Category: Dispatches

Resident communications update/memo #24: Tablet funding, videograms, and ViaPath tablet deployment schedule.

[Sent to IDOC residents over JPay Sept. 10, 2025.] Tablet Funding: 1. This information will also be available during deployment. Please remember that Friends and Family cannot fund the tablet activities through ViaPath or GettingOut. Currently the two options for depositing funds are the Trust account or the IC Solutions Debit Account. 2. The monthly … Continue reading “Resident communications update/memo #24: Tablet funding, videograms, and ViaPath tablet deployment schedule.”

Why 3 Idaho prisoners donated their commissary funds to support the Idaho Foodbank.

When I was seven years old, I remember my mom driving my family to the foodbank in Sandpoint, Idaho. We were very poor and my mom is a woman who doesn’t like to ask for help. All five of us kids waited in the back of the truck as my mom went in through the … Continue reading “Why 3 Idaho prisoners donated their commissary funds to support the Idaho Foodbank.”

Medication alert for Idaho prisoners reliant on long-acting insulin.

[This message delivered over JPay to the Idaho Department of Correction resident population Aug. 29, 2025.] There is a shortage of long-acting insulin (like Lantus and Semglee) across the country. Because of this, you will be switched to a different type of insulin and follow a new schedule. The new insulin is called NPH. It … Continue reading “Medication alert for Idaho prisoners reliant on long-acting insulin.”

Resident Communications Memo #22: Updated ViaPath Tablet Deployment Schedule

[This memo sent to IDOC residents over JPay Aug. 27, 2025.] The IC Solutions deployment teams are currently working at Idaho Correctional Institution — Orofino (ICIO) and North Idaho Correctional Institution (NICI). The deployment is going well and we expect both facilities to be successfully transitioned by the end of this week. Once ICIO and … Continue reading “Resident Communications Memo #22: Updated ViaPath Tablet Deployment Schedule”

Multiple murder charges filed over death at Idaho contract prison.

Five men incarcerated at the Saguaro Correction Center — an Idaho contract prison in Eloy, Ariz. — have been charged with first-degree murder for the May 4, 2024 death of 46-year-old Anton Myklebust. Myklebust was one of roughly 860 men sent by Hawai’i to the CoreCivic facility as a result of the state’s prisons being … Continue reading “Multiple murder charges filed over death at Idaho contract prison.”

Sister of man slain in Idaho prison argues for government transparency.

By Hallie Warnock Johnson A shorter version of this story appeared in the Idaho Statesman on August 3rd, 2025. Recently, Moscow police released hundreds of unsealed documents related to the University of Idaho murders case, just hours after the sentencing. While disturbing to read, the public has a legal right to access such information. In … Continue reading “Sister of man slain in Idaho prison argues for government transparency.”

Jason Glasscock covers GettingOut fiasco in Wisconsin prisons.

By Jason R. Glascock, Racine Correctional Institution [Editor’s note: The Idaho Department of Correction is currently in the process of replacing its prison messaging and media provider, JPay, with GettingOut (formerly GTL). The agency’s residents and their loved ones are curious as to what to expect from the new service. Earlier this year we heard … Continue reading “Jason Glasscock covers GettingOut fiasco in Wisconsin prisons.”

James Mancuso covers Idaho beta test of Scandi-neato prison model.

The Idaho Department of Correction’s new Restoring Promise program has received plenty of local media coverage. But none from the nuanced perspective of a journalist embedded in the prison where the program is currently running. For information you can trust, check out James Mancuso’s latest Prison Journalism Project article, “The Progressive Scandinavian Prison Model Comes … Continue reading “James Mancuso covers Idaho beta test of Scandi-neato prison model.”

Idaho prison writer George Thornock shares from his experience as a prison hospice worker.

In the Prison Journalism Project article “The Long Walk Back to My Cell After Watching My Friend Die,” George Thornock brings awareness to hospice work in Idaho prisons. Thornock is one of my closest, most trusted friends in prison. I remember finding him hours after the events in the article took place, attempting to process … Continue reading “Idaho prison writer George Thornock shares from his experience as a prison hospice worker.”

Did your loved one disappeared into Idaho’s prison system?

August 3, 2025 Today, while delivering an orientation to IDOC’s newest male arrivals, it was brought to my attention that they are currently experiencing issues with the resident phone and messaging system. The men I spoke to are being processed through the Reception and Diagnostic Unit at the Idaho State Correctional Institution. It is possible that … Continue reading “Did your loved one disappeared into Idaho’s prison system?”