COLUMBIA, S.C. — All inmates at South Carolina prisons--including Alex Murdaugh--start out being assigned a computer tablet when they enter into the corrections system. But many often can't keep them due to disciplinary issues.
The issue of access to tablets came to the public's attention last weekend after photos of Murdaugh, the convicted double murderer, surfaced online. The images showed an at times shirtless Murdaugh looking straight into the camera.
Some websites speculated that he was using the device to take images of himself. But that wasn't the case; instead, the images were taken by his tablet as part of a security feature that takes a picture of the inmate every time they sign into the device. The South Carolina Department of Corrections says that's to prevent misuse of the devices.
A spokesperson for the corrections department said all inmates are issued the devices. The devices are provided without taxpayer funding by ViaPath Technologies, the department’s telephone partner. They're paid for via subscription plans purchased by the inmates friends or family. Similar programs are being more common at prisons across the country, according to SC Corrections Department.
While all inmates get the tablets, many often can't keep them. That's because the devices are a privilege, and can be taken away if the inmates have disciplinary problems.
The tables can be used to make monitored telephone calls, take classes, read books, subscribe to entertainment that is pre-approved and receive messages from the institution. The department says they are not connected to the internet or to social media.
As for the Murdaugh photos, they were released after a Freedom of Information Act request was filed, which provides the public the right to request access to federal agency records. However, the corrections department now says the photos aren't supposed to be released under state law because they are for a security measure. The agency also said they have a policy of not releasing pictures of inmates except for the booking photograph that's on their public website.
Murdaugh is currently serving a life sentence for killing his wife Maggie and adult son Paul on June 7, 2021 at the family's large estate in Colleton County. A jury convicted Murdaugh on March 2 of both murders after just three hours of deliberation. A day later, Judge Clifton Newman sentenced him to consecutive life sentences.
He's being held in an undisclosed facility and under extra security protocols.