Newsom’s $315 Million ‘Rehabilitation’ Gift to California Prisoners: Free Android Tablets!

While California families struggle with skyrocketing housing costs, unchecked retail theft, and a homelessness crisis that Gov. Gavin Newsom has poured billions into with little to show, the state has been quietly rolling out free Android tablets to every one of its roughly 90,000 state prison inmates — at a taxpayer cost of up to $315 million.

 The program drew fresh outrage after a viral X post by retired homicide detective Hunter Eagleman, which highlighted how the devices — complete with free state-paid phone calls, e-messages, video calls, e-books, games, and more — keep inmates “entertained and communicating with their fellow criminals outside the walls.” 

FUN-FACT: 🚨 The state of CA is handing every state prison inmate a "FREE" android tablet so they can stay entertained and keep communicating with their fellow criminals outside the walls!

Thanks to @GavinNewsom, this genius program is costing California taxpayers 315 MILLION… pic.twitter.com/6PsiVy4Jfi

— Hunter Eagleman™ (@Hunter_Eagleman) April 24, 2026

Eagleman’s post, which quickly racked up nearly 2,000 likes, directly called out Newsom: “Thanks to @GavinNewsom, this genius program is costing California taxpayers 315 MILLION dollars.”  

The tablets are part of the Newsom administration’s much-touted “California Model” of corrections, which rebrands prisons as “rehabilitation centers” and prioritizes inmate “normalization” and family contact over traditional punishment. 

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) began piloting the devices in 2018 under ViaPath (formerly GTL) and expanded them statewide. 

A new four-year contract with Securus Technologies, valued at up to $315 million, is now replacing the old tablets in a phased rollout through 2026.  

But this week’s news makes the timing especially tone-deaf.  

Just yesterday, the California Globe reported on the FBI’s sweeping “Operation Gangsta’s Paradise,” which resulted in the indictment of 43 Mexican Mafia members and associates. Federal agents, utilizing bugged devices and surveillance, exposed how incarcerated bosses in California state prisons — using contraband cellphones and encrypted communications — directed a violent criminal enterprise on the streets of Orange County, including fentanyl trafficking, kidnappings, extortion, illegal gambling, and murder. 

The operation, centered on leaders like Luis Cardenas (an inmate at Ironwood State Prison), showed how high-ranking gang figures continue to run sophisticated operations from behind bars, with street-level associates carrying out their orders. Raids hit approximately 30 locations, mostly in Orange County, with dozens taken into custody on a 66-count indictment.  

This latest bust serves as a stark reminder that prison inmates — particularly Mexican Mafia (La Eme) leaders — already maintain ironclad control over street gangs using smuggled communication devices. Critics argue that handing every inmate a state-funded, officially approved Android tablet with messaging and video capabilities only makes the problem worse, even if CDCR claims the devices are “monitored.” Gang coordination doesn’t stop just because the state provides the hardware. 

There is no standalone legislation requiring the tablet program. It flows from CDCR administrative contracts and aligns with years of “reform” policies, including Proposition 57 (2016) early-release credits, AB 109 prison realignment (2011), and measures like the Keep Families Connected Act (2022) that shifted phone call costs to taxpayers. 

The Securus contract switch followed bidding and legal challenges, with the state claiming it will eventually cut family and agency expenses.  

California’s prison population has dropped from around 120,000 when Newsom took office to roughly 91,000 today, yet violent crime, fentanyl deaths, and organized theft rings persist. The $315 million tablet expenditure — on top of free calls already subsidized by the state — comes as one of only five states footing the bill for inmate communications.  

As one commenter replied to Eagleman’s post: “Imagine how many homeless veterans could be housed for life with 315 million?”  Another quipped, “”So Newsom has let 76,000 bad guys out of prison, shut down five state prisons, and now is handing out tablets to remaining inmates? WTF?”

CDCR insists activities on the tablets are monitored and internet access restricted, but the Mexican Mafia bust proves that determined gang leaders find ways to communicate.