for cable TV and hosting open house visitation events for families."

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West Virginia Inmates To Be Charged By The Minute For Reading On Tablets From A Free Online Library - Blavity