After California prison officials discovered that San Quentin inmate Kimani Randall’s Facebook profile was created by a contraband cell phone, the California parole board took away his 2014 parole grant, according to the inmate’s official transcript of a subsequent hearing.
“My Facebook profile was created by a friend of mine on the outside who I sent a picture to in 2010 with a cell phone I had at another prison,” said Randall in an interview.
In California prisons contraband cell phones are illegal, but rampant.
Statewide, prison officials reported discovering 11,788 cell phones in 2012; 12,151 in 2013; and 2,809 in the first three months of 2014.
“There were 103 cases in 2014 where an offender contacted a victim or family of a victim directly. Of those cases, 74 involved Facebook,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) press office reports.
“I can understand why prisons don’t want inmates to have contraband cell phones, but I can also understand why inmates do this for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with crime,” said journalist Dave Maass in a June 4 story for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a San Francisco-based digital civil liberties nonprofit.
“I used the cell phone to communicate with my wife and friends. It made me feel included in the outside world,” said Randall.
Since 2011, U.S. prisons have had a special arrangement with Facebook. Prison officials would send links to inmate profiles that they wanted Facebook to take down, reported Maass.
Facebook made it easy for prisons to censor inmates by creating an “Inmate Account Takedown Request” page that allowed prison officials to file requests, the story said.
“When we began to look into this about a year ago, it seemed that Facebook was taking down inmate pages whenever a prison requested it, no questions asked,” said Maass.
“It’s more complicated than that,” CDCR Public Information Officer Krissi Khokhobashvili said, “Typically, social media accounts are reported to CDCR’s Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services by a victim or concerned citizen. Once OVSRS receives a report they contact the prison where the inmate is housed to stop any harassment or threats. After the investigation is complete, we contact the Facebook security team to delete the account.”
Facebook representatives told EFF that they only removed inmate profiles that violated the social network’s “community standards,” which are part of its terms of service.
Emails between Facebook and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reveal Facebook’s willingness to take down inmate profiles for not following prison regulations or simply being incarcerated, according to Maas.
“As a private company, Facebook can do whatever they want, but when they are collaborating on behalf of a government entity, that’s censorship,” says Maass.
In 1999, Randall was sentenced to nine years to life for a kidnap-robbery conviction.
According to California law, inmates sentenced to life terms are required to go before a review panel called the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) for consideration of being released.
As part of BPH requirements, inmates must undergo psychiatric evaluation, demonstrate insight concerning the cause and effects of their crime, show remorse for their victims, provide a record of rehabilitative efforts, a relapse prevention plan, valid employment offers, verified living arrangements and outside support from family, friends and community sources.
In 2010, Randall received a disciplinary write-up for possession of a contraband cell phone.
At his initial BPH hearing in 2012, Randall was denied parole based upon the write-up he received.
“For my misconduct, the parole board recommended that I remain disciplinary-free, write a relapse prevention plan, write some book reports, and then they would reconsider my parole,” said Randall.
Randall fulfilled all the requested recommendations and more, he said, which eventually compelled the parole board to grant him a parole date two years later.
Before being released, prison officials decided to conduct a social media search on Randall, which led to the discovery of his Facebook profile and the withdrawal of his parole date.
Randall’s parole date withdrawal is currently under review by the BPH for possible reconsideration.
The BPH informed Randall that they will be conducting social media searches on all lifer inmates being considered for parole, according to his official documents.
In South Carolina, a prisoner received 37 years in solitary confinement for just posting on Facebook, reported Maass.
“This is an exaggerated fear of new technology,” David Fathi of the American Civil Liberties Union told Maass.
In February 2015, EFF publicly called for Facebook to overhaul how it handles inmate profiles. By March, a new set of practices were implemented by Facebook.
The “Inmate Account Takedown Request” page has been re-titled “Report an Inmate’s Account.”
Facebook now requires prisons to include links to applicable law or legal authority regarding inmate social media access.
If there is no law barring inmate access to social media, then prisons must provide specific reasons why granting Facebook access to this particular inmate poses a serious safety risk.
“We have to remember that more than 95 percent of prisoners are getting out. Disabling them from what has become a basic skill in our society is not in anyone’s interest,” said Fathi.
“By the parole board rescinding my parole date, it made me feel sad, ashamed and helpless for my past and post behavior,” said Randall.
“From experiencing this ordeal, I now know that I have the coping skills to maintain a positive attitude when dealing with the challenges of life.”
As an example, Randall continues his participation in various self-help groups and educational programs at SQ – programs aimed at reformative criminal thinking, victim awareness and helping at-risk youths – while pursuing his college degree in social and behavioral science.
Randall takes full responsibility for his actions.
“If I never had the cell phone in 2010, the Facebook profile would have never existed,” he said.
The BPH told Randall to inform the inmate population that a social media search will be conducted on all lifer inmates being considered for parole, according to his official transcript.
Randall has the following message for the CDCR inmate population:
“For those of you who are indulging in the use of cell phones, especially lifer inmates – if you value your freedom, the risk is not worth using a cell phone or being on social media.”
“Our family, friends and community need us in society to help with the prevention of recidivism, and to be positive examples for at-risk youths.”
