We received this article by someone with a loved one incarcerated at ISP back in May, but we are just now finding time to publish it.
May 10, 2022
Only about half of the computers in the [ISP] law library actually work. It has been this way for at least 5 years. The prison refuses to make those computers useable. Deputy Warden Dawn Buss refused to repair the computers stating it was because of covid, even though they needed fixing way before then.
The server switch would go down randomly, which required someone to manually reset it. During this downtime, the work that the inmates did on the computers would not always be saved, causing lots of difficulty and frustration. Now the switch is not coming on anymore, even manually.
This led to the decision to close the law library down indefinitely, including access to copiers, books, typewriters etc. They refused to distribute passes to these resources at all. All saved work is pretty much in limbo and inaccessible which prevents inmates from finishing work on their cases. Before the closure, inmates had a very hard time acquiring passes to the law library, Sometimes causing inmates to miss deadlines on submitting needed information to the courts for their case.
As of Sunday evening, they resumed sending out limited law library passes, but they still have not repaired the server so that the computers can be used. Those computers are essential for the inmates, as a lot of them have resorted to handwriting their cases which is very tedious and time consuming.